IDENTIFYING YOUNG, POTENTIALLY GIFTED, ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED-STUDENTS

In this paper we present a rationale for and a description of the procedures developed by the staff of Project Synergy for identifying economically disadvantaged, potentially gifted kindergarten students in urban schools. This approach emphasizes the development of site-appropriate methods, observation, dynamic assessment, and the concept of best performance; it de-emphasizes the use of standardized tests. Validation data are presented and discussed.