ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a rationale for off-level testing and provides the reader with a blueprint for the logic of it, complete with examples of such tests used in talent searches nationwide. It explores a new use for alternative assessment as a value-added aspect of identification of gifted learners, exploring the employment of practical and creative performance-based assessment tasks as part of a college admissions process at a selective university. The chapter explores nontraditional approaches needed to score current intelligence tests to ensure that gifted students are identified appropriately for programs. Then the chapter also explores the various dimensions of constructing and using product assessments to judge the nature of learning accrued by gifted students who create a viable Type III enrichment product as a part of their program. It provides a comprehensive model for thinking about the use of alternative assessments within a broader context of identification and learning results.
