There are stories across the country and all over the internet that speak to gifted students being left behind because of traditional testing methods. Here’s what that can look like in practice:
Even though he has exceptional spatial reasoning and abstract problem-solving skills, Luis struggled with the verbal sections of his gifted screening test, leading to a lower score. The test was written in English, his second language.
Eli sees shortcuts and patterns others miss when it comes to math, and they can mentally calculate faster than most adults. But on their district’s gifted screening, which relied heavily on reading comprehension, Eli’s dyslexia pulled down their score.
Maya’s gifted screening score came in just under the cutoff, so she was placed in the “average” range. What the test didn’t capture was her ability to build complex designs from memory.
Scenarios like these highlight a bigger problem: not only is gifted testing access a challenge, but standard assessments—often heavily verbal, time-limited, and culturally narrow—fail to capture the many kinds of giftedness. The students who lose out most are multilingual learners, twice-exceptional (2e) students, and gifted girls who mask their abilities.
This blog dives into screening fairness in gifted education as well as how to make it fairer and more inclusive.
The Challenges of Traditional Screening
For decades, gifted identification has leaned heavily on a narrow set of tools, such as a single IQ test or a one-time group screening. While these methods can be efficient, they only see a piece of the whole. When access to gifted programs hinges on a single score, many students’ potential is left on the table.
Here are the main challenges of traditional, standardized tests for gifted students:
- Hyperfocus on IQ
- Lack of accessibility
Hyperfocus on IQ
IQ is not everything, and an over-reliance on these models means overlooking gifted individuals. Traditional IQ-only tests were designed to find a certain profile of giftedness: verbal, quick-processing, and test-savvy.
But giftedness does not always appear on a timed, language-heavy test. For example, think about the students who are creative, deeply curious, or advanced in nonverbal reasoning.
Lack of Accessibility
Even when tests are available, access is not equally distributed. Families in rural areas or Title I schools often face fewer opportunities for screening. In low-income communities, gifted identification may depend on parent advocacy or costly private testing, which is not always available.
What we get is a persistent underrepresentation of students from these backgrounds in gifted programs. That is why screening fairness in gifted education is so important.
Having a narrow definition of giftedness and uneven pathways to testing results in the system inadvertently favoring students who match the profile the test is expected to see. The opportunity then is to create inclusive gifted screening practices that are as diverse as the learners themselves.
Understanding Gifted Students’ Traits
Recognizing gifted traits can be tricky, especially because no two people are alike. Knowing what characteristics or patterns to look out for can help parents and educators spot potential that could otherwise go unnoticed.
Here are a few common traits of gifted students that can be overlooked in gifted testing:
- Advanced verbal reasoning
- Sarcasm and wit
- Restlessness or high energy, often tied to quick thought processing
- Strong empathy and sense of justice
- A preference for order or structure
- Deep curiosity
For multilingual learners, giftedness can reveal itself in flexible thinking across languages. Children who draw on two or more linguistic systems—also known as “translanguage”—demonstrate advanced cognitive agility, creativity, and problem-solving skills. However, these abilities may not register on a traditional gifted test.
Traits like translanguaging and those above help us broaden our understanding to include less visible expressions of giftedness.
Key Factors to More Inclusive Gifted Screening
We can improve gifted identification by tweaking how we screen. Small adjustments ensure that giftedness is recognized in all its forms, not just the ones traditional tests were designed to see.
- Universal screening: Testing all students, not just nominated ones, can level the playing field for multilingual, 2e, and underrepresented students and remove dependence on referrals that often reflect bias or privilege.
- Multiple assessment measures: Schools could combine portfolios, teacher observations, performance tasks, and nonverbal assessments with traditional measures to get a fuller, more equitable picture of student potential.
- Fair and culturally responsive tools: Tools such as the Naglieri General Ability Tests (GATE) use animated, language-free, and culturally neutral items to measure reasoning without relying on vocabulary, prior knowledge, or speed.
Ensuring gifted testing access and tweaking how we screen for giftedness is only the first step. To make these practices sustainable, schools and districts need systems in place that reinforce fairness and consistency.
System-Level Solutions for Gifted Testing Access
Several strategies can help schools move toward truly inclusive gifted screening. One is standardizing evaluation criteria to reduce subjectivity. When every school uses the same criteria, like rubrics, students are judged by consistent standards rather than by individual teacher impressions. No more “luck of the draw” effects on which kids get tested.
Another is forming diverse identification review panels. By uniting educators with different expertise—general education, gifted education, special education, and multilingual learning—they can uncover students who are masking or who seem like outliers to the traditional system.
Involving parents in the screening process might seem obvious, but educators can take it one step further by speaking in the family’s preferred language to make sure they understand. Translated materials and open dialogue empower parents to share valuable insights about their child’s abilities.
The final strategy is expanding enrichment and acceleration opportunities; think extracurricular activities, independent study, and virtual courses. When enrichment is flexible and easy to access, there are more chances for gifted identification to happen.
How Proper Training for Teachers Play a Role
Teachers are often the first to glimpse a student’s unique spark. With the right training, they can become powerful advocates and ensure every child has access to the opportunities they deserve. Proper preparation also strengthens screening fairness in gifted education, helping teachers recognize brilliance that traditional assessments might overlook.
The first step is noticing the gifted characteristics mentioned earlier. Additionally, there are a few ways teachers can spot giftedness:
- Distinguishing giftedness from disruptive behaviors
- Identifying and addressing gender-based biases
- Using tools and following consistent practices
Distinguish Giftedness From Disruption
One common challenge is separating high-energy or challenging classroom behaviors from genuine behavioral concerns. A child who finishes quickly and disrupts peers may, in fact, be signaling boredom or unmet intellectual needs.
Ongoing training and mentorship, like pairing newer teachers with ones who have experience in supporting gifted students, helps educators reframe these behaviors.
Identify & Address Gender-Based Biases
Too often, gifted girls fly under the radar. Their abilities of empathy, advanced verbal reasoning, and quiet perfectionism may be overlooked because they do not fit the stereotype of assertive, high-achieving giftedness.
Workshops that explore these patterns can help educators expand their definition of what giftedness looks like and more readily offer support.
Find Tools That Reinforce Consistency
Finally, teachers need concrete tools to apply their training in real time. Things like observation checklists and standardized referral forms bring consistency to the process, reducing reliance on subjective impressions and personal bias. When all teachers look through the same lens to document and refer, schools build a more equitable, inclusive gifted screening.
If you want more tips for teaching gifted students, check out this blog.
Top Classroom Benefits of Screening Fairness in Gifted Education
When schools adopt more equitable approaches to gifted education, the impact reaches far beyond individual students—it transforms classrooms as a whole. The following are the main benefits classrooms will see:
- Brings more students from diverse cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds into gifted programs
- Creates greater diversity in the classroom, better reflecting the community and adding new perspectives
- Fosters collaboration, creativity, and shared interests between like-minded peers
- Nurtures students’ abilities that might otherwise remain untapped
- Leads to long-term outcomes, such as students gaining more confidence and having more access to advanced opportunities
Partnering for Fair & Inclusive Gifted Education
Every gifted child deserves to be seen, challenged, and supported—and no single test should decide whether that happens. Creating more inclusive gifted screening takes a community of educators and parents working together, supported by systems that recognize giftedness in all its forms.
If you’re ready to take the next step, Davidson Academy and the Davidson Institute offer resources to guide you: