History of Gifted Education - Jenn Lopez

By Jennaray

  • 1868

    1868
    St. Louis Superintendent of Public Schools, William Torrey Harris, implements the first systematic efforts in public schools to educate gifted students.

  • 1901

    1901
    The first special school for gifted children was opened in Worcester, Massachusetts.

  • 1905

    1905
    The Binet-Simon tests were created by a couple of French researchers for the purpose of identifying children of inferior intelligence.

  • 1916

    1916
    Lewis Terman, who is considered the "father" of gifted education, published the Stanford-Binet which changes intelligence testing in American education.

  • 1921

    1921
    Lewis Terman begins the longest running study of gifted children. These participants were affectionately called "Termites."

  • 1926

    1926
    Leta Hollingworth publishes Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture, which is considered to be the first textbook on gifted education.

  • 2002

    2002
    The definition of GT students is modified again to state: "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.