Academic Giftedness and High Performance: A Study of 26,000 Top Achievers in 30 Fields

• In Event: Research on Gifted Performance and Gifted Programs

Abstract

We investigate the cognitive abilities and higher education backgrounds of 26,198 top achievers in 30 fields. We find our samples are overrepresented among 34 selective schools, Ivy League schools, and Harvard significantly above base rates and are largely academically gifted, varying by sector. We explore potential gifted education policy implications of these findings, in particular for elite college admissions and for the stratification of U.S. society.

Authors

• Jonathan Wai, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville

• Stephen Anderson, Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education

• Kaja Perina, Psychology Today

• Frank C. Worrell, University of California - Berkeley

• Christopher F Chabris, Geisinger Health System