What is a gifted child? There are different ways to define this term. It may refer to special talents in the arts or to a high level of academic abilities. A child may be gifted in one specific area, such as music, or have talents in many areas. According to the U.S. National Association for Gifted Children, a gifted child shows an “exceptional level of performance” in one or more areas. In general usage, giftedness includes high levels of cognitive ability, motivation, inquisitiveness, creativity, and leadership. Gifted children represent approximately 3 to 5 percent of the school-aged population.

Although giftedness cannot be assessed by an intelligence test alone, these tests are often used to indicate giftedness. By and large, giftedness begins at an IQ of 115, or about one in six children. Highly gifted children have IQs over 145, or about one in a thousand children. Profoundly gifted children have IQs over 180, or about one in a million children. Because very few education programs include any courses on teaching the gifted, teachers are often not able to recognize the profoundly gifted. Teachers are more likely to recognize moderately gifted children because they are ahead of the other children but not so far ahead as to be unrecognizable. For instance, children who can read older children’s books in first and second grade are often transferred into gifted classes, but children who are reading adult books are told to stop reading them. Those profoundly gifted students who are not recognized often turn into discipline problems when they are not offered constructive ways to focus their extraordinary creativity.

The practice of creating a separate, enriched curriculum for gifted students began in the early twentieth century. At that time, social scientists noted that gifted children often speak, read, and move at an earlier age than their peers. At a younger age they are able to work at a higher conceptual level, develop more sophisticated methods to solve problems, and show more creativity in their methods and interpretation of assignments. After the first schools for the gifted were established, these students were followed for many years to see if enriched education made a difference. It did. Gifted students who were grouped together and taught a special curriculum earned fifty times more doctoral degrees than gifted students who were not given an enriched curriculum. When gifted programs have been cut, the parents of the participants have reported decreased inquisitiveness, motivation, and energy levels in their children, and a simultaneous withdrawal from the classroom experience. Identified gifted students who attend schools without any program for the gifted show a steady decrease in motivation and test scores between first and sixth grade.

There are still very few opportunities for educating the gifted in the lowest socioeconomic levels. The schools that service the poorest areas often dedicate their efforts toward remedial teaching rather than accelerated curriculum, and students with extraordinary talents are often not recognized. About 25 percent of the world’s gifted population are too poor to be noticed.