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Categories of giftedness derived from the influential Marland Report (1972) include students who are gifted in the visual and performing arts. The research reported here describes development, testing, and use of a new instrument, Clark's Drawing Abilities Test, and its success in screening and/or identifying students for a visual arts program for artistically gifted students. The test was admmistered along with the Childrdn's Embedded Figures Test, and the results of both measures subsequently were compared to teacher ratings of students. Significant correlations were obtained among these three measures. Analyses of validity are reported here. Reliability is also reported as expressed in high correlatons among test items.

Project ARTS was designed as a research and development project to identify high-ability, artistically talented third graders from four different ethnic backgrounds in seven rural schools and to implement differentiated arts programs for them. Locally designed identification measures, developed by teachers and community members, were found to be appropriate by teachers and staff if several different measures were used. In research about identification of students for Project ARTS, scores on the Torrance Tests of Creativity, Clark's Drawing Abilities Test, and state achievement tests were found to be correlated. Except at one site, gender was not found to be a significant variable on these tests. It was recommended that local measures, the CDAT, and achievement tests be used to identify artistically talented students in rural communities with populations similar to those in Project ARTS.

Twenty IU Summer Arts Institute students, ages 13 through 17, were interviewed to learn more about their perceptions of their early art talent, adult and peer encouragement, position in their families, future expectations, interest in drawing, living environments, familiarity with artists, schooling, and art ability. Results of these interviews were compared with findings by Getzels and Csikszentmihalyi, Bloom, Chetelat, Taylor, and Guskin, Zimmerman, Okolo, and Peng. Similarities and differences were found between results of this study and findings by these researchers.

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