Identifying academically gifted children means more than just checking to see who got the highest scores in the class. Gifted children often share a set of common traits that set them apart from their peers. These students benefit from an education tailored to their specific set of needs, so recognizing their exceptional learning abilities is imperative in securing appropriate educational opportunities for them.
Learning Pace
Gifted students are often identified because they are bored in a traditional classroom. Standard methods of education use a great deal of repetition to ensure that an entire classroom of students moves forward with the basic concepts solidified. Gifted students are often those who simply don’t need the repetition. They understand a concept at a high rate of accuracy the first or second time they hear it.
Achievement
While high achievement in a traditional classroom setting can be a sign of a high-ability learner, not all gifted children excel or have the best grades in the class. Because they often feel bored by the pace of a standard class, advanced students may tune out, or simply lose motivation and earn sub-standard grades or poor quality work. These students need the motivation of a gifted environment in order to succeed. Testing for gifted abilities is one of the best ways to identify such students and get them the educational services they need to flourish.
Behavior
A room full of gifted students has its own energy and pulse. These students are eager to learn, inquisitive, insatiably curious, perseverant and talk a great deal. They are often described by their parents as exhausting, as they are always on the go physically and mentally. The process of identifying giftedness includes assessments by parents and educators familiar with the daily behavior of students.
Properly distinguishing academically gifted children is important first step in providing the educational services they need. Assessments of behavior, achievement and learning pace are all essential factors to consider in this process.
If you are reading this on anything other than OakCrestAcademy.org, it is stolen content.
If you are interested in learning more about Oak Crest Academy, visit our website here.
Keep up with our blog for more news and information here.
