Although the State Plan (TEA, 2019) requires evaluation of student growth, the process remains difficult for Texas districts. Assessment beyond on-level state testing is required to adequately assess growth in our gifted learners and in the curriculum and instruction provided to them. Implementation of growth modeling and other suggested effective tools will support assessment of academic growth in gifted learners.
Identifying Gifted Multilingual Students: Barriers and Promising Practices
Giftedness occurs equally in all populations; however, research shows that gifted multilingual learners (MLs) are not represented equally in gifted programs (Siegle et al., 2016; Gubbins et al., 2018; Mun et al., 2020; Long et al., 2023). According to the National Education Association (NEA, 2020), MLs (students developing proficiency in multiple languages, including English), are the fastest-growing student group in the US. Despite the growing number of MLs, their representation in gifted programs continues to fall behind not only traditional populations of learners, but also behind all underserved populations, including twice-exceptional, rural, Hispanic, Native American, and Black students (Mun et al., 2020).
