A combined longitudinal and retrospective multiple-case study followed all students from their initial identification for a gifted and talented (g/t) program at the end of 3rd grade to the present. The purpose of the study was to determine the long-term effects of a three-year, self-contained program for students who were identified by the local school district as gifted and talented based on an identification procedure approved by the State Department of Education. The population consisted of 109 students from eleven elementary schools who were formally identified for a full-time, self-contained gifted class for the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades. The gifted classes were offered at two sites in the midwestern school district. Archival data and a questionnaire were used to collect data.A variety of statistical treatments were used to analyze the quantitative data available. Scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, California Achievement Test, ISTEP Test and SAT, along with GPA and class ranking, provided achievement data from the school records. Qualitative data were generated from a follow-up questionnaire.The findings indicate that students who participated in the program perceive it as having long-term positive effects. Students in the experimental group showed significant differences from the control group on all measures of achievement. Students in the experimental group chose majors and career goals in the math and science areas almost twice as often as students in the control group. Students in the control group were significantly different from the experimental group in initial verbal ability indicating possible socio-economic differences between the groups. This was reinforced in student responses for reasons why they chose not to participate in the g/t program. A significant number of experimental group responses reported feelings of isolation during program years. A statistically significant difference in lower math scores for girls was substantiated in quantitative measures on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills at the 3rd grade level and on the SAT. / Department of Educational Administration and Supervision
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/174747 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Alexander, Julie |
| Contributors | Drake, Thelbert L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 130 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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