The Use of Dynamic Testing to Reveal High Academic Potential and Under-Achievement in a Culturally Different Population

Abstract

The under-representation of children from culturally different and low SES backgrounds in programs for the gifted is widely recognised. The cause of this under-representation can, at least in part, he attributed to the inappropriateness of the identification methods used. This paper presents the findings of a major study which sought to determine the effectiveness of a specific dynamic testing method for identifying high academic potential in Australian Aboriginal children. The dynamic testing method used in the study involved a test—intervention—retest format where the intervention was designed to address predicted causes of under achievement. The results suggest that dynamic testing was an effective identification tool for the study children, revealing high academic potential in similar proportions to those in the instrument normative population. This study has implications for both gifted education and the education of culturally different children generally arising from the findings that many of the children were ‘invisible' under achievers and that it is possible to identify such underachievement through the dynamic testing process.

Dynamic testing and test anxiety amongst gifted and average‐ability children

“…Firstly, it employed a short training session only, with no follow‐up. Very few studies (e.g., Chaffey & Bailey, ; Chaffey, Bailey, & Vine, ) have investigated the longer term effects of dynamic testing for both average‐ability and gifted children. In these, it was revealed that after 6 weeks, the children who had received training still outperformed their untrained peers in analogy problem‐solving.…”

Supporting Australian Gifted Indigenous Students’ Academic Potential in Rural Settings

“…Contrary to the observations around mainstream under-identification, it is interesting to consider the suggestion that it may be culturally inappropriate to be striving for certain achievement, such as in academia, as this might be perceived as a threat to Indigenous group ideology (Garvis, 2006), and hence, the possibility of alienation from cultural peers (Chaffey & Bailey, 2008). Fear around alienation from peers may be associated with the 'forced choice dilemma' (Gross, 1989(Gross, , 1998Jung, Barnett, Gross, & McCormick, 2011;Jung, McCormick, & Gross, 2012), wherein a student feels they must choose between acceptance within their peer group or academic success.…”

“…They appear to be under-identified as being gifted and, hence, underrepresented in gifted programs (Plunkett, 2018;Thraves & Bannister-Tyrrell, 2017;Wood & Vialle, 2015), and face a double-edge sword with both recognition and outcomes within education. The research suggests that such underrepresentation in gifted programs may be as a result of: possible dissensio between Indigenous and mainstream culture (Cronin & Diezmann, 2002;Garvis, 2006;Thraves & Bannister-Tyrrell, 2017); the cultural insensitivity of traditional methods in use to identify gifted Indigenous students (Chaffey & Bailey, 2008;Cronin & Diezmann, 2002;Plunkett, 2018); the inadequacy of culturally sensitive and responsive curriculum in gifted programs (Lyons et al, 2006); and, global misunderstandings of Indigeneity in the mainstream curriculum. Furthermore, the suggestion exists that mainstream educators may, at times, have incorrect beliefs and attitudes about the academic capabilities of Australian Indigenous students (Dobia, & Roffey, 2017;Garvis, 2006;Lyons et al, 2006;Plunkett, 2018).…”

“…More equitable strategies and processes have been suggested by researchers to better support the identification of gifted Indigenous Australian students living in rural contexts. Dynamic testing was found to be particularly useful for the identification of Indigenous students (Chaffey & Bailey, 2008;Chaffey, Bailey, & Vine, 2003;Matthews & Farmer, 2017). Although dynamic testing can be conducted through a variety of methods, Chaffey and colleagues endorsed a 'test-intervention-retest' form of dynamic testing.…”

The Impact Training of a Program on Improving the Cognitive Competencies of Teachers in Identifying Gifted Preschoolers

“…(Hodge & Kemp, 2006). The identification of giftedness in childhood education is complex given teachers 'lack of knowledge in early identification of potentially gifted children (Chaffey;Bailey & Vine, 2015).The regular curriculum does not satisfy the requirements of gifted children (Neber, 2004), and gifted children may behave disruptively and may have low expectations if unchallenged (Corte, 2013).…”