ABSTRACT
Typically, teachers, counselors, and administrators are often the school personnel who refer students for gifted and talented services and provide input for gifted identification processes, yet too often they are unaware of the characteristics of diverse gifted and talented learners. Other obstacles that have been identified in the research literature include: Although numerous, none of the aforementioned obstacles are insurmountable, and, if eradicated, would positively change outcomes for gifted African American students. Schools and school districts must be proactive and do everything they can to ensure that gifted African American students are identified and provided appropriate services to ensure they reach their full potential. Among the promising practices that can be implemented to reverse underidentification and underrepresentation of gifted African American students are accessing good instruction, using multiple measures in the identification process, and providing professional development for teaching staff and administrators.
