ABSTRACT
Early studies of the family background of moderately and highly gifted children reported quite fully on the ethnicity and countries of origin of family members. Terman (1925) reported a significant over-representation of Jewish and Scottish families in his sample, and an under-representation of Asians. In discussing the latter finding, however, he reported, ‘In regard to the absence of Chinese, it should be noted that the Oriental schools which the Chinese children attended were not canvassed’ (Terman, 1925: 56). He followed this comment with a discussion of several studies that showed Asian students as comparing equally or favourably with American students on tests of intellectual capacity.
