Understanding "High Flyers" Helps Them to Soar

by Paula Olszewski-Kubilius

The Fordham Institute released the results of a study entitled "Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude?" that speaks directly to the progress of gifted students within our nation's schools. The study was done in conjunction with analysts from the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWA). Using scores on the Measures of Academic Progress or MAP test, researchers showed that 30 to 50% of students who score at or above the 90th percentile in reading or math had lost their high achiever status four to five years later. This was true for both elementary and middle school students. The "descenders" did not fall far as most remained above the 70th percentile.

However, the authors rightly point out that these decreases in achievement can profoundly affect individual students' opportunities to take advanced courses (such as AP courses) or qualify for special summer programs, which then can potentially affect their admission to selective colleges and universities or ability to garner competitive scholarships. The study also found that high achievers made similar gains in math over time compared to lower achieving students, but grew at slightly lower rates than lower achievers in reading. These findings are consistent with previous research by Plucker, Burroughs and Song (Mind the Other Achievement Gap, 2010) and Duffert, Farkas, and Loveless (High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB, 2008) that showed stagnation or only meager progress for high achieving students in the last decade. The good news is that many students, called "late bloomers", who do not initially score at or above the 90th percentile, move into those ranks. However, these "ascenders" typically come from students who were initially performing above the 70th percentile to begin with. The authors did not find students who were scoring below the 50th percentile moving into the ranks of the "high flyers".

This study demonstrates the importance of appropriate testing and assessment for gifted students--assessment that will give educators and parents solid information on students progress from year to year. Parents may see high scores on typical school achievement tests or good grades, but this does not tell them if their children are really growing academically, nor if they are growing as much as they should given their ability level. For students in the top percentile ranges, most benchmark assessments, even adaptive ones, will not have sufficient ceiling in the test items to capture their abilities nor measure their growth. Only above-grade-level testing will measure their achievement and their growth.

Case in point--46 to 50% of gifted 8th graders score higher than the average college bound senior on the ACT-Reading or SAT-V tests. 26 to 35% of 7th graders score similarly. In math, 33 to 41% of gifted 8th graders score better than the average college bound senior on the ACT-Math or SAT-M. 21% to 24% of 7th graders score similarly. These students (who participated in Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search in 2009 and 2010) are performing better than students who are 4 to 5 years older than they are. Above-grade-level assessment, such as that used in talent search programs like Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) is essential for students who are scoring above the 90th percentile on in-grade achievement tests. Because the tests they take through talent search (such as the PSAT 8/9 in grades 3 through 6 and the ACT and SAT in grades 6 through 9) are designed for older students, above-grade levels testing will provide more accurate measurement of students' ability and measure growth over time.

Testing is helpful to gifted students, but the right tests are essential. Showing growth requires more than a grade-level achievement test for gifted students, and talent search is one excellent, research-validated option. For more information, you can visit the NUMATS web site.

Paula Olszewski-Kubilius is director of Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development (CTD) and a professor in the School of Education and Social Policy. She has also conducted research and published more than 80 articles and book chapters on talent development issues, particularly the effects of accelerated educational programs and the needs of special populations of gifted children.