IN AN EFFORT TO INCREASE EFFECTIVENESS OF EDUCATION FOR LOW-ABILITY STUDENTS, 35 ENTERING FRESHMEN WITH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE ABILITY TEST SCORES IN THE LOWEST 16 PERCENT WERE INVITED TO BE IN A PILOT PROGRAM OF BASIC CLASSES IN ENGLISH, SPEECH, PSYCHOLOGY, AND AN ELECTIVE. OF THE 35, 28 COMPLETED THE SEMESTER, TWO TRANSFERRED TO REGULAR CLASSES, AND…

This study examined ethnic differences in performance among 78 elementary students (22 Black and 56 White students in grades 2 through 6) who participated in a special program for mathematically talented children and 185 non-participants. Results indicate that the program was successful in identifying and helping mathematically talented Black…

The efficacy of Raven's Matrices in the gifted identification process is reviewed, focusing on their reliability, validity, and fairness and comparing them with other intelligence tests. It is concluded that, despite problems with narrowness of scope and standardization practices, these tests provide a useful screening device for intellectually…

Concern about the possible bias of using only verbal assessments for the identification of intellectually gifted students led to an examination of the effect of incorporating nonverbal assessments of intelligence into the identification process. Two nonverbal instruments (Progressive Matrices and Test of Nonverbal Intelligence) were used in…

The Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) and the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) were evaluated as possible instruments for identifying academically talented students in minority populations. A significantly higher proportion of minority children scored well on the RPM than on a traditional measure. Issues and concerns about using the…

The York Region Board of Education in Ontario, Canada, screens students for giftedness in grade 3. This report analyzes data produced in the 1986-87 screening procedure, involving approximately 3,400 students. The report begins with a review of procedural changes that were designed to make the screening more effective and efficient than earlier…

The aim of this investigation was to develop a justifiable and efficient procedure for locating the top two percent of the eighth grade students in an inner-city junior high school. The WISC performance IQ was chosen as the criterion measure. Four screening measures were used to select students for the WISC: an achievement test (the California…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a model for identifying gifted and talented students could be developed which would provide equal access to gifted programs for children of all ethnic and economic backgrounds. The culturally and ethnically diverse San Diego City School District provided a pool of over 35,000 children referred…

The efficacy of use of the Raven Progressive Matrices Test (RPM) in the selection of gifted children from traditionally underrepresented groups was investigated in a large-scale study with a diverse population. A total of 16,985 subjects were given the Raven Progressive Matrices Test. These included 22.7 percent Latinos, 37 percent Whites, 14…

STUDENTS UNDER 22 YEARS OF AGE WITH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE ABILITY TESTS SCORES OF 39 OR LESS WERE ENROLLED IN A SPECIAL "BLOCK" PROGRAM OF ENGLISH, PSYCHOLOGY, AND SPEECH. OF 110 STUDENTS IN THE FALL OF 1964, 30 HAD A C AVERAGE OR ABOVE, 91 COMPLETED THE SEMESTER, AND 75 REENROLLED IN THE NEXT TERM. TESTS SHOWED THAT THEY WERE IN THE LOWEST…

The development of psychological methods for assessing the abilities of deaf students could aid in the formation of educational programs and the provision of vocational guidance. A battery of tests designed to measure a wide range of functions was administered to all eighth grade students, average age 15, in schools for the deaf in Sweden. All…