The Use of Cognitive Style as a Predictor of Membership in Middle and High School Programs for the Academically Gifted.

This study investigated cognitive style as a screening mechanism for placing students in gifted education programs. Middle school (n=156) and high school students (n=94) were included in this study. Slightly fewer than half of the students had been previously identified as academically gifted, while the remainder were from the regular studies program. Approximately half of the students were female. Participants completed the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), an instrument designed to measure cognitive style. A factorial analysis of variance showed no significant interactions between program type and school year on scores from the GEFT. Main effects, however, were significant for gender and program type. Students identified as gifted scored significantly higher than their counterparts in the regular education program, and males in both programs scored significantly higher than their female classmates. The data were entered into a logistic regression procedure to determine the probability of predicting a given student's program type based on his or her gender and GEFT score. The statistical software removed the gender variable and was able, using the GEFT score, to predict program type in 74% of the cases. Some cautions based on study design and the fact that cognitive style may change with age are discussed. (Contains 1 table and 12 references.) (SLD)