Talent Search: Student and Parent Perceptions of Out-of-Level Testing

Abstract

Every year, hundreds of thousands of academically gifted 7th- and 8th-grade students participate in 1 of 4 regional or several local talent searches, through which they take the ACT or SAT as an out-of-level test. Participation in a talent search offers young students the opportunity to learn about their abilities, practice taking the standardized test they will eventually take for college admittance, obtain information about educational opportunities, and become eligible for rigorous summer and weekend education programs with similarly gifted peers. Very little information is available from the perspectives of students and parents regarding what it is like to take these tests as a 7th or 8th grader. We surveyed 909 students and their parents about their reasons for participating in one of the regional talent searches, the ways in which they prepared for the test, and their feelings while taking the test. Results suggest that students participated in the talent search primarily to gain experience taking the test and to learn about their abilities. Students and parents reported that taking the test was a positive experience for the student. Parents reported being proud that their children were invited to take the test and felt that participation was an honor.

A Critique of the Literature on Parenting Gifted Learners

“…Four studies of nontraditional programming examined the views of parents whose gifted children participated in programs outside public education in specialized schools (Hishinuma, 2000), early entrance programs (Noble, Childers, & Vaughan, 2008), talent search programs (Jarosewich & Stocking, 2003), and homeschool settings (Hopper, 2003).…”

“…Specific themes these authors identified included families’ roles in providing enriched language and learning experiences and the potential roles of affective differences in areas such as family environment, sibling issues, emotional development, and growing up. Other recent research that captures parents’ understanding and perceptions of giftedness can be characterized as including concerns within specific cultures, parents’ perceptions of giftedness and ability, their attitudes toward gifted programming, and views on nontraditional services (see, for example, Campbell & Mandel, 1990; Jarosewich & Stocking, 2003; Shumow, 1997; Strom, Johnson, & Strom, 1990). This literature also hints at the perceived slights and actual inadequacies that parents may encounter when engaging with schools about the education of their children (see, for example, F.…”

Comparisons between talent search students qualifying via scores on standardized tests and via parent nomination

“…Participation in talent search testing enhanced students' knowledge about the nature of their academic abilities (Ablard, Mills, & Hoffhines, 1996;Assouline & Lupkowski-Shoplik, 1997;Brody, 1998;Jarosewich & Stocking, 2003;VanTassel-Baska, 1989) and educational and career aspirations (Benbow & Arjmand, 1990;Brody;Burton, 1988;Wilder & Casserly, 1988; VanTassel-Baska). Talent search educational R e e programs provided students with opportunities to experience greater academic challenge (Enersen, 1993;Mills, Ablard, & Lynch, 1992), to take more rigorous advanced courses including AP and honors levels (Barnett & Durden, 1993), to have greater acceleration during high school (Barnett & Durden;OlszewskiKubilius & Grant, 1996), and to increase their educational aspirations (OlszewskiKubilius & Grant).…”

“…A large body of research about talent search testing and its educational programs has accumulated (e.g., Ablard, Mills, & Hoffhines, 1996;Assouline & Lupkowski-Shoplik, 1997;Barnett & Durden, 1993;Bartkovich & Mezynski, 1981;Benbow, 1992aBenbow, , 1992bBenbow & Arjmand, 1990;Benbow, Perkins, & Stanley, 1983;Brody, 1998;Burton, 1988;Enersen, 1993;Jarosewich & Stocking, 2003;Kolitch & Brody, 1992;Lee, Matthews, & Olszewski-Kubilius, in press;Lynch, 1992;Mills, Ablard, & Lynch, 1992;Olszewski-Kubilius, 1998a, 1998bOlszewski-Kubilius & Grant, 1996;Olszewski-Kubilius & Lee, 2005;Swiatek & Benbow, 1991;Swiatek & Lupkowski-Shoplik, in press;VanTassel-Baska, 1998;Wilder & Casserly, 1988). Talent search was developed by Dr. Julian Stanley at Johns Hopkins University as part of the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) in the early 1970s.…”

Giftedness and evidence for reproducibly superior performance: an account based on the expert performance framework

“…Many studies use academic achievement to define giftedness (Hoover & Feldhusen, 1990;Shore, 2000), others use various cut-off scores on tests such as the IQ test (Hollingworth, 1942;Gottfried et al, 1994) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) (Stanley et. al., 1974;Jarosewich & Stocking, 2003). Still others rely on social criteria, such as teacher nominations (Kammer, 1984; for a review, see Konstantopoulous et al, 2001).…”