Alternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students

Joyce VanTassel-Baska, Ed.D., is the Jody and Layton Smith Professor Emerita of Education and former Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary in Virginia, where she developed a graduate program and a research and development center in gifted education. She also initiated and directed the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University.

In Alternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students, published in 2008 by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), the reader is presented with a compilation of arguments for best practices by some of the most well-known and well-respected experts in the field of gifted education . . . In each chapter, the authors explore various methods for identifying students for gifted programs, as well as tracking students' educational progress. . . . Not to be found in Alternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students is a clear, straightforward answer regarding the best way to identify gifted students or assess students' learning. If only it were that easy. However, readers will gain an understanding of some of the key issues to consider and the options available for assessment. Teachers, administrators, and gifted program educators will find Alternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students to be a valuable tool in developing gifted programming in their school or district.,Davidson Institute for Talent Development, 1/1/08This book will stretch your thinking and give you alternatives to finding children who truly do need the support of programming designed to nurture their gifts . . . I loved how this book stepped through many different aspects of gifted identification, and I hope that those in a position to make a difference will consider its valid suggestions . . . My hope is that after reading this book, minds will be opened about the possibilities available. The ideas within are fair in their approach, and shortcomings are discussed as well as strengths for the various alternatives.,Linda Coleman,Bella Online, 1/1/10The process of identifying gifted and talented students can be a challenging task as school personnel strive to design identification profiles that take into consideration ethnic, socioeconomic, and a wide variety of individual differences. Alternative Assessments With Gifted and Talented Students, written for those involved in the identification process of gifted students, provides a thorough overview of alternative methods used to identify and assess the learning of gifted students. Based on research and experience, this book offers important information and perspectives about the advantages and disadvantages of using alternative assessment measures to identify gifted and talented children.,Gifted Child Today, Vol. 31, No. 2, 4/1/08

• List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements 1. An Overview of Alternative Assessment Measures for Gifted Learners and the Issues That Surround Their Use 2. Nontraditional Strategies for Identifying Nontraditional Gifted and Talented Students 3. Nonverbal Test Scores as One Component of an Identification System: Integrating Ability, Achievement, and Teacher Ratings 4. Traditional IQ: 100 Years of Misconception and Its Relationship to Minority Representation in Gifted Programs 5. Using Off-Level Testing and Assessment for Gifted and Talented Students 6. Intelligence Testing and Cultural Diversity: The Need for Alternative Instruments, Policies, and Procedures 7. Identifying Low-Income and Minority Students for Gifted Programs: Academic and Affective Impact of Performance-Based Assessment 8. The Rainbow Project: Using a Psychological Theory of Giftedness to Improve the Identification of Gifted Children 9. The Value of Traditional Assessments as Approaches to Identifying Academically Gifted Students 10. Nontraditional Applications of Traditional Testing 11. The Role of Creativity Tools and Measures 203 in Assessing Potential and Growth 12. Portfolio Assessment of Gifted Students 13. Product Assessment 14. Using Performance-Based Assessment to Document Authentic Learning 15. Epilogue: What Do We Know About Identifying and Assessing the Learning of Gifted Students? Appendix: Alternative Assessment Tools for Gifted Learners About the Editor About the Authors