school management
Lost potential
Schools missing out on gifted students .
By Emilie Lauer
A lack of teacher training and misuse of NAPLAN results are preventing schools from identifying and supporting gifted students , education experts have warned .
According to a new study from Griffith University , schools that have used NAPLAN test results to identify gifted children have been missing out on their giftedness as these students often underperform in the test .
Griffith University Education Lecturer Dr Michelle Ronksley-Pavia said using NAPLAN ’ s results to spot highly-potential kids shows that schools are confounding giftedness and talent .
“ When schools are using NAPLAN and thinking they ’ re identifying giftedness , they ’ re not ; they are looking for talent in the very narrow set of skills the test assesses ,” Dr Ronksley-Pavia told Education Review .
In Australia , gifted students are usually identified through the French-Canadian Gagné Model , which says gifted students have “ outstanding natural abilities or aptitudes ” in academics , sports , music and / or arts from a very young age .
Talented kids despite also having above-average skills , have to develop and
work on their natural abilities for years to reach the top .
While Dr Ronksley-Pavia said using NAPLAN to identify talented students was not “ particularly problematic ” as they are often academically high achievers , the misuse of the test can set gifted students on the wrong academic path .
This year , the NAPLAN band testing system was changed from 10 bands to four to detect and better support underachieving kids .
“ Gifted students often underachieve in NAPLAN testing , but they still could be exceptional students ,” Dr Ronksley-Pavia said .
At school , gifted students can be disengaged or bored with their gradelevel curriculum , resulting in being seen as underachievers .
In 2021 , more than 400,000 gifted students were sitting in classrooms nationwide - many unidentified .
Gifted students from rural , low socioeconomic , culturally diverse , or Indigenous backgrounds are the ones whose potential goes unnoticed the most .
Research indicates that up to 50 per cent of gifted students are underachieving , with 20 per cent dropping out of high school and 40 per cent failing to complete tertiary education .
UNSW ’ s Gifted Education Research Centre ( GERRIC ) director Associate Professor Dr Jae Jung , said that while
They ’ re the most neglected group within our education system .
teachers have been trying their best to support gifted students , they need more professional development .
“ Teachers are usually well-intentioned , but if they don ’ t have training in gifted education , they may rely on common myths and stereotypes about gifted students and gifted education ,” Dr Jung said .
According to Dr Jung , reviewing initial teacher education to integrate modules around giftedness and continuous professional development to identify gifted students and how to adapt the curriculum would be a step in the good direction .
“ For the last 30-plus years , we have largely ignored the educational needs of a section of the student population who may have made significant and substantial contributions to Australian society ,” he said .
“ Our brightest students are most likely to make a real difference to society ; they ’ re the ones best placed to find cures for cancers , solutions to global poverty , and to address today ’ s climate crisis .
“ And yet , they ’ re the most neglected group within our education system .” ■
educationreview . com . au | 25