Use of Dynamic Assessment with Gifted Students

Abstract

This article discusses the application of dynamic assessment with gifted students. We define dynamic assessment in terms of its inclusion of intervention and feedback during the course of assessment, as well as the focus of the model on the students' use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies and responsiveness to the interventions provided during the course of the assessment. Dynamic approaches vary on a continuum of flexible clinical applications to more rigorous psychometric approaches. They also differ in relation to the nature and timing of the interventions, as well as the content domains tapped. Finally, we review the history of the use of dynamic assessment with gifted students. This use demonstrates the utility of this approach for the purpose of determination of eligibility for gifted programs, which has been particularly relevant for students from culturally diverse backgrounds. Dynamic assessment has been usefully applied for classification purposes in the cases of both students with mental retardation as well as those who are gifted.