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Lewis Terman publishes the 1st edition of the Stanford-Binet
Lewis Terman adapted the French Binet-Simon Intelligence test into the Stanford-Binet. This test adapted the notion of an intelligence quotient (IQ), a single numerical score which is a ratio of a person's real or physical age to their mental or intellectual age. The higher the score, the higher the intelligence level. He is considered to be the father of the gifted education movement. -
Gifted Children published by Leta Hollingworth
Leta Hollingworth published the research of her work with gifted children. She challenged the popular beliefs that giftedness was a product of inheritance and that gifted children were also advanced socio-emotionally and didn't need guidance. Her work demonstrated that gifted children need nurturing and a specialized curriculum. She noted that each child was an individual that needed to be known on all levels. Her book is the first text for gifted education. -
NAGC is founded
The National Association of Gifted Children is founded by Ann Isaacs. Isaacs had worked with gifted children in Cincinnati and was concerned when they did not continue to develop as she expected. The professional organization was founded to help local districts to set up their own gifted programs, support research at the post-graduate level and provide support and information to gifted individuals and their families. -
Sputnik is launched
In 1957, the former Soviet Union launched the first satellite into outer space. This "win" for the Soviets in the space race pushed the United States to put great emphasis on math and science education as a means of preserving national security. This event created an urgency to find and develop the brightest mathematical and scientific minds. This resulted in the National Defense Education Act to be enacted a year later. -
Marland Report
The Marland Report was delivered by S.P. Marland to the US Congress. It stated that gifted children were not receiving the education they needed and that it was causing psychological damage to these children that could permanently impede their abilities to meet their full potential. The report gave guidance to schools on how to define giftedness more broadly to include athletics (since dropped), leadership, and artistic ability in addition to superior intellect. -
NAGC publishes teacher preparation standards
The National Association of Gifted Children created a national set of standards for gifted teacher preparation programs. These focus on learner differences, the variety of learning environments, specialized curriculum, assessment, evidence based strategies, professional ethics, and collaboration. These were designed to fill-in the gap in understanding of gifted students and dispel myths about these students' needs in the classroom.
