Inocente Ramirez II has been working in education since 1972, first as a reading and language arts teacher and then as an administrator. Today, he is the assistant principal at Dorothy Compton Middle School, which is located in an impoverished area at the Southern tip of Texas. But Ramirez is making sure that his students can still see how far their education can take them. And he’s using Duke TIP to do it. … [Read more...] about Case Study: Using TIP to Support Under-Resourced Students
Talent Search
How Will They Do in High School?
One of the most common questions that parents and educators ask when they receive their seventh grade students' above level test scores from either the SAT or ACT as part of talent search participation is this: How much better will students do on this test in high school when they take it again? … [Read more...] about How Will They Do in High School?
Above-Level Tests Identify Extraordinary Academic Potential
Do extremely high test scores identify individuals who will grow up to achieve extraordinary accomplishments? This is the broad question asked in a collaboration between Duke TIP and researchers from Vanderbilt University who led the longitudinal Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY). The study also assessed whether test scores identified different types of academic promise and whether outcomes from Duke TIP participants would be similar to outcomes from SMPY participants. … [Read more...] about Above-Level Tests Identify Extraordinary Academic Potential
America’s Got Talent
American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, and America's Got Talent have been around for years, and when I was a kid there was Star Search (on which a young Britney Spears appeared) which lasted well over 10 seasons. These shows mostly feature talented singers, musicians and dancers who are often desperate to get their shot at stardom. And only a handful of them go on to become household names. … [Read more...] about America’s Got Talent
Are Giftedness and Intelligence One and the Same?
Do you believe your academic abilities are fixed and cannot be changed? Or do you believe that with effort and appropriate support you can improve them? What you think about these questions shows your “mindset,” and for many people, the answer changes depending on the ability in question. Understanding these mindsets is especially important for the education of academically talented students. … [Read more...] about Are Giftedness and Intelligence One and the Same?
Above-Level Testing
Above-level tests are a part of most talent search models that help gifted students identify their academic strengths. Students who participate in above-level testing take assessments earlier than the tests were designed to be administered. For example, a fourth, fifth, or sixth grade student can take the ACT EXPLORE®, which is designed for eighth graders, or seventh grade students can take the SAT or ACT, which are designed for high school juniors and seniors as college entrance exams. When you … [Read more...] about Above-Level Testing
Talent Search Model: Stanley
In the summer of 1968, Julian Stanley, a professor at Johns Hopkins University learned about a 12-year-old boy named Joe. Joe was an excellent student for his age. In fact, he could be found helping graduate students in computer science with some of their projects. To test Joe’s intelligence, Dr. Stanley arranged for Joe to take the SAT the following fall when he was in the eighth grade. It turned out that Joe scored better than most Johns Hopkins students, even though he hadn’t even started … [Read more...] about Talent Search Model: Stanley
An Interview with Julian C. Stanley
Editor's note: Julian C. Stanley, who died on August 12, 2005 at the age of 87, established the talent search model when he began the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) at Johns Hopkins University in 1971. He found that grade-level tests did not provide enough information about the abilities of academically talented students. Stanley decided to give a large group of seventh-graders the Scholastic Aptitude Test (now the SAT Reasoning Test). Stanley found that the SAT, given as an … [Read more...] about An Interview with Julian C. Stanley