Gifted Children May be Lost in the Shuffle: Classrooms Don't Cater to High IQs

Gifted children are likely to be the next generation's innovators and leaders, but are they getting lost in the classroom? Scientists have discovered that the exceptionally smart are often invisible at school and are lacking the curricula, teacher input and external motivation to reach their full potential. The findings lend insight into teaching methods and reveal that catering to specific needs is crucial to helping children succeed.

In order to learn a bit more about children in the classroom, the researchers tracked about 300 gifted children from age 13 until age 38. They logged their accomplishments in academia, business, culture, health care, science and technology. This allowed the scientists to assess exactly how well these individuals did through their lives.

So what qualifies as "gifted?" The children were selected by using above-level testing procedures--namely SAT verbal or math scores achieved at age 13 or younger that placed them in the top .01 percent in reasoning ability.

"Gifted children are a precious human-capital resource," said David Lubinski, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This population represents future creators of modern culture and leaders in business, health care, law, the professoriate and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). Our study provides new insight into the potential of gifted children."

Of the 320 participants in the study, 203 went on to earn master's degrees and above. Of these, 142 (about 44 percent) also earned doctoral degrees--markedly higher than the general population, which is around 2 percent. The majority of these participants then went on to pursue careers of note, becoming senior leaders at Fortune 500 companies, prolific software engineers, physicians, attorneys and leaders in public policy.

Despite this remarkable success, though, these children experienced roadblocks along the way. Typical school settings were often unable to accommodate the rapid rate at which they learned complex material. In addition, teachers often shifted their focus away from the gifted children and toward students struggling with coursework. This often resulted in missed learning opportunities, frustration and underachievement.

"There's this idea that gifted students don't really need any help," said Harrison Kell, one of the researchers, in a news release. "This study shows that's not the case. These people with very high IQs--what some have called the 'scary smart'--will do well in regular classrooms, but they s till won't meet their full potential unless they're given access to accelerated coursework, AP classes and educational programs that place talented students with their intellectual peers like
Peabody's Programs for Talented Youth."

The findings reveal that it's not only students that struggle in the classroom that need help. Those with high IQs also deserve consideration. The research shows that's it's crucial to recognize talented students and give them the challenges they need in order to succeed.

The findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.