Disproportionalities in Gifted and Talented Education Enrollment: An Analysis of the U.S. Civil Rights Data Collection Series

Abstract

Certain student groups have remainedunderrepresented within gifted and talentededucation (GATE) programs since the adventof such curricular options. The literaturetracking disproportionality in gifted educationis sparse and of recent vintage, and it hasprimarily evaluated inequities pertaining torace/ethnicity and SES while failing toconsider students who are either culturallyand linguistically diverse (CLD) or gifted anddisabled. The present study used a cross-sectional design to analyze gifteddisproportionality rates in extant datagathered by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR).Proportional representation in gifted programenrollment was assessed in terms of students’race/ethnicity, English Language Learner(ELL) status, and disability status under theIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act(IDEA). A one-sample z test of proportionsshowed statistically significantdisproportionality across the three studentgroups evaluated. In addition, state-by-staterankings of racial disproportionality sizesrevealed inequities across the United States.While identification procedures and metricsdesigned to detect gifted status have beensingled out for encouraging disproportionality,this study locates problems at a deeper level:within the theory of intelligence used tomeasure giftedness in Western school systems.Addressing broader-form disproportionalitiesin gifted education calls for correctlydiagnosing the nature of these systems’underlying inequities.