Why Are There Fewer Black, Hispanic Students in Gifted? Book Provides Some Answers

Why is it that fewer black and Hispanic students continue to be represented in our school’s gifted programs?

For instance, you might have 300 white students at a school and 160 have been identified as gifted. On the other hand, you have 200 black students, and maybe only 10 students are enrolled in the gifted program. That number is generous at some school districts.

What’s the deal? Why are their numbers so low? And what can we do about it?

These are questions that Dr. Donna Ford has dedicated her life and work to answering. And she does it in a fresh, bold way in her latest book, Recruiting and Retaining Culturally Different Students in Gifted Education.

As an experienced gifted teacher, I knew underrepresentation among minority students was an issue in gifted education, but Ford places a microscope on the problem and really caused my eyes to open. After you read her convincing statistics, anecdotes, and arguments, you realize just how serious of problem we are facing.

Ford details how one school district utilizes separate programs for its white and Spanish speaking children (which right away does not make me comfortable) then precedes to re-test only the Spanish-speaking children as they enter middle school. Furthermore, numbers showed that there were virtually no black students in the elementary gifted program.

While I think this book should be required reading for all teachers, school psychologists (who are the ones who test for gifted programs), and principals, I’ll provide with you with some key takeaways. Note: I do not receive payment for books I endorse. I do it because I believe in the author’s work and feel educators and others can benefit from the information.

Key Point #1:

We need to reconsider the referral, screening, identification, and testing instruments and practices we are currently using. If the number of Hispanic and black children enrolled in gifted programs remains low (as it has over the years), what we are doing is not working. As Ford writes, we need a new mindset.

Key Point # 2:

We cannot rely on single testing instruments (such as I.Q. tests) to identify and place students in gifted programs. Since tests can include cultural bias and handicap those with different languages and cultures, we need to look at assessment as a holistic approach that includes performance tasks, portfolios, achievement scores, creativity tests, and other measures.

Key Point # 3:

Teacher recommendation checklists need to be revised to account for cultural differences.  For example, if a teacher considers being highly verbal, curious, or headstrong as negative factors or behavioral problems, (while in another culture they might be viewed as strengths or spoken about in positive terms), that student will likely not get recommended for gifted testing. Ford actually recommends that black students be identified as having a second language and another checklist be developed for their use in identification practices.

Finally, Ford makes a very interesting comment about the lack of training provided to school psychologists—who conduct testing for gifted programs and are major gatekeepers in the identification process—regarding cultural responsiveness and gifted children’s needs. This is an area we need to reexamine.

While there are certainly more points to cover, I recommend reading the book to gain a deeper understanding of the problem. Ford is definitely someone who has intensely studied the issue and made it her mission.

Thanks for reading,

Steve