The ability of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children to correctly identify videotaped segments as programs or commercials was examined. Results indicate that, when a task requiring minimal verbal response is used, preschoolers demonstrate an awareness of commercials as distinct from programs. (Author/MP)

Four issues of gifted education for which more attention should be paid to the development of defensible rationales are examined, touching upon identification of the gifted, process models of gifted education, teachers of the gifted, and program evaluation. (DLS)

It was found, among other things, that six of the 24 variables on the Learning Style Inventory significantly discriminated between gifted and normal elementary age Ss, and that gifted Ss also tended to be highly individualistic in their preferences for sound, silence, interaction, temperature variations, intake, mobility, and time. (DLS)

An expectancy model for predicting academic achievement was found to be a potentially useful tool for understanding factors that influence effort and performance. (MM)

A large-scale study identified 199 high school students as gifted analytically, creatively, and/or practically and enrolled them in a summer class in psychology. Students receiving instruction that better matched their ability patterns outperformed those who received nonmatching instruction. Identifying students for creative and practical…

This article presents a model for the identification, instruction, and assessment of gifted children. The rationale behind a unified model is outlined, and the use of the triarchic model in a variety of subject areas is described. A validation study using the model to teach high school psychology is reported. (Author/PB)

This paper critically reviews the concept of multipotentiality as it is applied in the literature on gifted children. Findings from a study of 1,000 gifted students are cited; above-level assessment of abilities and preferences revealed markedly differentiated profiles for 95% of students studied, suggesting that the term…

About 30 states have statutes on educating the gifted and talented. Identifying and teaching gifted children are a challenge. With states in a growing fiscal crisis and the costs of tests mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, gifted education will struggle to maintain what it has rather than build. (MLF)

Some effects of using unidimensional item response theory (IRT) were examined when the assumption of unidimensionality was violated. Adaptive and nonadaptive tests were used. It appears that use of a unidimensional model can bias parameter estimation, adaptive item selection, and ability estimation for the two types of testing. (TJH)

The characteristics of unidimensional ability estimates obtained from data generated using multidimensional compensatory models were compared with estimates from non-compensatory item response theory (IRT) models. The least squares matching procedures used represent a good method of matching the two multidimensional IRT models. (TJH)

A comprehensive theory is needed to explain the gifted/creative child's developing intelligence. Literature-based criteria are suggested for evaluating theories and for distinguishing theories from program applications, within four broad categories: nature of the gifted child, education and identification, framework of the theory, and criteria for…

These suggestions for teachers of gifted students with hearing impairments address definitional dilemmas affecting this population and special screening and evaluation problems. Guidance is given concerning choosing a "gifted" definition, selecting measures for identifying giftedness, and determining the reference group. Teachers are urged to look…

A pentagonal implicit theory of giftedness and five criteria for designating a person as gifted are considered. Research with 24 college students and 39 parents of gifted children assessed whether this theory captures people's intuitions about giftedness and whether they use these criteria to evaluate others. Implications for educational practice…

Investigated joint factor structure of Differential Abilities Scale and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised for 115 children. Compared theoretically supportable models (Spearman's General factor; Wechsler's Verbal, Performance, and Freedom from Distractibility factors; Elliott's verbal, nonverbal, spatial, and diagnostic perspective)…