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Francis Galton
In 1969, Francis Galton publishes "Hereditory Genius" after conducting a biographical study of over 400 British men throughout history. He concludes that intellegence is hereditary. -
Binet and Simon
Binet and Simon were French psychologists who developed the first successful test of intelligence. Their intention was to identify school children who were at risk of falling behind academically. The Binet-Simon intelligence test was designed to test the knowledge and skills that the average French school child would have at a given age. The test assigns the child with a score for his mental age. If that score or number is higher than the child’s chronological age, the child is gifted. If the -
Lewis Terman
In 1916 Lewis Terman published The Measurement of Intelligence, a guide for his Stanfor Revision of the Binet-Simon scale. It would go on to have several more revisions in the years to come and would change the future of intelligence testing in America. -
Leta Hollingworth
Leta Hollingworth publishes what is thought to be the first textbook on gifted education, Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture. She is the first to study how to best serve gifted and talented students. She also gives credit to home environment and school structure for contributing to giftedness. She emphasized the importance of early identification, daily contact, and grouping gifted children with others with similar abilities. -
Launch of Sputnik
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik which puts an immediate emphasis on education for gifted students in the United States. This causes the government to question the quality of education in the U. S., specifically in math and science, and to spend a significant amount of money of identifying gifted students. As a result, educators immediately push to identify and serve gifted students. -
A Nation at Risk
A Nation at Risk reports that American students are no longer receiving a superior education and cannot compete with students from other developed countries. It encourages increased services for gifted and talented students. The federal government is also urged to create standards for identifying and servicing gifted and talented students including an appropriate curriculum. -
Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act
Congress passes The Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act. It has 3 primary components: Research to find effective teaching methods for gifted children, Identification and programming which is done at the National Research Center for the Gifted and Talented, and Awarding grants to school districts, colleges and states what focus on the gifted population of students. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The No Child Left Behind Act modifies again the definition of gifted and talented students. It’s goal is to bring proficiency of all students to grade level, but it does not specifically address the needs of gifted students. It also imposes punishments on schools, administrators and teachers when students do not achieve what the plan stipulates. The result of this act was to force teachers to spend their time with the low achieving students. -
Marland Report
The Marland Report presented for the first time a general definition of giftedness – “Children capable of high performance include those with demonstrated achievement and/or potential ability in any of the following areas, singly or in combination: 1) General intellectual ability, 2) Specific academic aptitude, 3) Creative or productive thinking, 4) Leadership ability, 5) Visual and performing arts, or 6) Psychomotor ability.” It also suggested that gifted and talented children were being depriv
