Gems from the Rubbish: Some thoughts on the history of American gifted education.

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  • First Differentiated Curriculum

    School Superintendant William Torrey Harris instituted the first Gifted Program in St Louis county schools. His differentiated curriculum for promising students emphasized discipline and high achievement.

  • Hereditary Genius

    Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, publishes his work on the study of 300 British men and their families in order to discern whether "genius" was hereditary. It is important to note that in 1883 he coined the term "eugenics."

  • School for the Gifted

    First School exclusively for gifted children is opened in Worcester, Massachusettes.

  • Stanford-Binet IQ Test

    Lewis Terman publishes the Stanford-Binet IQ test giving educators and other agencies the first semi-empirical method of judging intelligence.

  • Army Alpha and Beta Program

    At the beginning of World War I the U.S. Army uses the Stanford-Binet IQ test to route soldiers into positions.

  • Longitudinal Study

    Lewis Terman begins the first longitudinal study of 1500 gifted students.

  • Special Opportunity Class

    Leta S. Hollingworth begins a special class for gifted children within a New York City public school.

  • Genetic Studies of Genius

    Lewis Terman publishes his work attempting to define the attributes of giftedness.

  • Gifted Children: Their nature and nurture

    Leta S. Hollingworth publishes the first text on the education of gifted students.

  • Speyer School

    Leta S. Hollingworth establishes the Speyer School for the gifted in New York City.

  • National Association of Gifted Children

    National Association of Gifted Children
    The NAGC is founded to support and advocate for the special education of gifted children.

  • Sputnik

    The Soviet Union launches the first satellite into orbit creating a national crisis.

  • NDEA

    The National Defense Education Act is passed by Congress to promote education including the first federal promotion of the education of gifted students.

  • The Marland Report

    The first federal definition of giftedness is published along with an admonition warning of "deleterious effects" for underserved populations.

  • Office of the Gifted and Talented

    The Office of the Gifted and Talented is federally recognized within the Department of Education.

  • A Nation at Risk

    Federal report suggests promotion of gifted curriculum.

  • Jacob K. Javits Act

    Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program Congress passes act which provides competitive federal grant money for gifted education programs.

  • NRC/GT

    National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented University of Connecticut
    A series of research centers are opened under the Javits program to research gifted and talented children and promote the develpment of gifted curriculum and educate teachers of gifted students.

  • National Excellence

    National Excellence: The Case for Developing America's Talent is published by the federal government promoting the special education of gifted and talented students.

  • No Child Left Behind

    • No Child Left Behind is passed and includes an expanded version of the Javits program and the definition of g/t students is modified to: "Students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities."

  • A Nation Decieved

    A Nation Decieved: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students is published criticizing the failure of public schools to address the needs of the gifted.