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Minority and low-income students traditionally have been under-represented in programs for the gifted. Researchers have suggested using multiple criteria for identification of minority and low-income students and providing support for these students when they participate in gifted programs. This nine-year database study examined factors related to the return rate of nontraditional students who were identified with multiple indicators and who received support while participating in a summer program for academically talented youth. Results indicated that grade point average, achievement test scores, final grade in the first summer of attendance, and socioeconomic status were not significant predictors of returnee status. The authors suggest that more attention be paid to psychosocial variables and that follow-up studies be done with nonreturning students.

In the process of working with students on outreach recruiting for an academic development program, the authors learned from them an important lesson about sameness and difference and about the power of the academic adventure for bringing people together.

In this study, we used logistic regression to examine how well student background and prior achievement variables predicted success among students attending accelerated and enrichment mathematics courses at a summer program (N = 459). Socioeconomic status, grade point average (GPA), and mathematics diagnostic test scores significantly predicted achievement in accelerated courses, and age, ethnicity, and GPA significantly predicted achievement in enrichment courses. These findings may be useful in determining which students are more likely to do well in accelerated and enrichment mathematics courses at a summer program.

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