Discover: across the spectrum of grades

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of DISCOVER, a performance-based assessment developed for the identification of gifted minority students. DISCOVER is embedded in Gardner’s MI theory and consists of five activities which assess spatial, logical-mathematical and linguistic intelligences. The sample consisted of 955 students from K-12 taken from 10 schools in Arizona. The results showed low observers’ inter-rating correlations, indicating that students given high ratings in activities measuring one particular intelligence were not necessarily given similar high ratings in the other activities measuring different intelligences. In other words, students who were identified in one intelligence were not necessarily identified in the other intelligences, suggesting a good fit between DISCOVER and MI theory. Another finding is a lack of significant ethnic and gender differences in identification. Finally, a total of 20.9% participants were identified, suggesting that DISCOVER might contribute to diminishing the problem of minority underrepresentation in programs for the gifted. However, further studies should focus on the predictive and concurrent validity of DISCOVER before sounding a call for expanding its use.