Table Of ContentSCALES
RATING
for
THE
BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
of Superior Students
3rd Edition
SCALES
RATING
for
THE
BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
of Superior Students
RENZULLI SCALES
TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATION MANUAL
AND
Joseph S. Renzulli | Linda H. Smith | Alan J. White | Carolyn M. Callahan | Robert K. Hartman
Karen L. Westberg | M. Katherine Gavin | Sally M. Reis | Del Siegle | Rachael E. Sytsma Reed
NOTE
Te Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS)
was originally published in 1976 by Renzulli, Smith, White, Callahan, and Hartman.
Te authors developed the instrument to guide teachers or other school personnel in
assessing the characteristics of high ability students. Since then, the Scales for Rating
the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students have been used widely throughout
the United States (Davis & Rimm, 1994) and have been translated into several lan-
guages around the world (e.g., Kalantan, 1991; Srour, 1989; Subhi, 1997).
In 2002, we published the Scales for Bahavioral Characteristics of Superior
Students—Revised Edition (SRBCSS-R), which included extensive revisions to the
Learning, Creativity, Motivation, and Leadership Scales. And now in 2014, we are
ofcially publishing, in manual form, four content area Scales: Reading, Mathematics,
Science, and Technology. With the addition of these four new scales and the infor-
mation about their development, we present you with Scales for Rating the Behavioral
Characteristics of Superior Students—Tird Edition (SRBCSS-III).
v
First published in 2010 by Prufrock Press Inc.
Published in 2021 by Routledge
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2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 2010 by Taylor & Francis Group
Cover design by Allegra Denbo and layout design by Raquel Trevino
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
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Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 9780936386904 (pbk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003237808
Table of Contents
A Personal Note on Identifcation Systems ..............................................................ix
PREFACE: MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPING A PLAN TO
IDENTIFY GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS .............................xi
PART I: DEVELOPMENT OF THE SRBCSS-R AND SRBCSS-III
Data-based Literature on Teacher Judgment Instruments .................................. 1
Development of the Revised Scales ................................................................... 2
First Field Test Procedures and Results ............................................................ 10
Second Field Test Procedures .......................................................................... 11
Construct Validity Support ............................................................................. 13
Content Area Scales in SRBCSS-III: Reading, Mathematics,
Science, and Technology ................................................................................. 24
Discussion ...................................................................................................... 23
PART II: ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCALES FOR RATING THE
BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUPERIOR STUDENTS
Purposes for Using the Scales .......................................................................... 25
Guidelines for Using the Scales ....................................................................... 26
Teacher Training Exercises .............................................................................. 27
Interpreting the Results ................................................................................... 28
Final Note ...................................................................................................... 29
REFERENCES ...................................................................................................... 31
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Second Field Test Version ................................................................ 35
Appendix B: Rating Student Performance in a Gifted Program ............................ 39
Appendix C: Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics
of Superior Students (Sample) ........................................................... 41
Appendix D: Teacher Training Exercises ............................................................... 57
Appendix E: How to Develop Local Norms ......................................................... 73
Appendix F: A Practical System for Identifying Gifted and Talented Students ..... 77
vii
A PERSONAL NOTE ON
IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMS
Over the years I have responded to numerous questions about identifcation of
the gifted and talented and how the teacher rating scales described in this manual can
be used as part of a fail-safe plan for identifcation. My initial response is always the
same: “Tere is no such thing as a perfect identifcation system!” Because of situational
factors—demographic diferences in school populations, various underlying philoso-
phies and beliefs about who is gifted and how best to serve these students, variations
in program structures and resources, and diferences in state guidelines—each school
and district must develop a unique identifcation system that works best within the
contexts and considerations of their school or system. However, I don’t want to use
this response as a way to dodge the question and fail to deal with the practical need for
real people in real schools to develop a plan that is defensible in terms of theory and
research and that can be implemented without unusual investments of time, money,
or undue paperwork.
Te identifcation system that I have devised and recommended to numerous
schools in both the United States and abroad is very specifc, and it represents a
compromise between the research that led to the development of the Tree Ring
Conception of Giftedness and the situational factors that vary from school to school.
Tis identifcation system is included in Appendix F of this manual, and, like most of
the work I have done over the years, it can be modifed to make it appropriate to local
situations. However, in order to maintain the integrity of the rationale and research
underlying the system, any and all modifcations should respect the basic principles
upon which the system is built: that the selection of students for special programs
should be based on a relatively equivalent balance of test and nontest based infor-
mation and that access to enrichment opportunities, resources, and encouragement
should not be based on a “one shot” assessment procedure. Te concept of “Action
Information” (Renzulli, 1986) means that some young people will show their poten-
tials at certain times and under certain circumstances and will therefore need supple-
mentary services at those times. A truly responsive program needs to accommodate
such students.
—Joe Renzulli
Renzulli, J. S. (1986). Te three-ring conception of giftedness: A developmental model
for creative productivity. In Sternberg, R. J., & Davidson, J. (Eds.), Conceptions of
giftedness (pp. 53–92). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
ix
