Who are the Gifted?

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHO ARE THE GIFTED?

Gifted students are persons of exceptional promise whose capabilities may predict contributions of lasting merit in widely varying fields. They come from all backgrounds with special abilities and talents ranging across a wide spectrum of human achievement. These students’ abilities and potential for accomplishment are so outstanding that they require special provisions to meet their educational needs.

While high academic performance may be one of the most important signs of giftedness, it is also important to be aware of other potential indicators of superior intelligence. Some of these indicators include:

• advanced comprehension
• advanced development of language
• advanced levels of moral judgment
• early development of sophisticated thought processes
• idealism and strong sense of justice
• superior ability to find, solve, and act on problems
• unusual capacity to manipulate abstract ideas and to process information
• unusual retentiveness and the capacity to learn at faster rates