Can the BRIGANCE® screens detect children who are gifted and academically talented?∗

Abstract

In order to assess whether the BRIGANCE Early Preschool, Preschool, and K & 1 Screens can help identify young children with probable intellectual giftedness or academic talent, 408 children were recruited from sites representing the geographic regions and demographic characteristics of the United States. Each child was administered the BRIGANCE and a criterion battery that included measures of achievement, language, adaptive behavior, and intelligence. Intellectually or academically gifted children performed significantly higher on the BRIGANCE Screens than did other children. Applying cutoff scores to the BRIGANCE enabled children without giftedness to be discerned from those with giftedness, although at rates slightly less than desirable. Detection rates could be substantially improved by using BRIGANCE scores above the cutoffs or teacher ratings of above average— enabling 82% of gifted children to be identified correctly and 73% of children without giftedness to be identified correctly. This approach to detection of young gifted children is not only quite accurate but also represents an economical method for gifted screening because BRIGANCE results are widely available and teacher ratings easy to obtain. Further, the BRIGANCE contained fewer biases than criterion measures in that gifted children with limited preschool experience, minority status, or whoe parents had limited children were readily identified.