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First program to Educate Gifted Students
William Torrey Harris, superintendent of public schools for St. Louis, establishes the earliest gifted education program in public schools to educate gifted students. He established the first acceleration program for gifted students where students could have flexible promotions. Students could be promoted to the next grade after a quarter, semester, or five-week time period based on mastery of concepts of completion. Many schools, including the online public school I work for, use this model. -
The First Intelligence Test
Psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon created the first intelligence test. It has been revised, but using old standards, the test measured vocabulary knowledge and thinking skills. These tests were used to predict academic success. We use many different IQ tests today, influenced by this first IQ test to qualify students for gifted programs. It also was the model for creating standardized tests and creating a universal definition of intelligence. -
Mainstream Use of Intelligence Testing
When the United States entered World War I, intelligence testing was given to millions of recruits as standard procedure. The Army Alpha was an intelligent test used for selection and placement of military recruits. The Army beta was a non-verbal intelligence test for non-reading recruits. This mass testing led the way for future testing and legitimized intelligence testing in the general public and in schools. -
First Publication of Gifted Education
Leta Hollingworth publishes the Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture. It was the first textbook on Gifted Education. The term Gifted has been used since to refer to children with high potential. She believed that intelligence is influenced by heredity but home and school structure is important in developing the potential to be gifted. She also believed in the importance of early identification and grouping similar abilities. These beliefs influence how we design gifted programs today. -
A Nation at Risk
A Nation at Risk: This report was the result of 18 months of study and concluded that America’s highest achieving students were failing when compared with their international counterparts. The report fuel reform of our education system and renewed the commitment to use highest quality policies and practices in gifted education and academic standards. It also focused on effective and competent teachers, improvement of teacher training and holding educators responsible for students’ performance. -
National Association For Gifted Children Standards
NAGC publishes national gifted education standards that aligned teacher preparation programs and knowledge and skill standards in gifted education for all teachers. It aligned Pre-K Program Standards with the NAGC-CEC Teacher. It integrated special, gifted, and general education and focused on student accountability. This influenced gifted program models, qualification, and teacher preparedness.
