The Gifted and the Talented The term "gifted" can mean many things. Until recently it was the word used to describe people with extremely high intelligence. Now, by adding the words “creative” and “talented,” the category of talent has been expanded to include not only exceptionally intelligent people, but also people with extraordinary abilities in other areas, not just IQ tests (Drew, Egan and Hardman, 2002). The identification and definition of giftedness has been controversial for many, many decades. Originally, IQ test scores were the only way to determine talent. An IQ test would be given and a numerical score, such as 12-, would be the cutoff point (Cook, Elliott, Kratochwill, & Travers, 2000). More recently, intellectual talent is usually identified and defined by the ideas and perspectives of specific school systems. There is no generally accepted definition of giftedness, but the Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act defines it as: “Children and youth with exceptional talent perform or show the potential to perform at significantly higher levels of achievement than others their age , experience , or environment. These children and youth exhibit high achievement abilities in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess unusual leadership ability, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not normally provided by schools. Exceptional talents are present in children and young people of all cultural groups, in all economic strata and in all areas of human activity” (Drew et al., 2002). Obviously there is virtually no limit to who can be given as a gift. The problems lie in the wide range of definitions and access to the center of paper-based education. Retrieved March 4, 2004, from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content4/legal.rights.gifted.ed.htmlMagnet/center and special programs. (n.d.). Retrieved March 4, 2004, from http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/eii/eiispecialprogramspage.html#The%20ProgramParke, B. (n.d.). Challenging gifted students in a mainstream classroom. Retrieved March 1, 2004, from http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/Challenging_gifted _kids.htmlShaunessy, E. (2003). State policies on gifted education. Gifted Child Today Magazine, 26. Retrieved March 7, 2004, from http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=10445176&db=f5hWinebrenner, S. (2003). Teaching strategies for twice-exceptional students [Electronic version]. Intervention in School and Clinic, 38. Retrieved March 4, 2004, from http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=EJ659359&db=eric