Cited by 344School Choice and PerformanceEducation, Achievement, and GiftednessCritical Race Theory in Education

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 15 of the 15 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 5 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Universal screening increases the representation of low-income and minority students in gifted education

Open access
Card, David, Giuliano, Laura·2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Abstract

Significance: A longstanding concern about gifted education in the United States is the underrepresentation of minorities and economically disadvantaged groups. One explanation for this gap is that standard processes for identifying gifted students, which are based largely on the referrals of parents and teachers, tend to miss many qualified students. Consistent with this hypothesis, we find that a universal screening program in a large urban school district led to significant increases in the numbers of poor and minority students who met the IQ standards for gifted status. Our findings raise the question of whether a systemic failure to identify qualified students from all backgrounds may help explain the broader pattern of minority underrepresentation in all advanced K−12 academic programs.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

A large Florida district introduced universal NNAT screening for second graders in spring 2005 without changing gifted eligibility standards. It substantially increased gifted identification among low-income, Black, Hispanic, ELL, and female students, suggesting traditional parent/teacher referral systems underrefer qualified disadvantaged students.

Key findings

  • Overall gifted share among third graders rose from 3.3% to 5.5%; the trend-adjusted increase was 1.5 ppt (SE 0.3), an odds ratio of 1.451, or a 45% increase in the odds of being identified as gifted. School-level difference-in-differences was 1.6 ppt (SE 0.3).
  • Plan B eligible students’ gifted share rose from 1.4% to 4.3% (OR 2.743, a 174% increase), while Plan A students rose from 5.1% to 6.6% (OR 1.108, 11%). Odds rose by 74% for Black students (OR 1.741) and 118% for Hispanic students (OR 2.183), versus 12% for White students (OR 1.123).
  • Newly identified gifted students (“compliers”) were about 80% Plan B eligible; compared with always takers, they were disproportionately Black (23% vs. 12%), Hispanic (46% vs. 16%), FRL (67% vs. 20%), ELL (18% vs. 2%), female (56% vs. 45%), and less likely to have English-speaking parents (29% vs. 74%), while only 8% were White vs. 61% of always takers.
  • Among Plan B students, compliers had similar mean IQ scores to always takers (124.5 vs. 124.2; difference 0.38), and 20% of compliers had IQs of 130 or higher vs. 25% of always takers. All 140 larger elementary schools had at least one gifted third grader in 2006 or 2007, whereas 13 schools had none in 2004 or 2005.

Methods

  • Natural experiment/interrupted time series using deidentified District longitudinal records. Sample: third graders in 2004–2007 at 140 larger elementary schools; full sample n = 78,065, Plan B sample n = 37,947. Pre cohorts were 2004–2005; post cohorts were 2006–2007. Universal screening began spring 2005 for second graders using the Naglieri Non-Verbal Ability Test (NNAT), with unchanged IQ thresholds (130 for Plan A; 116 for Plan B).
  • Analysis compared gifted shares pre/post, estimated trend-adjusted linear probability and logit odds-ratio models, and used difference-in-differences with matched comparison schools from other Florida districts. Complier characteristics were estimated as the trend-adjusted change in the gifted share with a given characteristic divided by the trend-adjusted change in the gifted share; SEs were clustered by school.

Limitations

  • Stated: the analysis covers only one school district, and the District’s distinctive features—nonverbal screening test, lower Plan B referral threshold, strict IQ thresholds, and relatively low baseline gifted rate around 3.5%—may limit generalizability.
  • Stated/evident: the program was suspended in 2010 due to Great Recession funding cuts, and by 2011 the gifted share had returned to 2004–2005 levels; comparison schools also gradually increased gifted rates after 2007, complicating long-term inference.
  • Evident: FRL and ELL status can change over time, so students may be classified as Plan B at referral but Plan A by the end of third grade; the pre/post design is not randomized, though the authors validate pre cohorts and use a matched comparison group.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1073/pnas.1605043113

Cites

15 of 15 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

56 Own result · 25 Own interpretation · 5 Own method · 5 No basis given · 4 Sources not found

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 11
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 19
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
29 of 29
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The District's student population is representative of the student population in many large urban districts.

    “Although the student population in the District is highly diverse, and arguably representative of the student population in many large urban districts, the District's gifted policies have a number of distinctive features.”
1 of 1

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Metadata

Authors
Card, D., & Giuliano, L.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • University of Miami (US)
Venue
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2016-11-15
Volume
113
Issue
48
Pages
13678-13683
ISSN
  • 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
  • 1091-6490
OpenAlex
W2154336198
Cited by
343
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 125 · 2025: 29 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 2
FWCI
32.40
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Grantee Submission
Funders
Institute of Ed (R305D110019)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
Keywords
gifted education, universal screening, underrepresentation, low-income students, minority students, English language learners, gender disparities, second grade students, urban school districts, eligibility criteria
MeSH terms
Child, Child, Gifted, Child, Preschool, Ethnicity, Female, Humans, Male, Mass Screening, Minority Groups, Socioeconomic Factors

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