Why I Care About Gifted Black Students

INTRODUCTION
I am a white guy from a small town in Oklahoma who has lived for more than a
half of a century and who has often struggled academically. So why am I interested in the
success of African-American students who happen to be gifted and talented? I do not
particularly know for sure myself, but I do have some clues.
My mother once told me when my brother and I first saw a black person we ran
home frightened. As I aged from childhood to early adolescence I gave African-
Americans very little thought. Then about 1962 or so I became fascinated by the
television images of the civil rights movement. In particular, I was moved by the violence
at the University of Mississippi featured on a “CBS Reports” special. I kept asking
myself “Why?”
In college an active Black Student Union on campus organized some modest
protests against some policies long forgotten. However, I was more concerned about the
Vietnam War than about civil rights. With graduation and a wife I concerned myself with
working and eventually serving in the military.
It was probably living in Germany for three years as an American soldier that
finally opened me to cultural awareness. Not only was I a foreigner but I also began to
study and reflect on Christian social ethics. My study included a reading of one of the
biographies on Martin Luther King, Jr. My interest in ethics continued as a seminary
student and later as a religious educator serving on church staffs.
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I received my “graduate seminar” in culture and ethics in 1993. I traveled to
Russia and spent a week with a teacher and her family. I walked the streets of a Russian
city alone. I thought much about how Russia was in the process of re-building itself from
communism. What is a nation? What are proper nationalistic values? How does a people
come to grips with the truth? I fully became aware that for the United States our unity is
found in democratic principles and not in religious, ethnic, racial, or class unity. I decided
to leave the fulltime ministry and enter public education partially to fulfill my desire to
help expand democratic values.
While pursuing teacher certification, I enrolled for a required course in special
education (Teaching Exceptional Children and Youth) through the University of
Missouri- Kansas City. I presented a class project on “Some Issues Regarding Gifted and
Talented African-American Students in Urban High Schools.” Of all the individual
projects presented, my presentation evoked the most passionate and longest discussion. It
whetted my intellectual appetite to continue to study in this area.
In the four schools I have been a teacher I have been a minority. The majority-
my African-American students- are a minority in this nation. But it is a nation for all of
us. Americans are a culturally rich people because we are a culturally diverse people. The
American character is built on initiative and work and is expressed through our freedoms-
primarily the freedom to worship, the freedom from fear, the freedom from want, and the
freedom of speech. This is our heritage as imperfect as we have fulfilled it, but it is a
heritage worth passing on to our succeeding generations.
African-Americans, as well as other Americans, have been historically denied
full access to the American Dream. As an educator I have a desire to assist young
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African-Americans, particularly the best and the brightest, to find their places in the
American Dream not only as leaders of their fellow African-Americans but also as
leaders of all Americans.
To be successful one must overcome challenges. In this paper I will seek to
discover those challenges facing gifted and talented African-American students and
suggest ways in which they might transcend those challenges with the assistance of
concerned administrative leadership in the schools. Performance, not potential, is a key to
success.
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THE BASIC PROBLEM OF UNDERREPRESENTATION
Challenges facing gifted and talented African-American students are very real.
The impact of gifted and talented programs on these students is questioned.
Implementing such programs and recruiting students into them raises some very pertinent
issues. These issues need to be identified not only in the context of public education, but
also in the situation of the continuing racial dilemma in our nation. As suggested by
Hamburg (1992, p. 15), if and how these issues are resolved will not only affect public
education, but also the economic vitality and democratic foundations of the United States.
African-American students to be recruited for gifted and talented programs are
not found in relatively ideal educational situations. While Gallagher (1975, p. 43) and
Clark (1983, p. 123) maintain that gifted students have the tendency to come from stable
families and environments, Lee, Winfield, and Wilson (1991) report that the majority of
high-achieving African-American students attend the typical urban schools whose student
bodies are composed of ethnic/racial minorities who are economically disadvantaged and
who demonstrate more discipline problems and less academic commitment.
Suskind (1998) highlights one such school in his chronicle of the academic
journey of Cedric Jennings. Frank W. Ballou Senior High School in Washington, DC-
Jennings’s school- has, to no one’s surprise, many problems. During the 1993-94 school
year there were axe and knife fights on school property and five fires set by arsonists.
Sporadic attendance, fifth-grade reading levels, 18-year-old sophomores, and only 80
students among 1350 enrollees averaging “B” or better are the least worse problems at
Ballou! (p.1-10)
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Jennings, as reported by Suskind, graduates from Ballou and enters the elite Ivy
League Brown University and eventually graduates. But two of his classmates at Ballou,
Phillip “Blunt” Atkins and Delante “Head” Coleman are academic casualties. All three
are African-Americans and all three would have been probable candidates for a gifted
and talented program if one had existed. (p. 8-9)
Smith, LeRose, and Clasen (1991, p. 81) would not be surprised by the lack of
such a program at Ballou: “The underrepresentation of minority students in programs for
the gifted has been a source of concern for years.” Their research demonstrates that
minority students do benefit from gifted and talented programs and these programs
positively impact drop-out rates and college enrollment. The Hickman Mills C-1 School
District in Kansas City, where I teach, is an example. The district’s gifted and talented
program has a minority enrollment of forty percent of the total, the highest in years. Yet
the district is seventy percent minority enrollment.
Crenshaw High School, located in south central Los Angeles, is one school with a
gifted and talented program. Corwin (2001) chronicles the trials and triumphs of twelve
students in that program. Opened in 1968, Crenshaw has 2800 students mostly drawn
from impoverished neighborhoods. Like Ballou, Crenshaw has the gangs, fights,
shootings, and the general chaos usually associated with urban high schools. (p. 28-29)
Yet Crenshaw is also home to a successful gifted and talented magnet program put in
place by a school board making a political trade-off by also creating a similar program in
the more affluent San Fernando Valley suburbs. (p. 213-214)
Students must score at least 125 on an IQ test or in the top 20th
percentile in the
nation on both the mathematics and verbal sections of a standardized exam to qualify for
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Crenshaw’s program. Although qualifying scores are usually higher in suburban school
programs, the students in Crenshaw’s program have test scores considerably higher than
their peers. (p. 214)
As might be suspected, to be a gifted and talented student at Crenshaw High
School poses particular barriers to success. Among the challenges faced by one or more
students in Corwin’s study include:
• Living in foster homes
• Domestic violence
• Parents with alcohol, drug, and/or severe medical problems
• Working practically fulltime during evenings, weekends, and holidays
• Constant moving
• Peer pressure to join or re-join gangs or to stop acting “white”
• Pregnancies and the need for low-cost child care in order to attend school
• Lack of special tutoring such as SAT prep
• School violence
• Substitute teachers not briefed on student needs and progress
• Philosophical differences among teachers
• Personal self-image
• Criminal activity among the gifted and talented students themselves
Although Crenshaw’s program has been successful in preparing its students for
college, including selective schools, it is one of relatively few serving minority students.
In the absence of gifted and talented programs for African-American students, many
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researchers focus on high-achievers. Lee, Winfield, and Wilson list cultural barriers for
high-achieving African-American students that could also negatively affect them being
identified as gifted and talented. By simultaneously belonging to three groups- the
mainstream, the African-rooted black culture, and a status-oppressed racial/ethnic group-
these students face membership expectations, identities, and values that are often in
conflict. “This conflict influences academic achievement/performance through higher
levels of stress, less effective study time, and reduced academic recall ability.” Suskind
(1998) adds that the teachers previously cited Ballou High School have labeled a barrier
at their school the “crab-bucket syndrome.” In effect, when one student tries to achieve
academically, the other students pull him/her back down through peer pressure or even
outright violence. (p. 1-4)
Lee, Winfield, and Wilson note that high-achievers differ from low-achievers in
three ways: they read more, complete more homework, and watch slightly less television.
In particular regards to television, Diuguid (1995) maintains that television viewing is
detrimental to black students. African-Americans as a whole watch seventy hours of
television a week as compared to approximately fifty hours for all other households and
black children, ages 2-17, watch sixty-four percent more television than children of other
races. Furthermore, black men are often portrayed in television programming as skirt-
chasers or buffoons, police drams often show crime occurring in black neighborhoods,
and situation comedies are the “ghettos” for black actors. These media stereotypes
reportedly affect the employability of blacks because employers tend to accept the
stereotypes as reality.
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If and when African-Americans enter gifted and talented programs and benefit
from them, what is expected of them? Five responsibilities, according to Harrington
(1991), are required of gifted-creative-talented teenagers: 1) seek one’s level of
frustration- expand one’s limits, 2) be willing to help others- share one’s knowledge, 3)
become involved- participate in activities, 4) assume leadership- use one’s organizational
ability and managerial skills, and 5) be a culture bearer- help determine societal values.
It is this fifth responsibility that is a major source of controversy for African-
Americans generally and especially black students identified as gifted and talented and
expected to be leaders in their chosen fields of endeavor. The question becomes which
culture shall these teenagers bear, now and in the future- the mainstream white culture or
their own particular black culture.
Both Gallagher (1975) and Clark (1983) ask pertinent questions regarding cultural
pluralism and cultural assimilation. Gallagher (p. 386) questions whether educators can
find the blend of common values of both the dominant culture and the minority cultures
so that gifted and talents students can be properly developed. Clark (p. 341) in the context
of democratic values more fundamentally questions whether we really want cultural
pluralism or will continue to push cultural assimilation.
The basic problem of underrepresentation as described above is created and
sustained by various interrelated factors and has no easy permanent solutions. As a result
of its profound importance, the debate has entered into the arena of national public policy
in which both logic and emotion interplay. The major factors involved will be examined
below.
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UNDERACHIEVEMENT
Underachievement is a major challenge for gifted and talented African-American
students. According to Landgraff (2001) the achievement gap between school
performance and race/ethnicity does not appear to be closing. He cites data from the
National Assessment of Educational Progress that shows the gap between white and
black students has been widening over the past 10-15 years in mathematics and reading in
middle and high schools.
However, according to Ford and Thomas (1997), there is little consensus on how
to effectively define underachievement in gifted and talented students. There are two
related problems with this issue- defining giftedness and measuring giftedness. (See
Appendix A for a list of differences between bright and gifted students.)
School districts use various definitions of giftedness, but generally rely on teacher
recommendations and scores on intelligence or achievement tests to identify gifted and
talented students. Measuring is accomplished through different instruments and criteria.
Intelligence tests, achievement tests, aptitude tests, and grade point averages are generally
the more conventional means of measuring for giftedness. But schools will use these
means in differing mixes.
Underachievement in this context is described as the discrepancy between ability
and performance. Some common characteristics of underachievement have been
identified. They include:
• Very high IQ
• Poor work habits
• Seeming inability to concentrate
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• Lack of effort in tasks
• Intense interest in one particular area
• Frequently unfinished work
• Low self-esteem
• Demonstration of emotional frustration
• Negative attitudes towards self and peers
• Skill deficit in at least one subject area
• Inattentiveness to task at hand
• Failure to respond to motivation by usual teacher techniques
Ford (1995) states that 46 percent of black students surveyed were
underachieving. There are three factors contributing to this phenomena according to Ford
and Thomas:
1. Sociopsychological: poor self-esteem, low academic and social self-concepts, racial
identity, choosing between need for achievement and need for affiliation
2. Family-related: parents who are less optimistic with expressed feelings of
helplessness and hopelessness, less assertive and involved in their children’s
education, unrealistic and unclear expectations for their children, less confident in
terms of their parenting skills
3. School-related: less positive teacher-student relations, having too little time to
understand the material, less supportive classroom climate, being unmotivated and
disinterested in school
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In 1997 the College Board organized the National Task Force on Minority High
Achievement to study and address the issue of the chronic shortage of African-American,
Hispanic, and Native American students who achieve at very high academic levels. The
task force concluded that among the forces limiting high academic achievement among
minority students are
• Intense poverty
• Schools with inadequate resources
• Racial and ethnic prejudice
• Limited educational resources of many families and communities
• Cultural differences
Cultural differences seem to play an essential part in why gifted and talented
African-American students underachieve. Two major streams of thought have emerged
which approach this problem from different angles. They are the external threat from the
white culture and the internal problems generated from within the black community.
EXTERNAL THREAT FROM WHITE CULTURE
Steele (1992) maintains that the assimilation approach devalues African-
American students. In this approach they are only valued and rewarded in school and
later life as they give up their particular black styles of speech and appearance, value
priorities, and preferences to mainstream white culture. While Steele concedes this
approach may be fine for immigrant minority groups, African-Americans (and Native
Americans) have been here long enough for them to help whites define the cultural
images used in school. By uncritically accepting assimilation into the white culture, black
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students are being asked to join something that has historically oppressed them into the
cultural margins.
The direct result of this process according to Steele, is a 70 percent dropout rate
for African-American students from four-year colleges as compared with 45 percent for
white students. Also, black students average a half letter below the grades of white
classmates, need more time to earn their degrees, and a fewer number are studying for
advanced degrees.
Rejecting poverty, social isolation, and poor preparation as reasons for this
dilemma, Steele writes that American schooling fails to treat African-American students
as valued persons with good prospects for success. Thus, they are stigmatized to the point
where white society is preconditioned to see the worst in them and where they must win
acceptance from teachers and fellow students at each level of schooling. Many black
students, including the gifted and talented, therefore feel hopeless in the face of public
school and higher education systems that underappreciate them through negative
stereotypes.
Steele (1999) is delighted that a major study (Bowen and Bok, 1998) shows that
black students who attend selective liberal arts colleges and research universities do well
in graduate programs and subsequent professional advancement. But he laments the
underperformance of black undergraduates- lower standardized test scores, lower grades,
and lower graduation rates.
He rhetorically asks whether the problem comes from poor motivation, distracting
peer pressure, lack of family values, or genes. Or whether underperformance stems from
social and economic deprivation, low expectations, and diminishing stereotypes. Steele
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opts for the latter and terms the phenomenon “stereotype threat.” This is the process “…
of being viewed through the lens of a negative stereotype, or the fear of doing something
that would inadvertedly confirm that stereotype.”
Parenthetically, this process was commented upon by a writer (Robinson, 2001)
reflecting upon a picture of a Naval Academy midshipman who graduated last in his
class. He is smiling and he is black. Robinson is concerned that the graduate is
celebrating and comments that this is an inopportune time for an African-American
(emphasis mine) to do so. Although I agree with his concern as fully expressed in the
article, I do also see how stereotype threat can operate. The midshipman in question is
not singled out as an individual, but as a representative of a race.
Although Steele points out that everyone- white males, Methodists, women, the
elderly, etc.- experiences stereotype threat, he maintains African-American students in
particular generally negative stereotypes in many situations, both public and private. As a
result, the fundamental questions becomes for them whether race will be a boundary for
them in their overall experiences, emotions, and relationships.
According to Steele, stereotype threat is external rather than merely “self-
fulfilling prophecy.” It is a situational experience based upon the risk of being negatively
stereotyped. While conventional wisdom says that stereotype threat poses problems
primarily for weaker students, Steele and his associates found it actually more impairs the
more achieving students- the most skilled, motivated, and confident. These students have
invested much in academic performance and thus they worry excessively about the
popular perceptions and treatment of themselves and their group if they fail to produce
what is expected based upon their talents and records of past achievements.
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Steele’s research also reveals how stereotype threat can be reduced. By
strengthening their trust that they are not being evaluated on the basis of stereotypes,
black students will perform “…at the same high level as whites even if their self-
confidence had been weakened by a prior failure.”
In their confidence that an academic activity is racially fair, black students will
perform well. They will welcome constructive criticism of their performances in order to
improve. However, without the perception of racial fairness, African-American students,
even with “nice and sensitive” criticism, will deem academic criticism not only as an
evaluation of their work but also of the worthiness of their group.
High standards and critical feedback, according to Steele, need to be made
explicit to students laboring under stereotype threat. Black students need to be assured
that they are being academically evaluated on the basis of their individual strengths and
weaknesses, not their entire race. The key to success for black students, Steele asserts, is
the degree to which they trust that stereotypes will not be applied to them.
PROBLEMS FROM WITHIN BLACK CULTURE
Countering Steele, McWhorter (2000) feels that the challenges faced by African-
American students come not from white society, but are generated from within the black
community. The cults of victimology, separatism, and anti-intellectualism are self-
generated barriers to academic success, even for black students at elite prep schools and
colleges. McWhorter states, “It is much easier on the soul to return always to racism to
explain black underperformance…that black students want to learn but are thwarted from
doing so, is not the usual case.”
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The cult of victimology calls attention to victimization where it barely exists at
all. And as McWhorter explains, “…all too often this is not done with a view toward
forging solutions, but to foster and nurture an unfocused brand of resentment and sense of
alienation from the mainstream.” (p. 2) The adherents to this worldview are both blacks
and sympathetic whites.
Victimology is founded on the belief that African-Americans have not
substantially bettered their social, economic, and political conditions in the four decades
since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. In contrast, McWhorter states that the
poverty rate among blacks has been halved since 1960, that the professional and
managerial ranks among blacks are growing, and that college graduation rates have
nearly tripled. He does not doubt that pockets of racism still exist in the United States, but
amid such progress, McWhorter questions victimology as a realistic worldview.
Victimology has a real presence in public policy. “Most black public statements
are filtered through it, almost all race-related policy is founded upon it, and almost all
evaluations by blacks of one another are colored by it.” (p. 3) McWhorter (p. 8-25) lists
and counters seven “articles of faith” upon which victomology is mistakenly founded:
1. Most blacks are poor. (“Most blacks are neither poor nor close to it.”)
2. Black people get paid less than whites for the same job. (“The black median income
is dragged down…by the extenuating factor of the low income of unwed mothers on
welfare, a larger proportion of the black population than the white.”)
3. There is an epidemic of racist arson of black churches. (“From 1990 to 1996, about
eighty black churches were burned. During the same period, however, over seven
times that many white churches were burned every year.)
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4. The U.S. government funneled crack into south central Los Angeles. (“…no one has
ever proven the CIA funneled crack into South Central or anywhere else…not even a
reporter who spent months searching for such proof, whose reputation hung on the
case, and who could resuscitate his reputation by at least finding the smoking gun.”)
5. The number of black men in prison is due to a racist justice system. (“…contrary to
the idea that blacks are arrested disproportionately, their proportion of the prison
population of the prison population neatly reflects the rate at which they commit
crimes.”)
6. The police stop-and-frisk more black people than whites because of racism. (“Even a
police force devoid of racism, and never abusive or discourteous in stop-and-frisk
encounters, would in some areas have to stop more black people than white to prevent
crime effectively.)
7. Police brutality against black people reveals the eternity of racism. (“…police
brutality is exactly where one would expect the last major type of racism to be, and as
such, is one more demonstration that racism is on its way out, not holding firm.”)
McWhorter (p. 31-33) further states that there are two misconceptions about
victimology. First, it is an inner-city pathology. Since only twenty percent of blacks live
in ghettos, victimology is also popular among educated American-Americans with ample
social, economic, and political opportunities. Second, victimology is a conscious political
ploy to gain and hold power. Rather, it is a subconscious influence, a foundational
paradigm, that impacts how one conceives of race issues.
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There are several problems with victimology for African-Americans. (p. 43-49)
First, it condones weakness and failure. Second, it hampers any performance. Third, and
finally, victimology is an affront to the legancies of the civil rights heroes.
The cult of separation, in McWhorter’s view, is a direct product of victimology.
This cult encourages African-Americans to view themselves as a sovereign entity since
white Americans are overtly racist and eternally hostile towards blacks. “In practice
(separatism) narrows horizons, holding blacks back from being the best they can be.” (p.
51)
Separatism is manifested primarily in three ways. (p. 51-61) First, mainstream
culture is considered “white” and therefore the mainstream cultural expressions of art,
music, and literature are not deemed worthy of serious reflection by many blacks. Works
by black authors and artists are elevated to an artificial platform of excellence instead of
being seen as an integral part of the entire cultural mosaic.
Second, academic work is “ghettoized” by black scholars focusing primarily on
Afrocentric history and issues. “In this vein, a considerable amount of black academic
work downplays logical argument and factual evidence in the service of fulfilling an
idealized vision of the black past and present, which is founded not upon intellectual
curiosity but upon raising in-group self-esteem.” (p. 54) Chronicling past and present
black victimhood takes priority over scholarly inquiry about black people.
Third, Hollywood’s depiction of black people is denounced by the cult of
separatism. Complaints range from denying blacks their individuality on the screen to
“neutering” black entertainers in the name of white racist domination. McWhorter does
indeed criticize Hollywood for past abuses, but declares that television and film now
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regularly portray blacks as normal people, not typecasting them as Toms, Coons,
Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks.
According to McWhorter (p. 61), the major problem of separatism is that because
of victimhood African-Americans cannot be held responsible for any immoral or
destructive acts. First public in the Black Power rhetoric of the 1960s and 1970s, this
thought reached its zenith in the trial of O.J. Simpson. A majority of blacks supported
Simpson, either believing in a white police conspiracy against him or that even if he had
committed two murders, they desired that he be let off because of the past racism against
blacks.
McWhorter (p. 76-81) also addresses three other problems with separatism. It
reinforces the dumb black myth by promoting tribalism over logic. It hinders hiring and
career advancement through impressions of hostility towards white employers. And it
makes blacks inferior by equating black culture with the pardoning and glorifying of
immoral behavior.
Finally, there is the cult of anti-intellectualism. (p. 82-163) This is expressed
through the feeling that school and learning are “white” things. As a result, many
African-American students prefer inference to innovation; they resist new ways of
thinking. They are also leery of precision. Although these traits are also present found in
other ethnic groups, McWhorter feels these are major barriers to learning for blacks. Not
only is anti-intellectualism present in the inner city, it is also found among black students
in the suburbs and at elite prep schools and colleges.
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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Affirmative action was created out of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Corwin (p. 355-356) reports that Vice President Lyndon Johnson asked Hobart Taylor,
Jr., a black attorney, to help write an executive order barring federal contractors from
racial discrimination in hiring practices. Taylor coined the term “affirmative action” to
give a positive sense to the executive order. President John Kennedy signed Executive
Order 10924 in March 1961 banning hiring based on race, creed, color, or national origin.
In 1965 President Johnson delivered a commencement speech at Howard
University which shifted affirmative action from simple nondiscrimination to “equality as
a result.” Moving from the protective to the proactive, affirmative action now called for
minorities and women to be given special consideration in employment, education, and
contracts. Recruitment, set-asides, and preference are the usual ways of achieving
affirmative action goals. However, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial quotas.
And unqualified candidates are not covered by affirmative action policies.
Affirmative action has become a heated political controversy. Many Americans
now feel it is reverse discrimination against otherwise qualified persons, especially white
males, while others feel it is helping to “level the playing field” of economic and
educational opportunities for all persons.
The “playing field” in education has been leveled somewhat. Corwin (p. 356-357)
reports that in 1965 less than five percent of all college students were black, only one
percent attended law schools, and only two percent attended medical schools. Overall,
black participation in higher and professional education has at least tripled since the
1960s. As previously stated, the study by Bowen and Bok (1998, p. 1-14) of affirmative
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action at 28 selective liberal arts colleges and research universities shows that black
college graduates, many admitted under affirmative action, do well in graduate school
and subsequent professional advancement.
The chief outcry against educational affirmative action appears to be that very
qualified white students are not admitted to many selective colleges and universities
because their places are taken by less qualified black students. Another concern centers
on the students themselves admitted under affirmative action. The general perception is
that their success is unearned; therefore they will never be “good enough.”
McWhorter shares that he himself was helped by affirmative action, but now
opposes the policy. (p. 247- 254) He believes that black students do not have an incentive
to achieve at their highest levels if they utilize affirmative action. And he also points out
that affirmative action students will always know that they are where they are because of
lower standards.
Suskind reports Cedric Jennings certainly had feelings of doubt after he left
Ballou High School for Brown University. A mealtime discussion in a dorm dining hall
turned to Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT) scores as a son of a British mining
millionaire casually mentioned that he had probably received the lowest score in the
present group. So they all shared their scores that ranged from a high of 1430 to a low of
970. Then Cedric shared his- 960. He confessed to no one in particular, “I am not
ashamed of it or anything” as he realized SAT scores had become identity numbers for
the students. (p. 169-170)
In the next several days panic and bewilderment set in on Cedric. (p. 170-190) He
began to feel that he lacked the prerequisite knowledge and acquired poise to be at
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Brown. For example, he did not know who Freud was during a lunchtime discussion. In
the campus bookstore he failed to recognize either a picture of Jerry Garcia on the cover
of Rolling Stone or a picture of Winston Churchill on the book jacket of a new biography.
He did not know about Ellis Island or its significance during a class lecture. Affirmative
action may have gained Cedric entry into Brown but it did not prepare him for Brown.
Although many national political candidates have campaigned against affirmative
action, it was not until 1996 when California passed Proposition 209 that the tide against
affirmative action began in earnest. California now prohibits public universities and
colleges, as well as other state and local agencies, to discriminate against or give
preferential treatment to any individual or group in local employment, public education,
or public contracting on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. Except
where prohibited by federal law, affirmative action is dead in California. (Texas has
followed suit to some degree.) As a result, black admissions have plummeted on the
University of California campuses, especially Berkeley and Los Angeles.
While many current supporters of affirmative action are in the “mend it, don’t end
it” stage, affirmative action appears to have reached its peak.. While certainly needed in
the 1960s as worthwhile public policy it is now, as in the reflection of Goodwin (1988)
on President Johnson’s Great Society program as a whole, needs adjustment:
…the country has the capacities- resources, skill, freedom-
which it had in the sixties. And perhaps the energizing
essentials of will and belief are not dead at all, but merely
dormant. Maybe if we open Lyndon Johnson’s closet we
find not a corpse, but a sleeping princess ready to be
restored. Of course she will need a new wardrobe. Styles
have changed in twenty-five years. But not beauty. Not the
ideal of beauty. (p. 427)
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Since McWhorter is correct that most black students are middle class socially and
economically and since Steele maintains that black students desire to be evaluated as
individuals, gifted and talented African-American students would do well to focus on
academic achievement and not affirmative action to help insure they are successful in
their futures.
STANDARDIZED TESTING
Standardized testing is another particular challenge for gifted and talented
African-American students. As discovered by Jencks and Phillips (1988, p. 1-51), black
students score lower than white students on standardized tests including vocabulary,
reading, mathematics, scholastic aptitude, and intelligence tests. This black-white test
score gap exists from pre-kindergarten through adulthood. Although this gap has
narrowed since 1970, the typical black student still scores below 75-85 percent of white
students.
This gap appears to be entrenched. Jencks and Phillips claim the gap only shrinks
slightly when black and white students attend the same schools and when black and white
families have similar schooling, income, and wealth. But if we can reduce the test score
gap very profound and positive results could be obtained to benefit all Americans.
Reducing the gap in test performance could reduce racial differences in educational
attainment and earnings as well as allow schools and businesses to eliminate affirmative
action policies.
Of particular concern to gifted and talent African-American students is the
Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT). The SAT is preferred by private schools and schools
22

on the east and west coasts. So doing well on the SAT is an entry into selective liberal
arts colleges and research universities (like the ones in the Bowen and Bok study). It is in
these schools that the nation’s future leadership in many endeavors is educated and
nourished. The networks available for graduates of these schools are invaluable for
professional advancement and personal fulfillment. If African-Americans are to be
leaders in an increasingly multicultural United States along with Asian-Americans and
Hispanic-Americans, the gifted and talented ones must score well in order to gain entry
and ultimately graduate from these schools. Yet the SAT is controversial and under attack
for racial and cultural biases.
The history of SAT begins with the dawn of the 20th
century. In 1900, twelve
northeastern universities set up the College Entrance Examination Board to administer
admissions tests. These tests were essay-oriented in specific subjects graded by
professional readers. The effect of these tests was to force the prep schools that supplied
students to these universities to adopt a uniform curriculum so students would arrive at
college well prepared.
During World War I, the United States Army used a primitive intelligence test on
its draftees as the military grew from a small home defense force to a massive
expeditionary force sent to Europe. There were two versions of this objective mental test-
the Alpha and the Beta. After the war the military test, particularly the Alpha version,
was adapted for civilian uses.
The late 19th
century and early 20th
century was an era of standardization- standard
gauge on the railroad tracks, federal bureaucracy, big corporations and trusts, and a
national media. A similar push in education as Lemann (1995) notes was for “…a
23

uniform means of comparing students from all across the highly localized American
education system…”
Eventually the SAT evolved, being first used in 1926 and administered to 8,000
high school students. The emphasis initially was on vocabulary, especially antonyms and
analogies. But the early SAT was founded more on educational preparedness rather than
aptitude. The use of the SAT spread. Lemann describes this evolution as using “…a
brand new means- multiple-choice mental testing- being applied to an old goal- choosing
a society’s elite on the basis of merit.”
Thus “meritocracy” entered the cultural lexicon. As opposed to an “artificial
aristocracy” based on wealth and birth, meritocracy is a “natural aristocracy” based on
virtue and talents. This concept is as old as Plato and was endorsed by Thomas Jefferson.
Fallows (1980) lists three unspoken principles of American meritocracy:
• There is “intelligence” or “ability,” and it can be measured.
• Intelligence matters.
• Education is the engine of social progress and intelligence is its fuel.
In the United States, meritocracy is related to the idea of universal individual opportunity.
The American character is marked by the desire to get ahead, to escape one’s original
social condition.
But the issue of standardized testing for college selection was not initially to “get
ahead.” The traditional road to financial opportunity was in the marketplace, not in higher
education. In fact, most American teenagers did not graduate from high school until 1940
much less attend college. With the coming of the GI Bill following World War II,
expanding higher education opportunities received wide support from Americans.
24

Proponents of the SAT struggled to raise it to prominence. The chief target for its use was
the University of California, then the largest national university. When the university
fully adopted its use by requiring SAT scores from all applicants, the SAT took off. In the
year 2000 44 percent of high school students took it for a total of more than two million
students.
The SAT has its critics. Even as the University of California system was adopting
the SAT as an admissions requirement in 1967, Bowdoin College began questioning its
validity and made the test optional for applying students in 1969. Mount Holyoke
College, among others, have also recently taken the optional route on an experimental
basis. Now the president of the University of California system has called for the end of
the SAT as an admissions requirement.
Critics of the SAT question its ability to predict success in college. Among the
points the critics list are:
• The SAT does not measure the “heart” or motivation of students. Highly motivated
students from dysfunctional schools and/or families can be successful in college
without high SAT scores provided they have access to special support such as
tutoring and counseling programs.
• The SAT does not measure the “whole” student. Mount Holyoke College, for
example, in its optional experiment requires three essays and a graded writing sample
or an interview in its admissions process to ascertain academic strengths in students.
Instead of vocabulary potency, many colleges are looking for more “well rounded”
students like the ones who edit the school newspaper or act in the school play.
25

• The SAT can be detrimental to students’ self-esteem. Relatively low scores could
hinder professional aspirations as well as a personal sense of competence. Cloud
(2001) reports that ability, class, and pride intersect at the SAT. He quotes the
television comic Conan O’Brien, “It has taken 20 years to forget that damn test, and
looking up my scores would be like going back to Vietnam.”
• SAT preparation is expensive. While the College Board insists that the average
student spends only eleven hours preparing for the test (with minimal results),
Princeton Review’s SAT prep has become big business. Six-week classes with
homework can cost $799 to $899. Other tutoring is even more expensive, ranging
from $5,000 to $8,000 annually and even up to $25,000 each year.
• The SAT is racially biased. Blacks and Hispanics typically score lower than whites.
The test writers are primarily white and the questions on the SAT reflect a
mainstream cultural experience. Even black students from affluent families score
worse on average than white students.
Proponents of the SAT counter-claim that the test is thoroughly researched. Also,
large samples of test takers preview SAT questions. SAT has six sections, one of which
contains the preview questions. This section does not count in each student’s total score.
The black-white test score gap is attributed to inferior educational preparation. Test
advocates point to the fact that Asians and immigrants from the Caribbean also score well
on the SAT.
Promoters also stress that the SAT does indeed reasonably predict college
success, particularly in the first year. But they also admit that the test is simply a measure
of a student’s ability to answer questions at a given time. In fact, while the “aptitude”
26

part of the title has been changed to “achievement,” the test is now regularly just called
the “SAT.” Many confess that while the SAT is imperfect, it is probably the best we
have. (See Appendix B for sample SAT questions.)
Alternatives to the SAT have been proposed, including the Bial-Dale College
Adaptability Index. This test includes a ten-minute section in which small groups of
students reproduce a Lego robot. Grinnell College makes limited use of the index for
minority student admissions.
But, overall, the alternatives have so far proved to be inadequate. For example,
Lafayette College became SAT-optional in 1995. But admissions officials found inflated
grades and unranked classes in high schools to be confusing. When the school returned to
the SAT as an admissions requirement in 2000, applications rose fourteen percent. A
growing economy, campus improvements, and a perception of quality attached to the
SAT are credited for the rise.
But what does this controversy over the SAT mean for gifted and talented
African-American students? White (2001) declares that success on the SAT is a matter of
racial pride. Embarrassment by the results is no excuse to end the SAT. White further
explains that some theories behind the black achievement gap are either racist or hint at
racism.
White is perhaps alluding to the theory of eugenics. Advocates of eugenics
believe that humans would advance more quickly if we would discourage reproduction
among groups we would deem unfit for life. Under an eugenic umbrella policy, for
example, those groups like African-Americans who score poorly on aptitude tests could
be candidates for eventual elimination.
27

While eugenics appears to be Nazi-like in its philosophy, the designer of the SAT
was a leading member of the eugenics movement until he denounced it later in life.
Lemann (1995) reports that Carl Brigham, the designer, like many of the contemporary
psychometricians was an enthusiastic member of the eugenics movement. He accepted
the eugenic that the Alpine and Mediterranean races were hurting American immigration.
With A Study of American Intelligence, published in 1923, Brigham declared that
American intelligence is declining with the continuation of the mixture of inferior races.
By 1933 he was distancing himself from his published remarks.
While White acknowledges the gains of the civil rights movement, he urges
African-Americans to erase every doubt about black intellectual ability. He praises
Howard University for keeping the SAT and raising academic standards. He insists that
tougher classes with better teachers be available for black students and that they take
them. He calls for a change in students’ study habits and for a new burst of self-
confidence.
Taylor (2001) echoes White in that he maintains the SAT is not the problem for
African-Americans. The problem is the inferior education many black students receive as
well as their own self-destructive attitudes and habits regarding school. What Taylor and
White say corresponds to McWhorter’s “cult of anti-intellectualism.” Yet White
dismisses McWhorter’s primary assertion; he insists the problem is political and
psychological, not cultural.
Taylor also declares that once the SAT is dropped as an admissions requirement,
only subjective standards will be used to evaluate student applications. As a result, racial
preferences could be introduced through the back door via covert discrimination. In
28

addition, a student’s qualifications could be judged on the basis of family background,
talent for interviews, certain career aspirations, enthusiasm for multiculturalism, religious
affiliation, and/or political beliefs.
Life is not fair. Our world is imperfect. The SAT, as does any standardized test,
has flaws. But if gifted and talented African-American students are to become the leaders
of the nation’s future, they must methodically prepare for the SAT, eagerly take the SAT,
and let the SAT be a vehicle for fulfilling their dreams and visions.
THE LEADERSHIP DIFFERENCE
The Superintendent’s Advisory Committee for the Education of the Gifted and
Talented in Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools researched the
underrepresentation of African-American and Hispanic students in Gifted/Talented,
Honors, and Advanced Placement classes. As a result of their research the committee
members identified five factors that impacted the participation and achievement of
minority students in such programs. The number one factor they identified was effective
school leadership.
Leaders make things happen; they are change agents. If so-called leaders do not
lead, they are not leaders regardless of position or title. They are simply managers of the
status quo. Educational leaders- superintendents and principals- must lead by insuring
that gifted and talented African-American students have opportunities to be educated as
far as their gifts and talents will take them. This is no easy task. But anything of value
rarely is.
How can educational leaders assist gifted and talented African-American
students? There are a wide variety of leadership theories and practices espoused by
29

various experts in the field. Many are helpful; some are not. For my purposes I will use
the five C’s of leadership-character, courage, competence, composure, and caring-
adapted by Sergiovanni (2001, p. 157)) for educational leaders.
The character of a leader is defined by his honesty, trust, and integrity. An
effective leader is realistic and honest with his followers. Idealistic and simplistic
answers to complex problems will not do. Educational leaders must be honest with
themselves, parents, and students about the impact of race and related issues on
education. Leaders will lead first through their character.
A leader’s courage is demonstrated by his willingness to change and to stand up
for his beliefs. An effective leader must examine his own heart about his feelings and
beliefs regarding race and educating for leadership. Educational leaders must challenge,
as needed, the community power structures and entrenched bureaucracies to assist gifted
and talented African-American students to be educated in the fullest possible way.
Leadership competence is vital. An effective leader cannot just be a dreamer; he
must also be a doer. He must know how effective gifted and talented programs are
created and delivered to students. He must understand the dynamics of race and
multiculturalism. An educational leader must also possess the political skills to be a
crusading champion for the African-American students and parents needing these
programs.
The leader’s composure will be severely tested. Critics will aim for alleged
elitism, for not being politically correct, for being a tool of a racist establishment, or for
any number of reasons. Educational leaders will graceful under the pressure from the
critics and will be appropriate with their emotions.
30

A leader is caring. He will be concerned about the welfare of students, parents,
and teachers as well as the gifted and talented program itself. His caring will radiate
through all his actions.
Leadership is essential to any enterprise. With leaders, followers are mobilized
and resources are discovered, crafted, and utilized for the mission. Educational leaders
living through the five C’s above will be essential to a successful gifted and talented
program for African-American students. Effective leaders will discover, design, and
implement practical solutions.
PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
Describing the problem and explaining the factors that contribute to the problem
are important. However, that is only part of the task. The job is incomplete without some
concrete suggestions for solving the problem. Offering suggestions is like walking a
tightrope in a circus. Some suggestions are so global in nature that they do not have any
specificity. Other suggestions are so minute in scope that they fail to view the big picture.
To go one way or the other, one falls off the tightrope and fails to reach the other side.
Then the one on the rope has the crowd looking on in suspense. Some want the acrobat to
succeed and others want him to fall. Excitement rises with the mixed motives of the
spectators.
With these thoughts in mind I will offer some practical suggestions gleaned from
my readings. Hopefully they will prove useful to the reader. First, in order to help gifted
and talented African-American students, one must start with all students. All students
have the capacity to learn (but all students do not want to learn or learn at a rate that
31

pushes their intellectual limits). Haycock (2001) has some recommendations in this
regard.
First, schools must have high standards. National learning standards are mere
suggestions due to the Tenth Amendment, and state and local standards vary. Therefore,
there is no recognized general standard for any grade level or academic subject in the
United States. While some standards may be quite clear in suburban public schools and
private schools, that is often not the case in urban schools. It is in these schools that have
the highest number of African-Americans who are potential candidates for gifted and
talented programs. These students deserve high academic standards at least generated
from within their schools whether or not they are in such programs.
Second, schools must offer a challenging curriculum to all students. “Dumbing
down” the curriculum may help in the short term by enabling more students to pass, but
in the long term the process helps to create high school graduates who are functionally
illiterate be unprepared for work or for college. Haycock declares that a challenging
curriculum is a more determinant of success in college than class rank or scores on
college admissions tests.
Third, students will need extra help when faced with high standards and
challenging curricula. High school students with elementary-school literacy will not
achieve. Extra resources must be provided to schools that have a high number of these
students.
Fourth, good teachers are needed. If students are to achieve with high standards
and challenging curricula, teachers are needed who know their subjects and how to teach
their subjects. (I would also add teachers need to know how to reasonably manage a
32

classroom.) Too many teachers in urban schools are teaching out of their academic fields,
either as regular or long-term substitutes. There are also many students who are “taught”
by a series of short-term substitutes.
When all students have the opportunity for high standards, challenging curricula,
extra help, and good teachers, gifted and talented students are assisted. But they also
special help in order to achieve. Ford (Achievement, 1995) recommends:
1. Schools should focus on both talent development and the nurturance of abilities.
2. Use multiple instruments and procedures to identify African-American students as
gifted.
3. Examine the impact of racial identity and test anxiety on students’ performance,
achievement, and motivation.
4. Integrate multiculturalism into the curriculum to promote self-understanding and self-
appreciation.
5. Recruit and retain minority teachers who can serve as mentors, role models, and
advocates.
6. Counseling may be needed to close the gap between potential and performance.
7. Home-student-school partnerships are essential.
As gifted and talented African-American students are identified, recruited, and
placed in special programs, Ford (Counseling, 1995) further recommends:
1. Focus on and acknowledge the strengths of gifted African-American students.
2. Help gifted African-American students to build positive social and peer relations.
3. Promote social competence and encourage biculturality among African-American
students.
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4. Teach African-American students how to cope with social injustices.
5. Adopt broader and more comprehensive definitions of underachievement.
6. Involve families, African-American professionals, and community leaders in the
learning and counseling process.
7. Explore the quality and quantity of support systems and resources available to
African-American students.
8. Integrate multiculturalism throughout the learning and helping process.
9. Counsel African-American students using their preferred learning styles.
By reviewing the four other factors identified by the previously cited
Montgomery County Public Schools research on factors that impact participation and
achievement of minority students in gifted and talented programs, one can gain a holistic
approach to solving the problem. The other factors are school climate, teacher
expectations, challenging curriculum, and parent involvement.
Regarding school climate, efforts must be made by educational leaders to raise the
academic “temperature” within the schools. Too often the focus has been on our
weakness- the failing students- rather than on our strength- the achieving students.
Focusing on raising floors must shift to a more productive approach of raising ceilings.
Focusing on strength, rather than on weakness, releases positive energy and purpose that
benefits both achieving and failing students.
Schools could award letters to students for academics as well as for athletics and
make it a major school event. As a coach, I know the value of organized school-
sponsored sports for students. But as a teacher I also know that academics serve students
long after their athletic playing days are over.
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In addition to forming support groups for at-risk students schools would also do
well for school climate to create support groups for academically achieving students.
Groups of this kind help to dilute the effects of the “crab-bucket” syndrome described
earlier. At Ruskin High School, for example, I was co-sponsor of RAMS- Ruskin
Academic Males for Success. Male students with a grade point average of 2.5 or above
were eligible to be RAMs.
Schools and districts could also develop a systematic identification and
recruitment system for potential gifted and talented African-American students. One such
program is Talents Unlimited used by the Fort Worth (Texas) Independent School
District as one component to identify and serve gifted students in all populations. Talents
Unlimited can be used by teachers immediately; is not hindered by barriers of ethnicity,
language, or socioeconomic status; enables students to demonstrate their thinking and
learning ability in more than one mode; and student response can be used as viable
information when screening students to receive gifted services. (Haskew, 2001)
Educational leaders can assist teachers to expand their expectations. Especially in
regards to African-American children, many teachers do not view them as gifted and
talented candidates. First of all, teachers must demand the best from each student
regardless of previous academic progress. It is too easy to compromise classroom
standards in order to pacify student behavior.
Teachers can easily fall into the stereotype trap of viewing all children of ethnic
groups and races in the same way. Instead, teachers need to see people as individuals.
This is essentially essential in light of Steele’s research on stereotype threat. Gifted and
35

talented African-American students do not represent African-Americans as a whole just
as gifted and talented white students do not represent European-Americans as a whole.
Diversity training for teachers has been very helpful in leading educators to
appreciate multiculturalism in the United States. But we need to use staff development
and other training opportunities to lead teachers to recognize individuals with groups with
their own personal strengths, weaknesses, hopes, fears, and preferred learning styles
within the broader context of ethnic diversity.
Strongly related to teacher expectations is the curriculum. The curriculum must
challenge students’ thinking and learning. Too often the curriculum is “dumbed down” to
keep the number of failing students to an minimal “acceptable” level. But educational
leaders say that the curriculum must be challenging while at the same time counsel
teachers to keep the number of “Fs” down. Leaders must monitor their overt and covert
messages to teachers in this regard.
This is not an apology for poor teaching. Teachers who do not teach must be dealt
with in a swift manner. To accomplish this, educational leaders must be effective
instructional leaders monitoring classroom instruction, offering supportive and corrective
recommendations as needed, and taking steps as needed to relocate or terminate teachers
who cannot or will not teach.
Alternate assessments are helpful with the curriculum. Standard pencil-and-paper
tests should not be discarded. Rather, they should be supplemented by assignments that
help students to demonstrate their learning in creative and fresh ways. Teachers can be
helped by administrators to plan for alternate assessments with encouragement,
monitoring, and constructive evaluations.
36

Teachers are in many cases “the” curriculum rather than the textbooks and related
materials. Through planned learning opportunities teachers can offer their students a
wider vision not only of the subject matter being taught but also of the students’ lives and
their worldviews. Educational leaders must assist teachers to insure that this occurs. As a
result, many more African-American students will truly begin or continue a joyous
journey of learning. We just might find that more of them are gifted and talented than we
previously supposed.
Finally, parental involvement is essential for educational leaders. Montgomery
County Public Schools in Maryland has taken a proactive stance in this regard by
distributing 30,000 copies of the booklet Aim High! What Parents of African American
Children Should Know About Challenging Learning Opportunities. The school district
worked with the local chapter of the NAACP, Montgomery College, and the African-
American Festival of Academic Excellence in preparing the booklet.
Montgomery County Schools see the minority achievement gap as an opportunity
to raise achievement levels for all students, but especially African-American and
Hispanic students. The booklet has tips to parents on ensuring challenging and rigorous
instruction for their children and explanations of all special achievement programs
offered.
Public awareness of the issue is the first step. Then educational leaders must
insure that parents and other community members become involved. If traditional
methods do not accomplish the objective of identifying and recruiting African-American
students into gifted and talented programs, then fresh and creative outreach must be
accomplished.
37

CONCLUSION:
A PLEA FOR DEMOCRATIC VALUES IN A MULTICULTURAL NATION
On January 6, 1941, on the eve of America’s entry into World War II, President
Franklin Roosevelt in his annual address to Congress defended why the then-neutral
United States was aiding Great Britain in its fight against Nazi aggression. In his speech
FDR described four essential human freedoms which he stressed separated Western
civilization from the forces of tyranny and moral darkness- freedom of religion, freedom
of speech, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
In the light of the international terrorist attacks on the United States on September
11, 2001 we are once again prompted to reflect upon the essential differences that
separate people of freedom from people of tyranny. For better of worse, the United States
as the sole global superpower is the beacon which inspires freedom-loving people
everywhere on our planet. Although we Americans have often been bad and ugly in our
history we have also been good and noble in our actions. America is a continuous journey
where freedom evolves; America is not a final destination where the need for change is
frozen in time.
In the 1830’s French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville observed first-hand the
American experiment in democracy. Tocqueville (1835/1966, p. 9-20) observed that
democracy in the United States was a natural outgrown of development. He also
advocated that democracy be guided so that its actions would guide its beliefs and that
government be adapted to the needs of time and place.
It is perhaps in the arena of multiculturalism that the United States faces its
greatest challenge. America has always been multicultural. The blend of Natives,
38

Europeans, and Africans, soon to be followed by Asians, has always been a dynamic in
American history and will continue to be so. But traditionally it has been the European-
Americans who established the rules. During World War II while fighting for freedom,
the United States in contradiction of its professed beliefs sent African-American and
Japanese-American soldiers into combat while at the same time maintained Jim Crow
segregationist laws for one group and sent others to forced internment camps.
But it is the genius of American democracy, as Tocqueville noted, to evolve and
develop so our beliefs and actions are congruent and that our government serves the
needs of our people at specific places in our historical context. While was perhaps
appropriate race relations in 1835 was not appropriate in 1964 with the passage of the
Civil Rights Act. And what was appropriate in the 1960s with affirmative action may not
be the solution in the 21st
century.
All men (and women) are created equal. Except for fringe extremists, there is no
debate there. But how that equality is achieved and maintained continues to be open for
spirited and lively debate among Americans of good will particularly now that the rules
are changing. Anglo-Americans now compose about three-fourths of our nation’s
population. In fifty short years half of Americans will be non-Anglo- Hispanic-
Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, and others. The second half of the 21st
century will be a vast multicultural mosaic for the United States. Kaplan (1998, p. 18)
suggests that the United States may become the first international nation in which
decentralized authority, a pluralistic society, and mobile citizens will continue our
national vibrancy.
39

Boynton (1995) reports on the thoughts of Cornel West. West rejects overt black
nationalism and looks for deeply rooted common interests that would bring groups,
particularly marginal groups, together. He criticizes anyone who would label black
people as problem people, rather fellow Americans with problems. West warns that if we
go down, we go down together because of the basic humanness and Americanness in all
of us.
Paralleling West, Loury (96-97) states “…that fundamental challenges any person
faces in life arise not from individual racial condition, but from our common human
condition.” Because we Americans are essentially identical and differ only in details,
democracy is only truly attained when whites see blacks as people created with them in
God’s image and who are essentially the same as them. However, we Americans are a
long way from that goal. Loury further states that we have arrived at the ultimate racial
paradox: the self-development of African-Americans is in tension with this moral
requirement for Americans to achieve a humanism that transcends race.
Therefore our national effort to create a community that nurtures genuine ethnic
and racial diversity coupled with a strong core of common cultural values held by all
Americans continues to be a major challenge to our democratic experience. If indeed this
challenge is to be overcome, it may well come from valued gifted and talented African-
American students who grow up to lead us in this new millennium to affirm, strengthen,
and expand the democratic foundations for all Americans.
40

APPENDIX A
Differences between Bright Child and Gifted Child
Organized by Janice Szabos, 1988
Bright Child
Knows the answers
Is interested
Is attentive
Has good ideas
Works hard
Answers the questions
Top group
Listens with interest
Learns with ease
6-8 repetitions for mastery
Understands ideas
Enjoys peers
Grasps the meaning
Completes assignments
Is receptive
Copies accurately
Enjoys school
Absorbs information
Technician
Good memorizer
Enjoys straightforward, sequential
presentation
Is alert
Is pleased with own learning
Gifted Child
Asks the question
Is highly curious
Is mentally & physically involved
Has wild, silly ideas
Plays around, yet tests well
Discusses in detail, elaborates
Beyond the group
Shows strong feelings & opinions
Already knows
1-2 repetitions for mastery
Constructs abstractions
Prefers adults
Draws inferences
Initiates projects
Is intense
Creates a new design
Enjoys learning
Manipulates information
Inventor
Good guesser
Thrives on complexity
Is keenly observant
Is highly self-critical
41

APPENDIX B
Sample SAT Questions
VERBAL
Analogies
Torpid : Sluggish ::
• wrong : apologetic
• refracted : direct
• comic : funny
• sad : empathetic
• merry : morose
Doggerel : Verse ::
• animation : cinema
• scroll : document
• burlesque : drama
• chisel : sculptor
• headline : article
Sentence Completion
Some critics described the photographer’s as ---, citing his obvious ---of the work of his
renowned predecessors.
• distinctive..assimilation
• sycophantic..dismissal
• derivative..adaptation
• controversial..veneration
• pedantic..ignorance
The essay was both---and---; although concise, it was profoundly moving.
• meandering..denigrating
• compact..enervating
• fictional..touching
• argumentative..rationalistic
• terse..poignant
MATH
42

On a number line, point A has coordinate –3 and point B has coordinate 12. Point P is 2/3
of the way from A to B. What is the coordinate of point P?
• -1
• 2
• 6
• 7
• 10
Chairs ready for shipment at the Northern Chair factory come down a ramp in single file.
Inspector A checks every third chair, beginning with the third. Inspector B checks every
fifth chair, beginning with the fifth. If 98 chairs came down the ramp while both
inspectors were working on Monday, how many of these chairs were not checked by
either of these two inspectors?
• 32
• 45
• 47
• 53
43

REFERENCES CITED
Bowen, William G. and Derek Bok. (1998). The Shape of the River: Long-
Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University
Admissions. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Boynton, Robert S. “The New Intellectuals.” The Atlantic Monthly March 1995,
53-70.
Clark, Barbara. (1983). Growing Up Gifted, second edition. Columbus, OH: Charles
E. Merrill Publishing.
Cloud, John. “Should SATs Matter?” 20 October 2001 <http://www.time.com>.
College Board. “Reaching the Top: A Report of the National Task Force on Minority
High Achievement- Executive Summary.” 10 October 2001 <http://www.
collegeboard.org>.
Corwin, Miles. (2001). And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Inner-
City High School Students. New York: Harper.
De Tocqueville, Alexis. (1835/1966). Translated by George Lawrence. Edited by J.P
Mayer. Democracy in America. New York: Harper & Row.
Diuguid, Lewis W. “Blacks Hungry for a TV Identity are Being Fed Stereotypes.”
The Kansas City Star, C-2, June 14, 1995.
Fallows, James. “The Tests and the ‘Brightest’: How Fair are the College Boards.”
The Atlantic Monthly February 1980: 37-48.
Ford, Donna Y. “Counseling Gifted African American Students: Promoting
Achievement, Identify, and Social and Emotional Well-Being.” 21 September
2001 <http://www.gifted.uconn.edu>.
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---. “Reversing Underachievement among Gifted Black Students: Promising Practices
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49

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