The Link Among Intelligence, Giftedness, and Identification

There is an inevitable link among intelligence, giftedness, and identification.


When I think about these three words I immediately put them in an order of variance from more concrete to more vague. In this spectrum I would place them as follows:

More Concrete

intelligence

identification

giftedness

More Vague

Is it any wonder why there is such controversy concerning gifted education when it is difficult to even define giftedness? When learning about the identification procedures for gifted education, it is easy to play devil's advocate and to question the methods used. "How do you show creativity?" "How can a student who gets poor grades be gifted?" "Shouldn't gifted students be excellent readers?"

The links among intelligence, giftedness, and identification are inevitable. Giftedness is a reflection of intelligence and identification is a a natural progression from giftedness. I believe that if the vagueness seen in identification and giftedness can be clarified, then gifted education will benefit.