The Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, Second Edition (NNAT2), is used widely to screen students for possible inclusion in talent development programs. The NNAT2 claims to provide a more culturally neutral evaluation of general ability than tests such as Form 6 of the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT6), which has Verbal and Quantitative batteries in addition to a Nonverbal battery. This study compared the performance of 5,833 second graders who took the CogAT6 and 4,038 kindergartners, first graders, and second graders who took the NNAT2 between 2005 and 2011 as part of a grade-wide screening for a gifted program. Comparison between minorities and Whites on the CogAT6 and the NNAT2 found slightly larger gaps on the CogAT6 Composite for Hispanics and English-Language Learners (ELL) but the same gap for Black students. Considered alone, the Nonverbal battery of CogAT6 produced smaller gaps than the NNAT2 for Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and ELL students. Fisher’s exact tests showed no significant differences between the CogAT6 Composite and the NNAT2 in subgroup identification rates at hypothetical cuts for gifted identification (top 20%, 10%, or 5%), except for Asian and ELL students. The CogAT6 Nonverbal score appeared to identify as many or more high-ability students from underrepresented groups as the NNAT2. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Fourth Edition, follow-up on the top 5% showed greater predictive validity for the CogAT6 Composite. These results suggest that gifted programs should not assume that using a figural screening test such as the NNAT2, without other adjustments to selection protocol, will address minority underrepresentation.

The purpose of this article is to present the characteristics and needs of adolescent students who are underrepresented in gifted programs. The specific populations of underrepresented gifted youth who will be addressed in this article include young women, students with learning disabilities, and students living in poverty. The academic and social-emotional needs of students from underrepresented populations will be presented, followed by strategies professionals can use to support these students. The importance of developing more sensitive identification and outreach programs for these youth is clearly illuminated by their social-emotional characteristics and academic underachievement. It is important to create support strategies for students at the secondary level, as this may be their last point of entry in the educational system.

The main purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate preschool teachers' past educational experiences, knowledge, and opinions related to ADHD. A second purpose was to determine if specific teacher variables (e.g., years of experience) were associated with higher knowledge of ADHD as measured by a criterion-referenced test. One hundred thirty-eight preschool teachers completed a questionnaire that included demographical information and questions related to knowledge and experiences with ADHD in preschoolers. Descriptive findings indicated that preschool teachers' most common educational experiences related to ADHD included reading articles in magazines and journals. In addition, preschool teachers did not feel that they knew very much about the process of assessing ADHD in preschoolers. Analyses of teacher variables revealed that teachers with graduate level educations did better on the test on ADHD than teachers with vocational or high school level educations. Results also indicated that teachers' ratings of their own knowledge of ADHD were not associated with test performance. The implications of these findings for professional development are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of the Bracken Basic Concept Scale (BBCS) to differentiate between atrisk and normal preschoolers. The sample consisted of 79 children (45 males, 34 females) ranging in age from 3 years, 6 months to 5 years, 11 months. The results supported the use of the BBCS when attempting to discriminate between at-risk and normal preschoolers. More specifically, the BBCS School Readiness Composite (SRC) was a better predictor of at-risk children than the BBCS Total Test score supporting the administration of the briefer SRC. The SRC, alone, was approximately 84 percent accurate in correctly classifying at-risk from normal preschoolers compared to the BBCS Total Test score that was approximately 75 percent accurate. A SRC scaled score of seven or below was established for recommending that preschoolers be further evaluated for possible developmental delays.

The main purpose of this study was to explore preschool teachers' ratings of both the perceived importance of and their comfort levels implementing interventions for children with AD/HD. Participants included 138 teachers from licensed child care facilities. Teachers completed a questionnaire that required them to rate, on a 7-point Likert-type scale, the importance of 43 interventions and how comfortable they would be executing the strategy if asked to do so in the classroom. Overall, teachers concluded that the majority of the interventions were mostly important and believed they would be comfortable using the strategies. In addition, findings indicated that preschool teachers' importance and comfort ratings were highly correlated. Teacher variables (i.e., years of teaching experience, educational level, and having a student with AD/HD) were not correlated with, or discriminative of, comfort and importance ratings. The implications of these findings are discussed.