Programs and Testing for Gifted and Talented Homeschool Children

Academically advanced kids thrive with a customized home education. Exclusive national programs for gifted students offer opportunities to qualifying homeschoolers.
Choosing the right educational path for a gifted child presents unique opportunities as well as challenges. Parents may wonder if their only options are to enroll their child in an expensive private school or local public school’s Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. Many families are discovering that homeschooling allows gifted children to cast off the restraints of a traditional classroom setting to pursue individualized instruction.

Benefits of Home Education for Gifted Children

One benefit of homeschooling gifted children is the ability to accelerate subjects as they master material. The parent can either choose to use a curriculum designed specifically for gifted and talented students, such as Michael Clay Thompson’s language arts materials, or choose a traditional curriculum for typical kids but go through it at a quicker pace. If the child demonstrates a passion for a specific subject, the parent has the opportunity to gather a variety of additional in-depth resources for independent study.

Another benefit of homeschooling a gifted child is the flexibility of setting one’s own schedule. Kids who want to invest a large amount of time and energy into dance, art, music, and research projects, and competitions can schedule their schoolwork around their passions. Homeschoolers who travel for academic or athletic pursuits can also adjust the timing of their studies to meet the demands of traveling.

Gifted Programs Available to Homeschool Children

Nationwide talent searches offer the ability to access the capabilities of high performing students as well as provide academic opportunities of the highest caliber to those who qualify.

Prestigious programs for gifted youth include:

• Center for Talented Youth (CTY) at John Hopkins University
• Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) at Stanford University
• Talent Identification Program (TIP) at Duke University
• Center for Talent Development (CTD) at Northwestern University
• Davidson Young Scholars (DYS), Davidson Institute for Talent Development
• Julian C. Stanley Study of Exceptional Talent (SET)

These well-respected venues offer online courses, summer programs at various sites across the country, counseling, and other uncommon opportunities to students with qualifying test scores. For example, John Hopkins’ CTY online courses include accelerated math, science, language arts, foreign language, computer science, and music courses. High school students have the opportunity to take Honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

Profoundly gifted children who perform at the extreme end of the gifted population and have qualifying test scores are potential candidates for Davidson Young Scholars, a program sponsored by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development. The Julian C. Stanley Study of Exceptional Talent is another prominent program. Both DYS and SET offer scholarship and mentoring opportunities for extraordinary youth.

Testing to Qualify for Gifted Programs and Talent Searches

Each of the gifted programs mentioned earlier has its own criteria for eligibility. John Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth requires high scores with the SCAT (Scholastic and College Ability Test) for students in first through sixth grades. Seventh and eighth-graders must provide SAT or ACT test results. CTY also offers the option of using the Spatial Test Battery (STB), which identifies students with high spatial ability, to qualify for its programs.

Stanford’s EPGY program requires that students ages 13 and younger – who wish to take math classes – take the EPGY mathematical aptitude test and provide scores from either one of the approved standardized tests or IQ tests. English classes do not require the math prescreening. Students ages 14 and above must submit a score report from either the PSAT or SAT to qualify for EPGY.

In contrast, the talent searches for Duke University and Northwestern University use EXPLORE – a test developed by ACT for eighth graders – to identify gifted students in elementary grades. Middle school students must submit SAT or ACT scores to qualify for the Duke and Northwestern programs.

Although there are challenges in finding the right resources for a gifted homeschooler, the effort can pay off in a unique educational experience designed to develop the students' skills and talents to their maximum potential.