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History of Gifted Education

  • Binet-Simon Intelligence Test

    Binet-Simon Intelligence Test
    Alfred Binet was a French psychologist best-remembered for developing the first widely used intelligence test. Binet and his colleague Theodore Simon developed a series of tests designed to assess mental abilities. Rather than focus on learned information such as math and reading, Binet instead concentrated on other mental abilities such as attention and memory. The scale they developed became known as the Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale.
  • Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

    Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale
    Lewis Terman, a psychologist at Stanford University, revised the scale and standardized the test with subjects drawn from an American sample. The test became known as the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. The test is still in use today and remains one of the most widely used intelligence tests.
  • The Special Opportunity Class

    The Special Opportunity Class
    In order to understand what best classroom practices would best suit gifted students, Leta S. Hollingworth began the Special Opportunity Class at P. S. 165 in New York City for gifted students.
  • The National Association of Gifted Children was founded

    The National Association of Gifted Children was founded
    The National Association of Gifted Children was founded under the leadership of Ann Isaacs in 1954.
  • Russia Launched Sputnik

    Russia Launched Sputnik
    The Soviet Union launched Sputnik, sparking the United States to reexamine its human capital and the quality of American schooling, particularly in mathematics and science. As a result, substantial amounts of money were poured into identifying the brightest and most talented students who would best profit from advanced math, science, and technology programming.
  • The Marland Report

    The Marland Report
    The Marland Report is a watershed document in the field of gifted education as it is the first national report on the state of the art. The first formal definition is issued encouraging schools to define giftedness broadly, along with academic and intellectual talent the definition includes leadership ability, visual and performing arts, creative or productive thinking, and psychomotor ability.
  • Javits Act Passed

    Javits Act Passed
    Congress passed the Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act as part of the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Javits Act established grants for colleges, states, and districts that focus on underrepresented populations of gifted students for program implementation.
  • Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards

     Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards
    NAGC published Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards to provide guidance in seven key areas for programs serving gifted and talented students.
  • No Child Left Behind Act Passed

    No Child Left Behind Act Passed
    The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is passed as the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Javits program is included in NCLB, and expanded to offer competitive statewide grants.