Thirty years ago, researchers published what was to become an extremely controversial finding: 12-year-old males were 13 times as likely as females to score over 700 on the SAT-Math, putting them at the top 0.01% (one in ten thousand) in mathematical ability. The controversy was in part about whether these differences were the result of nature (biology/genetics) or of nurture (socialization). The debate has continued throughout the past 30 years.

Achievement gaps have been discussed in education for decades. Performance differences across different groups of students are important indicators of how education services are being received by students. However, a new report, Mind (the other) Gap!, from the Indiana University Center for Evaluation and Education Policy takes an important new angle on this old problem. Rather than address potential differences in average performance or in proportions of groups meeting minimum proficiency standards, the authors report “excellence gaps” of high performing students.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in helping gifted students with attention difficulties is getting an accurate diagnosis of them. How are true attention deficits differentiated from the emotional and behavioral shifts common among gifted students? The problem may be compounded by a lack of appropriate educational services in the classroom.