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Lewis Terman creates the Stanford-Binet Test
Lewis Terman is the father of the gifted child movement. His work still impacts education today, because intelligence tests are still used to identify children as gifted for special services. He also orchestrated the longest running longitudinal study of gifted children. -
Leta Hollingworth publishes Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture
This book is considered the first text on gifted education. Leta Hollingsworth was the first person to study how to best serve gifted children. She recognized that they had different needs and created several schools to help them flourish. She also helped people to recognize that environment can play a role in nurturing a child's development. -
The Soviet Union launches Sputnik
The launching of Sputnik "scared" the United States into examining and improving their educational programs in math, science, and technology. Large amounts of money were dedicated to education and identifying bright students. This event was also the catalyst for the National Defense Education Act and lead to the federal government taking a more prominent role in gifted education. -
The Marland Report is presented to the US Congress
The Marland Report is significant for several reasons. First, it was the first national report on gifted education and it examined how gifted students were progressing in the public school system. Second, it broadened the definition of gifted to include psychomotor ability, leadership ability, the arts, and creative thinking skills. It’s definition is still referred to today. -
National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talents is published
This report is a call to action for the American people. A “quiet crisis” is happening – the gifted and talented children in the nation are underperforming and falling through the cracks. The discrepancies in their ability and performance is most notable when they are compared to their foreign peers. The report provides recommendations for early childhood education, helping minority and disadvantaged children, and teacher development. -
The National Association for Gifted Children issues standards for learning
Standards are important and drive learning. For the first time, a set of national gifted standards is created. A benchmark is set for all education systems to strive to obtain. -
A Nation Deceived is published
This report provides the research to combat the entrenched belief in our society that providing accelerated education for a child is damaging. A child skipping grades and being with their "intellectual peers" promotes growth.
