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How Will Changes to ACT’s Tests Affect Talent Search?
As the educational community anticipates the release of ACT Aspire, ACT’s latest assessment in their suite of tests, the Belin-Blank Center has been fielding questions from parents and educators about...
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WINGS is Back!
Come join us this spring at the Belin-Blank Center for the Weekend Institute for Gifted Students (WINGS)! We will be holding two sessions; one on March 28th and the other on April 25th. WINGS consists...
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Have You Seen Our August Newsletter?
It’s hot off the (virtual) presses and full of updates from the Belin-Blank Center: belinblank.org/newsletter
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Message from the Director: Thanks a Million x 10!!
Question: What is the result of juxtaposing generosity and inspiration with excellence in programming and collaboration? Answer: Educational leadership and innovation designed to create outstanding...
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Iowa Online AP Academy: Above-Level Testing and I-Excel
For many middle and high schools that partner with the Iowa Online AP Academy, a common question is how to determine which students may be ready for online above-level coursework. This is especially...
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Message from the Director: What’s Wrong With Being Confident?
An appealing refrain plus a catchy tune find their way into our heads and often stick. This is exactly what happened to me during a recent Zumba class when the refrain, “What’s wrong with being...
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Everyone Loves an Early Bird Discount!
Register by July 8th for the early bird discount for the conference on academic acceleration! The Seventh Biennial Belin-Blank Advanced Leadership Institute is focusing on Research-Based Evidence about...
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Message from the Director: Who Are the Gatekeepers for Talent Development?
That was the question roaming through my thoughts with each opening and closing session of our summer pre-college student programs. For the nearly 1,000 students who attended one or more of our summer...
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Can I-Excel Be Used to Screen Students for a Gifted Program?
I-Excel is a new test offered by the Belin-Blank Center. Its purpose is to assist educators in discovering academically talented 4th-6th grade students who need additional challenges in school. One...
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The Best-Kept Secret in Gifted Education: Above-Level Testing
The secret of above-level testing is really not much of a secret. It’s used extensively at universities that have centers for gifted education. Unfortunately, it’s not used much by schools. This...
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Talent Search: Bridge to Opportunity
They say, “A picture is worth 10,000 words,” and that must mean that a video is worth over a million! We are excited to share with you a video explaining what Talent Searches can do for students,...
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What Kind of Test Should My Child Take?
Often, we hear from parents and educators who are seeing the signs that children aren’t being challenged, and they’re looking for a way to assess their current level of knowledge so they can make...
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Making Sense of Test Scores
We are thrilled to announce the launch of IDEAL Solutions® for STEM Acceleration, the platform for understanding I-Excel and ACT test scores. A comprehensive, easy-to-read report helps educators and...
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Have Your 7th-9th Graders Registered to Take the ACT?
Your 7th-9th graders have a unique opportunity to take the ACT through the Belin-Blank Center; this test is usually given to 11th and 12th graders during the college admissions process. Bright younger...
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Differentiating? Finding the Students Who Need Something Different
On this blog, we’ve talked a lot about using above-level testing as a tool to discover exceptionally talented students. It’s an efficient way to find students who need “something more” than the...
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New Test Scores Tool for Iowa Educators
In collaboration with Iowa Testing Programs, we’re proud to announce a new way for Iowa teachers to find students who could benefit from an above-level test. Educators in Iowa who have access to eITP...
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I-Excel Testing Session for 4th-6th Graders at University of Iowa
Are you thinking about having your high-ability student take I-Excel? The Belin-Blank Center is hosting a testing session on the University of Iowa campus on June 12th. I-Excel is considered an...
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I’m Ready to Set Up I-Excel Testing for This Year: Where Do I Start?
Maybe the first place for educators to start is with thinking about the “Why” of testing. I-Excel (and other above-level tests such as the ACT) provide a way of discovering high-ability students who...
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Helping Iowa Teachers Discover Students Who Are Ready For Advanced Online...
The Iowa Online Advanced Placement Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) are working together to help schools provide a defensible, objective, research-based...
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Discovering Talented Students: Using Content-Area Scores for IOAPA Eligibility
The partnership between the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) is a great way to connect talented students with appropriate assessment and...
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An Exciting Javits-Funded New Project
We are thrilled to announce that we have received a Javits grant! The joint project – by co-PIs Professors Susan Assouline, Saba Ali, and Megan Foley-Nicpon, and methodologist Dr. Duhita Mahatmya –...
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My 4th-6th Grade Students are Taking I-Excel Soon: How Do I Help Them Get Ready?
I-Excel is an above-level test for talented 4th – 6th graders. The purpose of testing is to discover high ability students, so we can help them find the academic challenges they need. The best...
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Making Objective Decisions about Students Taking Advanced Courses
As 2017 comes to a close, you may be starting to think about planning for next year. Maybe you have students who have already mastered the classroom curriculum, and you’re not sure how to keep them...
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Sharing the Secret to Understanding High-Ability Students’ Academic Needs
We have called above-level testing “the best-kept secret in gifted education.” What do we mean by that? Above-level testing, which is a way of helping us more accurately measure a student’s aptitudes,...
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Responding to the Arguments Against Acceleration (Again)
Question from a gifted coordinator: My principal found 3 articles indicating that students in mixed ability math courses perform well in later math courses. She is using these as an argument NOT to...
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Using Above-Level Testing to Connect Talented Students with Challenging...
As you may know, the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) have teamed up to provide identification and programming services to help Iowa teachers...
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Your 7th-9th Graders Can Take the ACT
Your 7th-9th graders have a unique opportunity to take the ACT through the Belin-Blank Center; this test is usually given to 11th and 12th graders during the college admissions process. Bright younger...
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The Power of One: Lessons Learned from a Mentor
The Belin-Blank Center is proud to organize the Wallace Research Symposium on Talent Development every two to four years. This year’s April symposium was in Baltimore and co-hosted by the University...
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Making Defensible Decisions About Subject Acceleration
The school year is just getting started, and it’s a good time to think about opportunities for your academically talented students. Maybe some of your students have already mastered the classroom...
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October is Gifted Education Awareness Month!
Governor Reynolds declared the month of October to be Gifted Education Awareness Month. The Iowa Talented and Gifted Association (ITAG) proposed many activities to celebrate giftedness in your school...
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Gifted Education Awareness Month: We’re Sharing the Best-Kept Secret!
In Iowa, October has been declared Gifted Education Awareness Month! To celebrate, we’ll be sharing some of your favorite posts from the blog all month long. Today, we’re sharing the time our own Dr....
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Who Needs Subject Acceleration? The Nuts and Bolts of Decision-Making
Some students are ready for subject acceleration – but which students, exactly? How do we know which students have mastered the classroom curriculum and are ready to handle more advanced work in a...
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Subject-Specific Gifted Services?
An individual recently posted on the Belin-Blank Center teachers’ listserv: “I’m wondering if anyone identifies and provides services based on specific subjects instead of just overall scores? I am...
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Are You Thinking about Early Entrance to College? This May Be the Time to...
The Belin-Blank Center frequently recommends above-level testing for academically talented students because it gives students the opportunity to “show what they can do” and demonstrate their abilities...
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Make Your Time Spent Testing More Meaningful
“We spend too much time testing!” This is a refrain we’ve often heard. Parents and teachers are frustrated by the amount of instructional time “wasted” on standardized testing, especially if they...
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7th to 9th Graders Needing More Challenge? This May Be the Time to Take the ACT
The Belin-Blank Center frequently recommends above-level testing for academically talented students because it gives students the opportunity to “show what they can do” and demonstrate their abilities...
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ISASP: Begin Discovering Talent in Your Students
Schools in Iowa began administering the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) for the first time in spring 2019. We have received a lot of questions about how to use the scores,...
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New Requirements for IOAPA Middle School Courses
As you may know, the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) have teamed up to provide identification and programming services, and to help Iowa...
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Trying to Make Decisions about School Placement or Acceleration for Next Year?
We might be able to help! Above-level testing is a useful tool for gathering data needed for decisions such as: Does my student need additional challenge in a particular subject? Is my child ready to...
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Acceleration During a Pandemic?
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Since many students were working remotely from home this spring, parents had the unique opportunity for an up-close view of what happens in school on a regular basis....
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To Test or Not to Test: Is That the Question?
Written by Dr. Susan Assouline, Director of the Belin-Blank Center We sometimes hear from parents, educators, and students who question the value of standardized tests, particularly as colleges and...
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What’s the Best-Kept Secret in Gifted Education? Above-Level Testing.
We have said it before: the secret of above-level testing is really not much of a secret. It’s used extensively by university-based centers of gifted education. Unfortunately, it is under-utilized by...
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An Easy Way to Learn More About Your Student’s Needs
It’s time to make a plan for testing your 4th-6th grade students using I-Excel. Why I-Excel? This test offers an opportunity for talented students to demonstrate their capabilities. Receiving scores...
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Using BESTS for IOAPA Decisions
As you may know, the Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) and the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search (BESTS) team up to provide identification and programming services to help Iowa teachers...
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Learn More About Your Child’s Academic Capabilities
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Are you interested in learning more about your child’s aptitude in math, science, English, and reading? If your school doesn’t already provide this opportunity, you can...
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5 Things That Every Educator and School System Should Know
The Gifted Education field is more committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion than ever. In August 2022, the National Association for Gifted Children hosted its second annual National Symposium on...
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ACT: Not Just for High Schoolers Anymore
We are delighted to report that young students are once again permitted to take the ACT. This opportunity had been limited due to the pandemic. Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com What’s this all about?...
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Parents and Educators as Partners in Learning About Students’ Academic...
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com The Belin-Blank Center helps educators and families work together to learn more about their students’ academic capabilities as well as to discover challenging...
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Talking with Students about Taking an Above-Level Test
Staff members at the Belin-Blank Center often recommend that bright students take an above-level test. The students with whom we work often do extremely well on grade-level tests taken in school. The...
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IOAPA AP® Exam Scholarship Winners
The Belin-Blank Center is thrilled to announce the recipients of this year’s Iowa Online AP Academy (IOAPA) AP® Exam Scholarships. These scholarships provide financial support for AP® exams to IOAPA...
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