THE NEGLECTED OF THE NEGLECTED OF THE NEGLECTED: A CASE STUDY OF GIFTED ENGLISH LEARNERS IN TWO AUSTIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

RACIAL/ETHNIC MINORITY STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY LATINOS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS, HOWEVER, CONTINUE TO BE UNDERIDENTIFIED AS GIFTED. GIFTED ENGLISH LEARNERS (ELS), COINED ?THE NEGLECTED OF THE NEGLECTED OF THE NEGLECTED,? ARE EVEN LESS LIKELY TO BE IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED. LITTLE RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED TO EXAMINE, HOWEVER, IF SCHOOLS ACTUALLY EMPLOY ALTERNATIVE PRACTICES, AND TO WHAT EXTENT SCHOOLS ARE SUCCESSFUL IN INCREASING THE NUMBER OF ELS IDENTIFIED AS GIFTED. HOW CAN THE REPRESENTATION OF EL LATINOS IN GIFTED PROGRAMS BE IMPROVED? ALTHOUGH THIS PERVASIVE PATTERN OF UNDERREPRESENTATION OF EL LATINOS IN GIFTED PROGRAMS HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED, SOME SCHOOLS DEFY THIS PATTERN AND IDENTIFY ELS AT RELATIVELY HIGHER RATES WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER SCHOOLS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TWOFOLD. FIRST, QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF INCIDENCE DATA FOR THE AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT (AISD) REVEALED THAT, AS A GROUP, EL LATINOS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN GIFTED PROGRAMS AT RATES ABOVE AND BEYOND THE RATES OF ENGLISH-SPEAKING LATINO CHILDREN. SECOND, QUALITATIVE ANALYSES OF INTERVIEWS WITH SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, TEACHERS, AND ASSESSMENT PERSONNEL AND OBSERVATIONS OF SELECTION COMMITTEE MEETINGS