Comparison of Traditional and Problem Solving Assessment Criteria

Abstract

Identifying students who are gifted has been grounded traditionally in criteria emphasizing unitary measures of intellectual ability, which has caused great concern for educators interested in identifying academic talent and potential in culturally and linguistically diverse students. Recently, multiple intelligences (MI) theory has been examined as an alternative perspective with promise for addressing concerns evident in groups identified using traditional methods. To date, research on the effectiveness of assessment practices grounded in MI theory has been sparse. The purpose of this research was to describe the performance of elementary school children on an alternative screening measure designed for use in identifying students who are gifted. The Problem Solving Assessment procedure represented an application of MI theory, and decisions made using it were compared to those that would be made using a more traditional, unitary approach to identification. Positive relations were evident among scores for different types of intelligences and between them and the traditional measure. More importantly, different groups of students were identified using each approach, with a more diverse population generated with the Problem Solving Assessment procedure. The results are discussed with regard to ongoing practices and future directions in gifted education.