An Analysis of Racial/ethnic Representation in Gifted Education in a Large School District in the Southeast: A Study Comparing Test Instrumentation Results as Part of a Multidimensional Identification Process

This dissertation reports a study of racial/ethnic representation in gifted education and its relationship to the identification methods used in a large, school district in the southeastern Unites States. The data consisted of the results of five ability and/or achievement tests used to determine gifted eligibility for second graders in 2004-2005 and subsequent third graders in 2005-2006, totaling approximately 5,000 students. Test scores generated from the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT), Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test (PACT), and/or Performance Tasks for Gifted Education (PTT) were studied. Race/ethnicity was defined based on a consolidated version of the ethnic codes found in the data file provided by the school district. For the purpose of this study, five distinct racial/ethnic classifications were used. They were white, black, Asian, Hispanic, and students classified as other races/ethnicities.

Dimension B: High achievement refers to academic performance in the areas of
reading and/or mathematics. Students ... for nationally normed achievement tests
are reading comprehension and/or mathematical concepts and problem solving.