During the past five years, the number of states mandating gifted education programming has dropped from 31 to 23 states. It is no longer possible to contact the person responsible for programming at the state department of education because many of these positions are vacant. Simultaneously, program opportunities such as enrichment have decreased significantly in number and scope. Many of these programs are no longer part of the regular education curriculum.

Recent research studies indicated that gifted elementary students know much of the curriculum before the beginning of the school year (Reis, 1993), and that high achieving students study less than one hour per day (National Assessment of Educational Progress), thus implying that where gifted programs exist, they may be limited in scope and substance. To make matters even more complex, as school districts have eliminated gifted programs, state universities have reduced graduate education and professional development in the field.

As a field, gifted education has become somewhat fragmented, making it more time consuming and laborious to find out where effective gifted programs serve the intellectual and academic needs of the gifted populations. Fragmentation has led to a paucity of information in the field, compounded by inadequate professional development as universities eliminate their graduate programs in this area.

To address this problem, the ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education is collecting data for an online searchable database of selected gifted and talented programs currently in operation in the United States. The database is available online on the ERICEC Website at no cost to the public. Professional educators as well as others can access the database online, search the database by state, and acquire information on effective gifted programs and offerings that might match the needs of their population.

Procedures.
The process used for the database development began with an extensive literature review to identify criteria for determining the effectiveness of programs for gifted students. The criteria and a questionnaire to be completed by program nominees were then reviewed by a wide range of education professionals in the field.

For purposes of this database, the definition of gifted is the 1988 Javits definition:
“The term gifted and talented student means children and youths who:
1. Give evidence of higher performance capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who
2. Require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools in order to develop such capabilities fully.”

Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act (Title IV, Part B of P.L. 100-297)

Gifted education programs that employ the above definition, ideally would be characterized by the following attributes (U.S.Department of Education, 1993):

• Seeks variety–looks throughout a range of disciplines for students with diverse talents;
• Uses many assessment measures–uses a variety of appraisals so that schools can find students in different talent areas and at different ages;
• Is free of bias–provides students of all backgrounds with equal access to appropriate opportunities;
• Is fluid–uses assessment procedures that can accommodate students who develop at different rates and whose interests may change as they mature;
• Identifies potential–discovers talents that are not readily apparent in students, as well as those that are obvious;
• Assesses motivation–takes into account the drive and passion that play a key role in accomplishment; and
• Is integrated–provides assessment to identify the specific talent areas that the program is designed to address.

References
Reis, S., et.al. (1993). Why Not Let High Ability Students Start School in January? The Curriculum Compacting Study. Research Monograph 93106. Storrs, CT: National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.

U. S. Department of Education, (1997). The Condition of Education. National Assessment of Educational Progress, National Center for Education Statistics.

U.S.Department of Education (1993). National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talent, p.26).

Selection Criteria

Gifted programs that meet the following criteria for effectiveness will be included in the database:
1. Create an environment in which the special needs of each gifted student is recognized and met through the provision of appropriate challenges;
2. Use a variety of appraisals so that there is not undue reliance on a single criterion;
3. Provide an array of services that are integrated with identified areas of giftedness or talent and meet the specific needs of gifted students;
4. Develop and use identification procedures which recognize diverse gifts and talents of students and identify these gifts and talents through the use of multiple criteria;
5. Develop a program of staff development and community education that includes all the stakeholders, such as administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, and community leaders;
6. Provide information to enable parents and other members of the community to understand and contribute to the goals of the program and the educational process;
7. Provide evidence of serving the learner needs that the program is designed to address;

Please disseminate as widely as possible this project description and the request for program nominations.

Note. This is a Web-based project. Program nominations may be submitted by e-mail and through our Web site. A Web-based nomination form is at https://ericec.org/gifted/dbnom.html. Completed questionnaires will be accepted ONLY through our Web site or by email. If you have questions, or if the program has no access to electronic transmission, please contact Sandra Berger at 703-264-9471 or [email protected].

CEC and ERIC EC are not responsible for program’s claims of effectiveness by their authors, creators, or users. Persons who want validity data are urged to contact the program.