Lewis Terman heralded the field of gifted education in the United States by tracing the development of high-IQ children from their childhood in the1920s to midlife and beyond. The contemporary field of gifted education, building on the work of Terman and others, presumes that gifted children become exceptional adults. Longitudinal research offers the opportunity for critical examination of the way gifted children and adolescents are identified and illuminates the characteristics and experiences that affect sustained achievement. Only long-term studies can directly address whether or not gifted education is finding the right people and doing the right things. The studies demonstrate the fit between longitudinal methodology and the central issues of gifted education. Collectively, they investigate the early determinants of later academic and career achievement and creativity while employing varied identification practices, perspectives, theoretical orientations, and populations.
