“Unlocking hidden talent among underrepresented learners: Evidence from the Dutch pilot of the Erasmus+ equity in gifted Education project”

This study examines culturally fair cognitive assessment as a strategy for improving equitable identification of gifted students within the Erasmus+ Equity in Gifted Education (EGE) project, an international initiative involving partners in the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, and Kosovo. Findings are reported from the initial Dutch pilot phase, where the Cognitive Abilities Test (COVAT) was administered digitally to 278 first-year secondary school students in two Dutch schools serving socioeconomically, culturally, and linguistically diverse populations across multiple educational tracks. Using a universal screening design, the study aimed to identify cognitive potential independently of teacher nomination, visible academic achievement, and language-dependent assessment. Students were classified as potentially gifted using local normative criteria. Results showed that 81 students met the local criteria for high reasoning potential. Notably, a substantial proportion of these students were enrolled in vocational and pre-vocational educational tracks, where gifted learners are often under-identified through traditional referral- and achievement-based identification systems. Situated within the broader three-pillar EGE model of fair identification, academic language support, and parent participation, the study suggests that culturally fair, nonverbal universal screening can make hidden talent more visible among migrant, multilingual, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and lower-track learners.