A research team consisting of educators of gifted students, a scientist, and experts in measurement developed a performance-based assessment of life science skills and abilities. Four high schools in the Southwestern United States were the settings for field testing and implementation. Five levels of ratings were given: unknown, maybe, probably, definitely, and wow. The majority of student scores were in the maybe and probably categories. Using six new measures (concept maps in life and physical science, math problem solving, spatial analytical performance assessment, life science performance assessment and physical science performance assessment), 23 students (M2) were selected for participation in science laboratories at an R1 university along with 20 students (M1) selected by conventional means. When the nine attribute scores of the performance-based assessment were compared, no significant difference was found t(41), p > .38, between M1 and M2 students. Performance-based assessments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) will provide an alternative and a complement to standard achievement tests. They have the potential to identify and nurture exceptionally talented high school students across all demographic groups.

During the Cultivating Diverse Talent in STEM (CDTIS) Project, a team of scientists, teachers, and a researcher developed a performance-based assessment of high school students’ creative problem-solving skills and ability to apply physical science principles in practical ways. It was one of six measures to identify exceptionally talented students. Students identified using conventional methods (M1), with an average grade point average (GPA) of 3.93, had an average rating of 2.95 on a 5-point scale on the mechanical–technical assessment. The M2 students, who were from schools with high percentages of Hispanic, American Indian, and low socioeconomic status (SES) students, had an average GPA of 3.07 and an average rating of 3.27, demonstrating that this assessment can be an important way to change the cultural and economic balance of students identified as exceptionally talented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Other researchers are encouraged to examine the validity of the mechanical–technical assessment to identify exceptionally talented students in different groups.

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Real Engagement in Active Problem Solving (REAPS) cultivates exceptional talent across disciplines through students solving problems that are real in their lives. In this study, the focus was on scientific talent: to determine students’ growth in creative problem solving in science in classrooms in which REAPS was implemented. Using a repeated measures t-test, we found statistically significant changes in total creative problem solving in science across two tasks: ‘Problems and Solutions’ and ‘Grouping Flowers’ (M = 3.82, SD = 20.72, p = .01). Using multivariate regression, the level of fidelity of implementation of REAPS explained 9.8% of the variance in total creative problem solving in science across both tasks (p = .04). Differences were found in sub-scores in both analyses. We recommend use of REAPS to develop transformational scientific talent by engaging students in solving problems that are real and important in their world.