Identification

The achievement gap in underrepresented students, which upon reflection is an opportunity gap between teaching and student needs, requires we not look at CLED students through a deficit lens (the habit of interpreting cultural and racial difference as a lack of ability); instead, we focus on the areas of strength and potential. To see some of these differing characteristics among CLED students, click on the appropriate links:

Gifted ELs are sometimes overlooked during the identification process. Among the barriers to identification are the following:

• Gifted ELs may exhibit characteristics that are different from their native English speaking peers
• Children who are less fluent in English are sometimes incorrectly viewed as having lower cognitive abilities than their fluent English speaking peers
• Language differences often coincide with cultural differences

It is helpful for teachers to recognize the many ways giftedness exhibits itself in EL students. The following descriptions will help teachers see the abilities of EL students within their classrooms:

• Demonstrates an ability to code-switch between heritage language and English
• Acquires English (or a new language) faster than peers
• Shows aptitude for negotiating between cultures
• Assumes leadership roles with other students from the same culture
• Reads significantly beyond grade level in the heritage language
• Assumes adult responsibilities at a young age
• Exhibits rapid acculturation or integration into American culture
• Unearths creative problem-solving
• Interprets and translates for peers and adults at high levels of accuracy
• Illustrates richness in imaginary and informal language
• Reads in heritage language two or more grades above grade level
• Excels in math achievement
• Creative thinking will be expressed through elaborate descriptions. Their language is rich in imagery.
• Imaginative storytellers
• Values their oral traditions and history
• Exceptional ability to express themselves in their native language
• Displays great respect for authority figures
• Avoids conflict, quickly perceives injustice, and enjoys working with others in a cooperative way because pleasing others and harmony is important 

Exploratory Study on the Identification of English Learners for Gifted and Talented Programs by the National Center for Research on Gifted Education (NCRGE) at the University of Connecticut. Published by the National Center for Research on Gifted Education, University of Connecticut June 2018  

Differences in learning preferences can be attributed to brain structure (referred to as nature) as well as social and familial background (referred to as nurture), but each plays a role influenced by multiple other factors, including health, emotions, diet, stress, sleep, anxiety, safety, motivation, and opportunity. The brain responds to enrichment, to stimulation, and to challenge. Though the brain develops more slowly in some areas for each gender, we give them experiences to use that portion of the brain. All parts of the brain must be honed and used in order for connections to form and grow, just like exercise increases muscle mass. None of these gender learning preferences should be viewed as deficits creating lower expectations for any student. Neither should any of these learning variances preclude a student from referral or acceptance for gifted services.

Educational considerations for boys

• Create brief, but active lessons without excessive writing or note-taking. Boys thrive on competition so consider creating challenges for them including exemplars and rubrics.
• Ensure lessons have hands-on components through the use of manipulatives or other materials.
• Provide boys with opportunities for physical release of energy through large work spaces with plenty of room for movement and incorporating breaks with physical activity. Consider that boys do not hear as well as girls and ask for instruction repetition or move boys closer to the front of the room.
• Recognize that the male brain attempts to recharge or reset periodically. Provide pictures, diagrams, symbols, and moving objects instead of a multitude of words during class lessons to retain boys’ attention levels. Allow them to create visual representations of ideas.

Educational considerations for girls

• Consider arranging your classroom so girls are part of groups that face one another.
• Recognize that girls are more sensitive to sound and do not respond to loud, sharp, and repetitive tones.
• Reconsider cold-calling girls and instead give them time to prepare an answer. Ensure boys and girls are provided the same opportunities to answer questions to prevent conversation monopolization.
• Encourage girls to use spatial-mechanical skills to enhance their comfort with abstract concepts so that they may engage in tasks involving physics and engineering because of their discomfort with abstract concepts. Include word walls and descriptive phrases to connect formulas and figures to verbal strengths. In addition, consider group collaboration on these types of assignments. Encourage girls to take safe risks to build their self-esteem. 

Here are some issues surrounding assessment and culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse (CLED) students:

• The impact of economic vulnerability. It is easier to identify culturally and linguistically diverse students from middle- and upper-class homes than from economically disadvantaged homes. Students from economically disadvantaged households often lack the experiences to develop their academic language to the level of their peers from middle class homes resulting in lower scores on standardized tests. Economic vulnerability does not mean only the lack of financial resources, but doing without needed emotional and academic support systems, lack of intellectual development resources, and the absence of important role models for learning and development (source: Juntune, Kaya, & Tyrrell, 2017).
• Weak first language proficiency hinders second language development. Students who have not had the opportunities to develop a strong foundation in their native language often struggle in academic settings making it difficult to assess their ability level (source: Slavin & Cheung, 2003).
• Opportunity to learn the material and processes encountered on assessments, both inside and outside of school.  Differences in opportunity to learn can result from family economic status, race/ethnicity, language, and gender.

Assessment Equity

If we are to achieve true equity in identifying culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse (CLED) students, we must address and remove some of the barriers facing these students. Using the same assessment with students who may perform differently may not be an equitable practice.

Finding assessments that are completely free of cultural bias is nearly impossible. Any assessment is biased based on the learning experiences of the student taking it. Even nonverbal assessments have images that may not be understood by CLED students. For example, an analogy of a house to a bedroom may not have the same meaning to a student who has never lived in a traditional house. All assessments must be scrutinized and used with careful consideration.

• Review the publisher’s technical documentation of each assessment used in your identification process and look for a difference in performance between groups of students. Does one group perform better on an assessment than another?  
• Review each assessment item for bias. Are there groups of students that perform better on this item than others? If so, then consider that the item does not measure what it should and consider discarding the item.
• Do your assessments meet the purpose you intend? Do they measure skills that correlate to your gifted services? Consider varying the assessments used in identification to better align with the students. 

One way to cast a wider net for the identification of CLED students is to screen all children during one of the early years of their education (grades 1-3). Administering a non-verbal test to all students has proven to raise the identification of CLED students. Look for the top 10% or so in each demographic and refer them for additional G/T screening. Be careful not to allow a universal screener to act as a gatekeeper for any students who have been referred for G/T screening through other means such as parent or teacher referral. The use of universal screeners in addition to local norms (discussed in Placement Considerations) can significantly increase representation in your gifted program from underserved populations.

Finding EL Gifted Students

When attempting to identify more gifted English learners, look at their language level movement through English as a Second Language (ESOL) services. As you scan through student records, ask the following questions:

• Are there students who have progressed through the language levels faster than others or the state trajectory? A student will typically take up to six (6) years to progress from the beginning of level 1 to the end of a level 3 in Proficiency Level.
• To fully understand a student’s background, locate information submitted at the district Welcome Center and review information about the student’s culture, hopes, and interests. How quickly did they acquire their native language?

Based upon the information gathered and any other relevant information, the student can be referred for G/T screening or at least identified for talent development (discussed in Placement Considerations). 

One more consideration for the assessment process is to provide CLED students exposure, or frontload, experiences and activities required in gifted services prior to the assessment process. These experiences and activities would focus on building language experiences for EL students in addition to promoting divergent and convergent thinking. This action helps close opportunity gaps and allows individual talents and abilities to surface. The end-goal should always be to discover those hidden “gems” sitting in our classroom that tend to get overlooked for Gifted/Talented programs.

It is imperative that all children have the appropriate accommodations in the assessment phase to see their true potential. Any student receiving accommodations in the regular classroom is entitled to those same modifications during the assessment phase for Gifted/Talented identification.  

English Learners

Discuss with parents and teachers regarding English learners to determine the need for Spanish assessments or interpreters to assist with the instructions and questions. Consider cultural tendencies when students are asked to answer questions orally.

Assessment Environment

Providing the proper assessment environment will ensure the results from the assessment provide the best picture of the student’s potential. Assessment proctors should make notes regarding interesting student behaviors and mannerisms during the assessment. This may provide additional information regarding assessment anomalies that can signal alternate assessments or assessment environments are warranted. The goal is to provide an assessment environment where every child can produce the results that enable the data provided to selection committees be of the utmost in reliability.

Teacher checklists or observation forms may be part of the data collected to determine whether or not a student shows gifted potential. Because people do not always see their own bias, teacher observation instruments may evoke personal bias. Some teachers may refuse to “recommend” a student because of behaviors manifested in the regular classroom that they have determined are not characteristic of a gifted learner. Culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse (CLED) students experience school in different ways and often manifest their giftedness in ways that are misunderstood or misinterpreted by teachers who come from middle class or backgrounds different from a perceived norm. In order to achieve equitable identification practices, teachers must understand the multiple identities they bring to the classroom and must be able to understand the various multiple identities that exist within the students they are observing. Parts to consider in the multiple identities making up any individual include the following:

• Age
• Gender
• Religion or spirituality
• Socio-economic status
• Race/ethnicity
• Sexual identification

Teachers must become culturally aware of the diverse students in their classroom and include culturally responsive practices when providing opportunities for students to show gifted characteristics and potential. As students are provided these opportunities, teachers keep record of the gifted potential or characteristics students illustrate in order to document as much information as possible on the checklist or observation forms. If warranted, rotate all children through the gifted specialist or teacher to complete dynamic assessments of children who may not have had the same opportunities as the others. Another option is to have gifted specialists visit all Title 1 classrooms to act as talent scouts. The specialist delivers instruction while the teacher watches to recognize gifted potential. It is important to keep at the forefront of your mind that the students we are looking to identify and serve exhibit a need for something other than what the regular curriculum can provide. When looking to find students who have this potential, compare students to other students of the same age, background, and environment, not to a stereotype of characteristics you think a gifted student should exhibit. As teachers become more skilled in recognizing gifted potential in CLED students, then the shift from deficit mindset to talent scout will change the trajectory of many students. CLED students missing from proper gifted identification will finally be receiving appropriate and equitable gifted services. 

Educating parents about gifted programs and assessment opportunities may take more effort in order to reach the parents of our CLED students. Consider an outreach to the families and communities that is tailored to families’ needs; all families have not had the same interaction with schools. Instead of expecting families to come to you, go to them and meet with them in their environment and meeting places. Partner with an organization that already has value in the community. Consider weekend meetings to reach those unable to attend on school days or nights. Refer parents to some of the resources included in the parent section of this website so they are able to view their children through a gifted lens. 

Provide opportunities for translators or interpreters to contact parents offering to help those who may be struggling to complete checklists or observation forms. Parents are with their children for the majority of their first six years of life and can provide valuable input regarding gifted potential.

Research has indicated that CLED students’ IQ scores can be 10-20 points lower than the national norm. When comparing students with others of the “same age, experience, or environment” as described in the state’s definition of Gifted/Talented, the use of national norms does not apply to that comparison. Districts, or better yet, each campus should adopt different local norming strategies for identifying Gifted/Talented students to ensure all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds are eligible for gifted services. When districts have more segregated rather than integrated schools, local norms can boost gifted identification of underrepresented populations by as much as 300% (Rambo-Hernandez, 2020). Local norms allow districts to find those hidden students who would be missing from identification using national norms. When identifying the top 5% of a campus for gifted services using local norms, the district will be meeting those students’ needs for advanced curriculum. When local norms are used for district identification results, districts can develop procedures for intra-district transfers. Portability of identification is not confirmed in the new school until re-evaluation provides evidence of exceptionality according to that school’s criteria. Note: It is the district’s responsibility to explain to parents and students that identification and programming may not continue when the student transfers to another school or district.

National vs. Local Norms

In keeping true to identifying students who require something more than the traditional curriculum provides and comparing students from the same experience and environment, using national norms to identify which students qualify for gifted services will not assist in finding those culturally, linguistically, or economically diverse (CLED) students. The only comparison group that will help find these students is to use norms from the local student population, called local norms. Local norms may be calculated at the state level, district level (provided the district is well integrated), or campus level. According to Peters, Makel, and Rambo-Hernandez “the use of local norms … can increase the equity of advanced educational programs and services while also better achieving their stated purpose of providing additional challenge to those students who need it.” As a result, they have developed a spreadsheet to assist in this process and written articles proving the use of local norms increase identification of underrepresented students.

Another way to increase representation in gifted programs for CLED students is to be flexible when evaluating data used for identification. For example, a district usually requires four out of five positive indicators on their profile for identification into the gifted program. Consider altering the criteria for CLED students by identifying those who have three out of five positive indicators. For those campuses containing pockets of well-identified populations, consider increasing to five out of five positive indicators.

In the case of using identification matrices, consider not overweighing achievement tests by awarding a high percentage of matrix points on those items. Look past composite test scores and find student strengths on subtests. Another consideration is to increase the weight in other items such as portfolios or whole-class experiences which may better illustrate CLED students’ gifted characteristics. 

In order to provide CLED students an alternate path to G/T identification, consider the creation of a talent development program. In a talent development program students who barely miss identification into the gifted program (or whom teachers may refer) are clustered, or placed, with the gifted students. This will require you to shift your thinking from identifying then serving to serving then identifying. Students in the talent development program are provided access to divergent/convergent thinking opportunities and possibly some aspects of G/T programming. After a year or two in this environment all students are automatically screened for gifted services. When using this model, careful consideration regarding students placed in the gifted cluster classroom should be considered.