Ruf Estimates of Levels of Giftedness: Part I

An Introduction to the Concept of Levels of Giftedness

I originally published a version of this paper in 2004 before my first book was released. That book was called 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options and formerly titled Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind). Through my own experiences reading Substack posts, and whatever I read before that, I’ve learned I don’t really want to read each one every day and I really don’t want it to be too long. So, I’ve divided this piece into Parts I and II (November 2023). This Introduction pertains to the whole paper. Part II will focus on the actual milestones and early behaviors and interests of the gifted children at each level. Keep in mind, just like standardized testing, there are no real cut-offs or absolutes. Also, schools and their approaches to meeting the needs of their students have not appreciatively changed since I wrote my first book.

To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Introduction

Any parent who has more than one child knows that regardless of the way they parent or what they provide for their children, the children are different from one another in many, many ways. Although certain characteristics certainly run in…