Validity of the Gifted Student Screening Scale

Abstract

A major dilemma in the identification of gifted students is how effectively and efficiently to screen the general population without excluding potential candidates for gifted programs. A new instrument, the Gifted Student Screening Scale (GSSS) (Hall, 1985), offers a promising solution to the screening problem. The purpose of this investigation was to determine if the GSSS, with a validating sample of almost all middle-class and white students, could assure effective and efficient screening of students. A total of 479 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from seven parochial schools were rated on the GSSS by their classroom teachers. A cutoff score of 50 is recommended by the author of the test; below that score a student is probably not gifted, and above it a student should be tested further for giftedness. Participants consisted of 54 students randomly selected from the pool of students whose scores clustered around the cutoff score. These 54 students were given the WISC-R by trained graduate students. Several statistical analyses were performed on the resulting data. When the students were grouped by GSSS scores into two groups (30-49 and 50-70), there was no significant difference in WISC-R scores. Discriminant analysis revealed little difference between the groups, indicating that the GSSS contributed very little to group discrimination. A one-way analysis of variance was performed on the WISC-R Full-Scale IQs of the white and nonwhite students in the sample with a result of no significant difference. These results indicate that the GSSS did not exclude any gifted student and that it is not racially biased. However, the GSSS also did not include any gifted students. It is suggested that the cutoff score of 50 may be too low for this population. Further investigation is recommended to establish a cutoff score appropriate for use with students like those included in this study.