Improving equity in gifted education: Analyzing the fairness of the scales for the identification of gifted students (SIGS-2)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Underrepresentation of some student groups in gifted and talented education continues to be a problem and priority of research and development in gifted education. Assessment for identification and placement in gifted education should utilize multiple sources of data from measurement tools that are reliable, valid, and fair. While reliability and validity data are commonly reported for measurement tools, the psychometrics of fairness are somewhat less likely to be included to describe the adequacy of measurement tools used in gifted education. This study examined the psychometrics of fairness for the Scales for Identifying Gifted Students (2nd ed.; SIGS-2). The evidence of fairness included details of a representative norming sample, examination of potential bias, reliability data reported by group, and item discrimination data reported by group. The data suggest that the SIGS-2 satisfies standards for fair assessment and could be used as a measurement tool to better identify typically underrepresented students.