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Galton was first to operationalize identification of superior intellect, or giftedness, traces back to Francis Galton, 1865. Galton recognized the importance of quantification and identification of mental aptitude. He theorized that mental abilities were a culmination of inherited mental traits and that superior intellectual ability can be quantified and measured using normal distribution of mental traits.
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Terman revised the Binet-Simon test, Standford-Binet, to identify boys and girls with superior intellect.His career involved identifying, understanding, and identifying intervention strategies to meet the needs of boys and girls with superior cognitive ability.
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Hollingworth argued that gifted children needed enriched experiences in order to reach their intellectual potential and self-actualization. She spent her career studying and developing best teaching practices to meet the unique needs of gifted children. Hollingworth nurtured the gifted seed because what good is a seed if it does not grow into a plant?
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Stanley conducted the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) for 45 years. He identified talent using the SAT. The study examined short- and long-term results of the students identified through this method. He also helped gifted children further their education by devising and offering acceleration programs and classes.
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Under the Reagan administration an Imperative for Educational Reform was introduced in a report, National Commission on Excellence in Education. Its publication is considered a landmark event in modern American educational history and led to government support for gifted education.
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It is critical that educators recognize high-ability students who may need more depth and complexity to instruction. National standards provide guidance for specialized programs and serves, knowledge and skills, and standards in teacher preparation that improves teaching and deepens student learning.
