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385 BCE
Plato's Academy
Located in Akademeia, a suburb of ancient Athens, Greece, the philosopher, Plato, organized a school that educated students of superior intelligence, regardless of gender or social class. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Platonic_Academy -
418
Tang Dynasty
Chinese leaders recognize the talents of gifted students, sending them to the imperial court to further develop their gifts. China also acknowledges the variety of expressions of giftedness across different disciplines and creative arts. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted
and Talented. Boston: Pearson. https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/ancient-education.htm -
500
Equality in Education
Confucius makes point that education should be accessible to all Chinese children, but that education must be individualized to each child according to his or her ability. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
Private Academies for Gifted Students
In Japan, some scholars establish private academies for gifted children, both Samurai and commoners. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
First "Gifted" Program Established
William Torrey Harris began the first program for gifted students in St. Louis public schools. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale http://shsmo.org/historicmissourians/name/h/harris/ -
Hereditary Genius
English scientist Sir Francis Galton published a book, Hereditary Genius, in which intelligence was linked to heredity. He is also credited with being the author of the first significant research on intelligence testing. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Francis_Galton -
Double Tillage Plan
This was a form of grade-skipping created in Woburn, Massachusetts. First graders who were considered "bright" were allowed to attend the first semester of first grade and then switch to the second semester of second grade. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
Tracking Systems
Schools in Elizabeth, New Jersey allow gifted students to move at a faster pace through multiple tracking systems. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
First Gifted School Opens
The first school dedicated to the education of gifted children opens in Worcester, Massachusetts. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Binet and Simon: Intelligence Tests
French psychologists Alfred Binet and Theodore Simon are hired by the French government to develop tests to separate "normal" children from "dull" children in schools. These would later be revised by Lewis Terman and would become the precursor to modern day intelligence testing. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Intelligence Tests Reach the United States
Lewis Terman, a psychologist at Stanford University, supervised the "Americanization" of the Binet-Simon tests, producing what would eventually become the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
Lewis Terman Study
Lewis Terman begins the longest-running longitudinal study of gifted children. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale. -
Special Opportunities for Gifted Students
Leta Hollingworth begins the Special Opportunity Class at P.S. 165 in New York City. The class is for gifted students and will result in dozens of research articles, a book, and a school for gifted students. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Groundbreaking Research on Gifted Children Becomes Available
Lewis Terman publishes the first in a series of research reports, "Genetic Studies of Genius", which documented his longitudinal study of 1,528 gifted study. It is still the longest-running longitudinal study (40 years) on gifted children published in the United States. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
First Textbook on Gifted Education
Leta Hollingworth publishes Gifted Children: Their Nature and Nurture which is considered the first textbook on gifted education. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
Speyer School Opens
Leta Hollingsworth opens P.S. 500 in New York City, known as the Speyer School. The school is specifically designed for gifted students. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
NSFA
National Science Foundation Act provides federal funding for education in mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
NAGC
Ann Isaacs establishes the National Association of Gifted Children. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Sputnik Launch
The Soviet Union launches the Sputnik satellite; forcing the U.S. to examine the quality of public education. Federal funds are allocated to specifically in identifying those students who may be gifted and talented in those areas. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
NDEA
National Defense Education Act is passed by Dwight D. Eisenhower. The purpose of the law was to, in general, improve public education in the United States, and specifically to provide support through loans and scholarships to encourage students to continue on to post-secondary education. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Defense-Education-Act -
Marland Report
U.S. Commissioner of Education, Sidney P. Marland, issues a report detailing the lack of awareness in public education regarding the needs of gifted and talented students. The report also establishes a formal definition of "giftedness" and describes 6 separate areas of giftedness in children. http://gifted.uconn.edu/schoolwide-enrichment-model/major_turning_points/ http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Office of the Gifted and Talented
Resulting in large part from the information publicized in the Marland Report, the Office of the Gifted and Talented becomes an official department within the U.S. Office of Education. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Public Law 94-142
More widely known as the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, this law mandated that all children with special needs be served in public schools. However, services for gifted and talented students were noticeably missing from the federal law. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
Renzulli's 3-Ring Definition of Gifted Behaviors
Instead of defining gifted individuals, Dr. Joseph Renzulli describes gifted behaviors as having 3 components: above-average ability, high task commitment, and high levels of creativity. http://gifted.uconn.edu/schoolwide-enrichment-model/major_turning_points/ -
A Nation at Risk
Published in 1983, this report outlined key areas in which U.S. public school students were failing to compete with their international peers. The report offered suggestions for reforming public education and included serving gifted students among the populations needing additional support. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_at_Risk -
Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist at Harvard University, published a book, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences, in which he posits that humans have a variety of intellectual capacities outside of what can be measured on an IQ test. http://gifted.uconn.edu/schoolwide-enrichment-model/major_turning_points/ http://multipleintelligencesoasis.org/about/ -
Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act
First passed by Congress in 1988 (and recently renewed), the Act was created to support program services for gifted and talented students. It continues to be the only federally funded program specifically devoted to gifted students. https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-university-professionals/jacob-javits-gifted-talented-students http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented
Established at the University of Connecticut and the brainchild of Dr. Joseph Renzulli; the center included researchers from the University of Virginia, Yale University and the University of Georgia. Their studies spanned 23 years, and the teams developed curricula for gifted students in reading/language arts and mathematics. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. http://nrcgt.uconn.edu/ -
National Excellence: The Case for Developing America's Talent
Report published by the U.S. Department of Education exposing the "Quiet Crisis" in the education of gifted and talented students. The report pinpointed a lack of opportunities available to gifted and talented students and outlined a number of suggestions to remedy the "squandering" of talent. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
The Bell Curve
The book, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life, by psychologist Richard Hernstein and political scientist Charles Murray caused considerable controversy due to its narrow correlation of the definition of giftedness to IQ scores, the observation that some minority populations exhibit lower IQ scores, and concerns of political motivation. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. -
Gifted Program Standards
The NAGC publishes standards for pre-K through grade 12 gifted programs. The standards would be revised in 2010 and renamed Pre-K-Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/national-standards-gifted-and-talented-education/pre-k-grade-12 http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-tale -
NCLB
The No Child Left Behind Act is passed and includes provisions for statewide gifted programs and once again modifies and expands the definition of "giftedness" to include recognition of talents in non-academic areas. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-talented-education -
A Nation Deceived
The Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa publishes a report urging schools to provide accelerated programs for gifted students. http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/gifted-education-us/brief-history-gifted-and-talented-education https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_Deceived -
National Gifted Education Standards
NAGC publishes national gifted education standards for use in teacher preparation programs and for the development of gifted programs. -
America Competes Act
The America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Act did not specifically target gifted students, but its goal was to strengthen opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as raising the participation and success of students in secondary AP and IB programs. Davis, A., Rimm, S., & Siegle, D. (2011). Education of the Gifted and Talented. Boston: Pearson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_COMPETES_Act
