The Superior Pupil in Junior High School Mathematics. Bulletin, 1955, No. 4

This report presents ways to identify the superior pupil and methods to provide for his needs. For the purposes of this report, superior pupils are defined as rapid learners in academic subjects. They are the pupils in the upper 20 percent in general intelligence whose abilities lend themselves readily to intellectual pursuits. This report provides the names of many schools as examples of institutions using specific procedures or methods to identify the superior pupil. The reader should not conclude, however, that any procedure is used only by the schools named nor that these schools are the most outstanding schools using any particular method. In most cases the fact that the authors visited the schools is the reason why a particular institution is cited as an example. The authors do not assume that any of these schools will be used as models nor that the entire procedures of a school will be adopted in a new situation. However, some elements of programs described may be helpful to local schools planning similar programs. No standard formula can be applied in all schools; hence, the procedures described should only suggest ideas for further study by local school staffs. The authors have in fact written this bulletin for this purpose. This report covers the following topics: (1) The superior pupil in junior high school mathematics; (2) Classroom provisions in mathematics for the superior pupil; (3) Out-of-Class activities in mathematics; (4) Organizational provisions for the superior pupil; (5) Identifying the superior pupil; (6) Use of community resources; and (7) The school staff. The following are appended: (1) Long Beach Public Schools Office of Counseling and Psychological Services: Collection Data Sheet--SP; (2) Modesto City Schools: Very Able Student; (3) Santa Barbara City Schools: Supplementary Identification of the More Capable and Talented Students in the Secondary Schools; (4) San Diego City Schools Department of Guidance, Psychology Section: Maturity Rating Scale for Gifted Pupils; (5) Nichols School, Evanston, Illinois: Form for Aiding 7th Grade Math Teachers to Classify Incoming Pupils; (6) Passaic City Schools, Passaic, New Jersey: The Good Teacher of the Mentally Gifted; and (7) Hawthorne Junior High School: Teacher's Report for Homeroom Adviser and Parent Conference. A bibliography is also included. (Contains 52 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]