Giftedness comes in many forms and may not always be evident in the ways in which we expect. Using different types of assessments helps to identify as many gifted students as possible, particularly when those students are from under-served populations or have disabilities or disorders that might mask their giftedness. Different assessments measure different kinds of strengths and talents. However, many of these identification assessments are scored on scales that are specific to those tests—and also completely different from the scales used to score other tests. Normalizing data means putting different types of data on the same scale so that they can be compared in a way that accounts for both their significance and their differences. This book explains how to do that.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of school districts do not normalize their student identification data. However, there are several important kinds of assessment data that don’t fit well (or at all) within the identification methods that districts commonly use. Giving school administrators and gifted coordinators the ability to identify as many gifted students as possible with an array of diverse identification tools in such a way that fairly and accurately ranks student ability enables them to set up whatever educational or curricular modifications are necessary to provide the students with an appropriate level of challenge. It also provides these educators with an objective and defensible system of identification to support the placement of students in gifted classes and programs in the district.

This book is a significant and practical contribution to gifted education. It simplifies the identification process and supports educators who are faced with the difficulty of including data from a variety of assessment instruments and/or multiple test cycles in their gifted identification procedures. The method it advocates should be used in every school district to give all students the best chance at an education that pushes them to reach their fullest potential.