Table Of ContentHandbook on Assessments for Gifted Learners
This essential handbook is a comprehensive and systematic examination of the
assessment of gifted and advanced students and their programs, and a must-h ave resource
for coordinators and directors at state and local levels.
Handbook on Assessments for Gifted Learners explores issues associated with building an
effective identification system, clarifies and interprets the need for targeted learning pro-
gress assessments for gifted learners, and discusses program evaluation, assessments, and
processes used to gauge programs’ success. Engaging chapters written by both academic
and practitioner experts provide research- based, practical ideas for identifying and meas-
uring the progress of gifted and advanced learners. Readers will benefit from informed
recommendations stemming from current research conducted specifically for this text.
Susan K. Johnsen is Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology at Baylor University
and Editor- in- Chief of Gifted Child Today.
Joyce VanTassel- Baska is the Smith Professor Emerita of Education and former
Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William and
Mary in Virginia.
Handbook on Assessments
for Gifted Learners
Identification, Learning Progress,
and Evaluation
Edited by Susan K. Johnsen and
Joyce VanTassel- Baska
Cover image: © Getty Images
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Taylor & Francis
The right of Susan K. Johnsen and Joyce VanTassel- Baska to be identified as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 25987- 1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 25984- 0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 28599- 1 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/ 9781003285991
Typeset in Bembo
by Newgen Publishing UK
Contents
Author Biographies viii
1 Using Assessment as a Framework for Standards- Based Program
Development in Gifted Education 1
Susan K. Johnsen and Joyce VanTassel- Baska
Part I Identification 19
Introduction to Part I on Assessments for Identification 21
Susan K. Johnsen and Joyce VanTassel- Baska
2 Universal Screening: A Process to Promote Equity 29
Lindsay Ellis Lee and Scott J. Peters
3 Quantitative Assessment Tools for Identification: Ability and
Achievement Tests 44
Joni Lakin, Monica Simonds, and Marla Caviness- French
4 Qualitative Assessment Tools for Identification: Curriculum- Based
Product/ Performance Tasks 68
Catherine A. Little, Rebecca L. O’Brien, and Kelly L. Kearney
5 Use of Teacher Rating Scales to Augment Identification 87
Gail R. Ryser
6 The Inclusion of Underrepresented Populations in Gifted Programs 100
Joyce VanTassel- Baska and Susan K. Johnsen
vi Contents
Conclusion to Part I on Assessments for Identification 116
Susan K. Johnsen and Joyce VanTassel- Baska
Part II Assessments for Learning Progress 123
Introduction to Part II on Assessments for Learning Progress 125
Joyce VanTassel-B aska and Susan K. Johnsen
7 The Assessment of Domain-S pecific Creativity: Person, Process,
and Product 133
Todd Kettler and Kristen N. Lamb
8 Curriculum- Based Assessments 148
Tracey N. Sulak, Maryann R. Hebda, Celeste D. C. Sodergren,
and Jennifer H. Robins
9 Performance- Based Assessments for Secondary Gifted Students 158
Elissa F. Brown
10 Project- Based Assessments: Tasks and Rubrics 175
Catherine M. Brighton, Michelle Hock, and Tonya R. Moon
11 Accommodations and Modifications of Assessments for Twice
Exceptional and English Language Learners 195
Yara N. Farah
12 Student Self- Assessment 212
Anne N. Rinn and April Walker
13 The Use and Value of State Assessments of Learning 227
Cecelia A. Boswell, Cheryll M. Adams, and Mary M. Christopher
14 Assessment of Talent Development Trajectories 240
Paula Olszewski- Kubilius, Frank C. Worrell, and Rena F. Subotnik
Conclusion to Part II on Assessments for Learning Progress 255
Joyce VanTassel-B aska and Susan K. Johnsen
Contents vii
Part III Evaluation of Programs 263
Introduction to Part III on Evaluation of Programs 265
Joyce VanTassel- Baska
15 Evaluation Tools to Assess Gifted Programs: Selection and Use 271
Cheryll M. Adams and Melanie Caughey
16 Case Studies of District Models for Success 295
Carolyn M. Callahan
Conclusion to Part III on Evaluation of Programs 312
Joyce VanTassel- Baska
17 Issues and Insights on the Process of Assessment 318
Susan K. Johnsen and Joyce VanTassel-B aska
Index 331
Author Biographies
Co- Editors
Susan K. Johnsen, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology at Baylor
University. Dr. Johnsen is editor- in- chief of Gifted Child Today and has published 30
books and more than 350 articles, monographs, technical reports, and chapters related
to gifted education. Included among her books are Identifying Gifted Students: A Practical
Guide (2018), Implementing Research- Based Gifted Education Practices (2021), Classroom
Management for Gifted and Twice- Exceptional Students Using Functional Behavior Assessment
(2021), and NAGC Pre- K- Grade 12 Gifted Education Programming Standards: A Guide
to Planning and Implementing High-Q uality Services (2022). She has written three tests
used in identifying gifted students: Test of Mathematical Abilities for Gifted Students
(TOMAGS- 2), Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI- 4) and Screening Assessment
Gifted Students (SAGES- 3). She is past president of The Association for the Gifted
(TAG), Council for Exceptional Children, and past president of the Texas Association
for Gifted and Talented (TAGT). She has received awards for her work in the field of
education, including NAGC’s Ann Isaac’s Award, NAGC’s President’s Award, and CEC’s
Leadership Award.
Joyce VanTassel- Baska, Ed.D., is the Jody and Layton Smith Professor Emerita of
Education and founding director of the Center for Gifted Education at The College of
William and Mary in Virginia where she developed a graduate program and a research
and development center in gifted education. She also founded the Midwest Talent Search
and the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University. Dr. VanTassel- Baska
has published widely including 33 books and over 700 refereed journal articles, book
chapters, and scholarly reports. Her most recent books are: Talent Development: Theory,
Research, and Practice (Ed.) (2022) and Curriculum Planning and Instructional Design for
Gifted Learners (3rd edition) (2020) (with Ariel Baska). She has received numerous
awards for her work, including scholar and service awards from the National Association
for Gifted Children, Council for Exceptional Children – The Association of the Gifted,
Mensa, the American Educational Research Association, and the World Council on
Gifted and Talented Education. She was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to New Zealand
in 2000 and a Visiting Scholar to Cambridge University in England in 1993. She served
as President of both CEC- TAG and NAGC.
Author Biographies ix
Authors
Cheryll M. Adams, Ph.D., received her doctorate from the University of Virginia and
is the Director Emerita of the Center for Gifted Studies and Talent Development, Ball
State University. She was a classroom teacher for 15 years. She currently teaches on- line
courses in gifted education and has presented widely in the field. She has authored or
coauthored numerous publications in professional journals, as well as several books and
book chapters. She co- authored, received, directed, and was a principal investigator on
three Javits grants focused on underrepresented populations in gifted education. She is a
former member of the Board of Directors of NAGC, a Past President of The Association
for the Gifted (CEC) and the Indiana Association for the Gifted. She is a past Chair
of the NAGC Professional Standards Committee and the Research and Evaluation
Network. She has received the Early Leader Award, Distinguished Service Award, and
President’s Award from NAGC.
Cecelia A. Boswell, Ed.D., De Leon, TX, was an Advanced Academics consultant
for an Education Service Center and an urban school district. She is an independent
consultant, Austin Creek Education Systems. She has provided multiple products for
the Texas Education Agency, Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented (TAGT),
co- authored five books on gifted education and has co- edited two books on twice
exceptional learners and culturally responsive teaching. She has been board member and
President of TAGT and CEC- TAG. Her research interests include gifted, 2e, and rural
gifted education.
Catherine M. Brighton, Ph.D., is Senior Associate Dean for Academic Programs &
Student Services and Professor of Curriculum & Instruction in the School of Education
and Human Development, University of Virginia, where she also serves as the co-
director of the University of Virginia Institutes on Academic Diversity. Catherine’s
research interests include teacher change and school reform initiatives, differentiating
curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and qualitative methodologies. She has served as
a Co- Principal Investigator on a US Department of Education-f unded grant on talent
development through the lens of literacy. Catherine also led a multi-y ear project for the
National Research Center on the Gifted & Talented focus on differentiating instruction
in middle- grade classrooms with diverse student populations.
Elissa F. Brown, Ph.D., is Director of the Binghamton University Community Schools,
Regional Network. From 2012 to 2021, she was the director of the Hunter College
Center for Gifted Studies in New York City and served as a distinguished lecturer and
program leader of Hunter’s Advanced Certificate Program in Gifted Education. Elissa,
formerly, was the North Carolina state director of gifted education and the director
of the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William & Mary. She has been
a district gifted program coordinator, the principal of a specialized high school, and a
teacher of gifted learners at elementary, middle, and high school levels. She has served
as an adjunct professor at several universities, including Rutgers, Vanderbilt, and Duke
University. She is a published author in the field of gifted education and presents widely.
She currently serves as interim co- president of GiftedNYS, a New York statewide advo-
cacy association for gifted education.
