ABSTRACT
Grades reflect a range of other achievement-related skills, such as the ability to navigate the interpersonal demands of school and the classroom, which also predict student success. Non-test assessments commonly are used as part of an alternative pathway into identification, most commonly in cases where a student's score on a traditional assessment has narrowly missed the qualifying cutoff. The use of non-test assessments is promising for improving equity, but there are certain important caveats that must be kept in mind in order for these approaches to be implemented effectively. Behavior ratings scales and checklists are widely used, with Callahan and colleagues reporting their use in approximately one-third of elementary schools' identification practices in a nationally representative survey of gifted program practices. The emergence of non-test assessments clearly reflects the field's near-consensus view that giftedness is broader than a single test score.
