Performance Assessment and Gifted Students Essay

Performance Assessment and Gifted Students - Essay Example Study shows that students of these days are almost changing the old education system due to being able to grasp ideas fast and easily. Though not all students are gifted and talented, many of them are able to excel in other different fields at school. With libraries having been incorporated in the learning curriculum, students have made good use of the facilities and have come up with their own research plans and projects. The libraries also encourage students to study ahead of their teachers, where they make use of a variety of materials apart from the normal class notes given by their teachers. Research shows that giftedness can be found in all cultures and can be expressed in different ways. Every individual usually has some hidden potential which, if given a little push could be unleashed. This is because despite having the gifts and talents, some students might just sit on them without taking any step to exploit them. It is thus the reason that teachers, parents and guardians sh ould take note of the gifted students and look out for the untapped hidden ability in them (Sarouphim 277). To start with, one must adopt a broader view of the idea of intelligence, giftedness, and talents that goes beyond the academic performance of an individual and which includes a wide variety of human abilities. Before beginning the process, it is also important to pay attention to the different kinds of giftedness that exist in an individual. These may include; emergent giftedness, potential giftedness or high-potential giftedness (Calero, Belen and Robles 176). The authors also provided that the reasons for having this procedure was because the giftedness or creativity level in a person was also affected by other external factors other than the individual’s own abilities. Such include; the socio-environmental variables, which may either hinder or optimize the abilities. This is mainly due to the fact that the environment with which a person grows up in can to a great e xtent affect how he or she exploits his or her talents. Study shows that individual’s performance could be affected by cultural and environmental factors, especially those in underrepresented communities (Sternberg and Reis 142). The extent to which an individual exploits their abilities is also said to depend on their gender. This is greatly affected by the research results which indicate that men are said to be more competent than women and, thus, their performance it deemed to be also better (Gorman and Kmec 841). This extensively affects the mentality of women and thus, very few of them will be willing to exploit their gifts and talents. Otherwise, others will sit on them and do nothing due to fear. Research also indicates that the performance of women will also be affected by the fact that no one pays attention or cares about their hidden abilities. Performance assessment of verbal and math achievement in students showed that the level of giftedness in students also diff ered in terms of gender. By use of the Internal/External Frame Model, (I/E Model) both males and females were found to be similarly gifted in the way that they formed their verbal and math self-concepts. However, the results of their scores were found to be completely different. Female students were found to be more