Identification of the Gifted and Talented: Report of the Connecticut Task Force on Identification. Working Draft

The report (in working draft form) of the Connecticut Task Force on Identification of the Gifted and Talented discusses general systems and instruments of identification, identifying the academically gifted, identifying the disadvantaged gifted, and identifying special types of giftedness. Excerpts from Connecticut State Department of Eduation publications are provided to show the broadened conception of giftedness includes a wide spectrum of intellectual aptitudes and abilities such as creativity and talent in the graphic and performing arts. The section on general systems and instruments describes possible screening and selection sequences, gives samples of rating scales and checklists which can be incorporated into identification systems, and summarizes the results of a study on the development of an evaluation procedure to identify gifted children in one Connecticut district. Definitions and characteristics of the academically gifted child are discussed. Reviewed is the literature on the identification of gifted children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and included are two papers on evaluating talent potential in the disadvantaged. Offered are suggestions for identification procedures in the special areas of the performing arts, creative thinking abilities, and independent study. Final sections include an annotated bibliography of approximately 50 standardized identification instruments and a bibliography on identification of approximately 50 items. (DB)