Effects of Training On Teachers' Accuracy in the Identification of Gifted Children

Teachers are frequently asked to assist in the identification of intellectually gifted children. Their referrals, however, are relatively inaccurate, as they overlook many gifted children and nominate others who will not achieve the criterion for intellectual giftedness. This experimental study sought to determine if appropriate instruction would improve the accuracy of teacher-judged giftedness. The investigation was conducted in several rural schools in a region which was designated economically disadvataged. Teachers who were provided appropriate instruction were significantly more effective in their referrals, and equally efficient as those teachers in the control who had not been given instruction.