-
William Torrey Harris
William Torrey Harris implements the first efforts to educate gifted students in public schools (National Association of Gifted Children, n.d.) -
Hereditary Genius
Hereditary Genius is published by Sir Francis Galton. This study argues that intelligence is passed down from generation to generation (Davis, Rimm, & Siegle, 2011, p. 5) -
First School for the Gifted
The first school focusing on the education of gifted children opens in Worcester, Massachusetts (Davis, et. al., 2011, p. 4) (NAGC, n.d.) -
Binet-Simon Intelligence Tests
Alfred Binet, with the help of Theodore Simon, develops a test with the goal of identifying highly intelligent children. He introduces the idea of mental age which explains that children grow in intelligence and can be on target intellectually for their age, behind, or ahead (Davis, et. al, 2011, p. 6) (NAGC, n.d.) -
Henry Goddard
Henry Goddard works with Binet and Simon in France. He brings the Binet-Simon test back to America and translates it into English and introduces it to America educators and psychologists (NAGC, n.d.). -
Lewis Terman
Terman is considered the "father of the gifted movement." The first of his historical contributions to the field of gifted education is his work in the Americanization of the Binet-Simon tests producing the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale in 1916. (Davis, et. al., 2011, p. 6) -
The Army Alpha and Beta tests
These tests were developed as a result of the United States' entrance into World War I. The tests were given to over one million recruits and legitimized the use of intelligence testing in both academia and with the general public. (NAGC, n.d.) -
Lulu Stedman's "opportunity room"
Lulu Stedman's "Opportunity Class" allowed for students who did not receive the advanced instruction they needed in a regular class. She argued that it was a "social necessity" that these special students be offered the opportunity to reach their maximum potential. The curriculum was balanced between advancement and enrichment. (Jolly, 2006, p. 50) -
Leta Hollingworth teaches a class
Hollingworth taught a group of 50 students divided into two classes: one with an average IQ of 165 and one with an average IQ of 145. (Davis et. al., 2011, p. 7 - 8) This class would yield over 40 research articles, a textbook, and a foundation for Hollingworth's word at the Spreyer School. (NAGC, n.d.) -
Genetic Studies of Genius series
The second of Lewis Terman's historical contributions, Terman begins the longest running longitudinal study of over 1,500 gifted children. -
First gifted textbook
Hollingworth publishes Gifted Child: Their Nature and Nurture which summarizes her experiences with gifted children. She would write another book about her experiences in 1942 titled Children Above 180 IQ Stanford-Binet: Origin and Development. (Davis, et. al., 2011, p. 8) -
National Association for Gifted Children is founded
NAGC is founded under the leadership of Ann Isaacs -
Launching of Sputnik
The launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik sparked the U.S. to reexamine the quality of American schooling particularly in math and science. As a result, a substantial amount of money is allocated to begin identifying the brightest and talented students who would benefit most from advanced STEM programming. (NAGC, n.d.) -
National Defense Education Act
This is the first and most extensive effort up to this point in support of gifted education by the federal government. The purpose was to improve American education to bolster security faced from foreign threats, particularly those from the Soviet Union. (Hunt, 2016) (NAGC, n.d.) -
The Marland Report is published
The first formal definition of giftedness is issued. Along with academic and intellectual talent, the definition includes leadership ability, visual and performing arts, and creative thinking. Psychomotor ability is included in the first publishment but excluded from future revisions. (NAGC, n.d.) -
The Office of Gifted and Talented
This office housed within the U.S. Office of Education is given official status (NACG, n.d.) -
The Education for all Handicapped Children Act
This Act establishes a federal mandate to serve all children with special education needs, however it does not include gifted and talented students. -
Principles of differentiation
These principles were developed by the Curriculum Council of the National/State Leadership Institute on the Gifted and Talented led by Dr. Sandra Kaplan. The principles described ways in which curriculum could be differentiated to meet the needs of gifted students. Study of these principles has led to the recognition that the most successful way to teach gifted students is effectively matching instruction to the needs of gifted and talented students. (Roberts, 1999) -
A Nation At Risk
Scores of the brightest students in America and their failure to compete with their international counterparts is published. Included in the report are policies and practices in gifted education that raise academic standards. -
Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act
The Javis Act aims to support talent development in the United States. Currently, it is the only federal program dedicated specifically to gifted and talented students. The act does not provide funds to local G/T programs, however. (NAGC, n.d.) -
National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
The NRC was created for the purpose of focusing on research in the field of gifted education. The center completed several important studies in the field of gifted and talented education. (NAGC, n.d.) -
National Excellence: The Case for Developing America's Talent
The U.S. Department of Education issues a report that describes how America is neglecting its most talented youth. Recommendations that influence the most recent history of gited education are also included. (NAGC, n.d.) -
NAGC publishes Gifted Program standards
The National Association for Gifted Children develops several sets of Pre K-12 gifted program standards ranging from student standards to teacher development standards. -
No Child Left Behind
The NCLB act included the Javits program. In this act, the definition of gifted students is modified again: "students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities. (NAGC, n.d.) -
A Nation Deceived
The Berlin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa publishes a national research-based report on acceleration strategies for advanced learners.
