Instrumentation Project Survey

Georgia Association for Gifted Children’s Coalition for Access and Equity

The underrepresentation of diverse students from gifted and talented education programs

is a national problem that has not yet been adequately addressed (Ezzani et al., 2021). In order to

address the disparities of gifted identification as it relates to culturally, linguistically, and

economically diverse students, we must begin by taking a critical look at the assessment methods

utilized, as well as the methods, practices, and instrumentation in place for programs at large.

Identification methods are research-based approaches to categorizing students based on areas

like cognitive ability, creativity, motivation and achievement in school. Based on these areas of

evaluation, specific instruments are utilized to capture the selected skills, understandings, and

talents of students. As a part of the development of identification processes and procedures, it is

paramount that districts and schools consider the ways that they are promoting equitable tools for

screening, selecting a menu of instruments that are free of bias, and educating teachers to

recognize the diversity of student gifts and talents.

The purpose of this survey is to collect information across the state of Georgia regarding

the methods, instruments and issues that make up the identification process in districts across the

state that can be shared across districts to inform practices and instrumentation that help to

reduce inequitable representation in gifted programs. Responses from the survey will be

collected and analyzed and distributed back to districts so that they can better understand and

learn from the results to inform revisions in their identification procedures. The survey was

created by a working group within the Georgia Association for Gifted Children’s Coalition for

Access and Equity, a group of educators dedicated to identifying and removing barriers to ensure

equitable access to challenging educational opportunities for children of color. Read more about

the coalition HERE.