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Profoundly intelligent individuals score in the 99.9th percentile on IQ tests and have an exceptionally high level of intellectual prowess. These students are three standard deviations above the norm on the bell curve, so they are at the extreme end of the intelligence, or IQ, continuum.
Generally speaking, the following are signs of giftedness: · Extreme need for constant mental stimulation. · Ability to learn and process complex information rapidly. · Explore subjects in surprising depth seeking to understand the why and how as well as the what. · Insatiable curiosity - endless questions about how things work. · Precision in thinking and expression, i.e. a student who answers questions with “that depends...” · Ability to focus intently on a subject of interest for long periods of time. · Inability to concentrate on a task that is not intellectually challenging, such as those involving repetition or presenting material in bite-size pieces. If a parent sees these signs in a child, then the student should be tested to determine if they are gifted so their educational needs can be properly addressed. (www.ditd.org/ismychildgifted)
Like most people, profoundly intelligent students are unique individuals with varied and multifaceted talents and interests. Some demonstrate mastery in multiple areas while others excel in a single subject.
Children with extraordinary intellectual ability exist in all ethnic, social and economic backgrounds and in both genders. However, in order for their intellectual ability to be developed, it must be identified early and nurtured with an appropriately challenging educational program throughout their schooling years.
It is quiet because it denies an appropriate education to a relatively small group of students, our most gifted problem solvers, and gets little or no attention. It is a crisis because our failure to nurture highly intelligent students will deny future generations the opportunity to benefit from their achievements and deny civilization the opportunity to advance. Up to 20 percent of high school dropouts test in the gifted range and nearly half of all gifted students are underachievers because the educational program they are provided is too easy. We are losing our nation’s most precious natural resource – America’s brightest students. This loss of intellectual talent has far-reaching implications in terms of our position in the global marketplace.
A common misperception is that extremely gifted students can fend for themselves. This is a false assumption – all students, including gifted ones, need to be nurtured with access to an education that helps them learn and achieve at a level appropriate to their abilities.
There is no federal mandate for identifying or serving gifted students and only a fraction of a penny of every federal education dollar funds gifted education. No Child Left Behind actually makes it more difficult for gifted students to receive the education they need, as the focus is on meeting minimum standards, rather than allowing those who can, to soar. At the state policy level things are just as bleak with 19 states having no laws mandating gifted education and, of those with mandates, more than 40 percent have no available funding for gifted education. (www.GT-CyberSource.org/policy)
Many parents report that their children become frustrated, depressed and develop behavioral problems when they are not appropriately challenged in school. Students, especially girls, will “dumb-down” and hide their intelligence to fit in socially. As the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) points out, “There is physical and psychological pain in being thwarted, discouraged, and diminished as a person. To have ability, to feel power you are never allowed to use, can be traumatic. Many researchers consider the gifted the largest group of underachievers in education.”
There are several low-cost options to serve gifted students, but mostly it just takes flexibility on the part of educators such as teachers and administrators. Some of these low-cost options include: o Early entrance to kindergarten or first grade o Self-contained, multi-age gifted classes o Subject and/or grade acceleration o Dual enrollment (middle and high school/high school and college)
Depending on available funding, some states and local school districts may have a gifted education coordinator who oversees gifted programs. Sometimes local parent groups organize to focus on advocating on behalf of gifted students. The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) in Washington, D.C. advocates at a federal level for gifted children and their families. To search a database filled with resources for and about gifted students, visit www.GT-CyberSource.org. ### | |||||||||
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