D. Betsy McCoach

Two crucial issues continue to plague gifted education: (1) Underrepresented populations continue to be under identified as gifted and underserved by programs for the gifted. (2) Research on best-practice interventions for gifted students and outcomes of gifted programs and services is sparse. Center researchers will complete three secondary studies and one randomized control trial (RCT) to provide stakeholders with tools to better recognize and harness untapped talent and increase our under...

The goal of this study is to rigorously evaluate the impact of integrated behavior and reading practices in kindergarten through Grade 2 within a comprehensive, multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) framework. Research has identified effective but separate reading and behavior practices for students with or at risk for disabilities and has examined separate reading and behavior tiered systems of support. However, because of the potential to use resources more efficiently and align support to...

The purpose of this project is to explore factors that contribute to online reading success in science for adolescents. Online reading is becoming more and more important for students' success in school and beyond, but research shows that many students cannot successfully read online or conduct other types of online research activities such as evaluating the trustworthiness of online sources of information. In addition, a separate achievement gap appears to exist for online reading as a func...

Many policymakers, educators, and parents want assurance that the nation's gifted and talented students receive instruction that is sufficiently challenging and that will allow these students to reach their full potential. Recent studies of gifted and talented programs indicate that the extent and quality of services available to gifted students varies from state to state, district to district, and even from school to school within school districts. Overall, the field knows little about how ...

: Research has shown a positive relationship between student mental, emotional, and behavioral health and education outcomes.  Schools represent the most common entry point for youth to receive mental health services, with over half of families accessing services through school.  A significant obstacle to access to mental health services is the lack of a coordinated system for early identification of students in need of additional services. Given that the majority of school-age students at...

The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRCGT) conducts research on a host of issues surrounding gifted education, namely: Who are the gifted? What characterizes "giftedness" and how can the term's definition be used to identify students for gifted programs and services? What programs and services most benefit gifted students and can those programs and services yield positive results for students not identified as gifted, as well as for students identified as gifted under tr...