Gifted students are among the most underserved population in American schools and are some of the most underperforming in the world, ranking last in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Algebra, and Geometry among 13 other developed countries. To improve services for the gifted, possible gaps in training and service delivery must be identified. There is a lack of research addressing many of the practical aspects of the delivery of services to the gifted. There is also a lack of research examining how well school psychologists are prepared to provide services to gifted and talented students. We conducted a national survey of school psychologists to evaluate the amount of time school psychologists allocate for gifted assessment and consultation. We also collected information about graduate school and professional development on gifted topics, familiarity with prominent figures in the gifted field, and gifted assessment methods. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Many argue that gifted students are undervalued by American society and that they are targets of negativity by those who advocate for equality in education (Gallagher, 2008;Sternberg, 1996). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act (2002) focuses on bringing all students to academic proficiency by 2014. As a result, school districts are likely to focus their limited resources on assisting lowperforming and even "average" students, while neglecting students who are performing above average, but not necessarily near their potential. In fact, according to the most recent "State of the States" report, published by the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC, 2009), NCLB was rated as one of the most negative factors impacting gifted education.Because the federal government is not involved in funding a national program for gifted education, states are left to cover the cost of these programs. However, according to the NAGC (2009), a majority of states rely on local rather than state funding for gifted education. Sternberg (1996) reports that 99.9% of special education funding is channeled to the low end of the ability continuum, and Winner (1997) poignantly notes that only 2 cents out of every $100 spent on special education is spent on gifted programs. Recent budget cuts due to the economic downturn have also negatively impacted gifted education. The NAGC (2009) reports that during the 2008-2009 school year, 18 states had no specific funding allocation for gifted programs. Furthermore, although states establish mandates for gifted education, only six of those report fully funding that mandate. The majority of respondents to the NAGC survey (36 of 48) reported that gifted funding was one of the greatest needs of attention in gifted education.In addition to a lack of funding, psychology and education have not yet agreed on a uniform definition of "gifted." Pfeiffer (2001) reported that experts in the gifted field indicate a "lack of consensus on how to conceptualize and define the gifted and talented" and "problems with the identification process" (p. 176) are two prominent ...
