Is Every Child Gifted?

A widespread misconception in education holds that all children possess giftedness. This belief manifests in various ways—from assertions that each child's uniqueness makes them gifted to claims that broadening the definition would reveal universal giftedness. A popular saying suggests children simply "unwrap their packages at different times," implying late bloomers will eventually catch up. However, by around age ten, children in supportive environments who haven't demonstrated high intelligence rarely do so later.

Curiously, nobody makes equivalent claims about adults. No one insists that every adult excels in some domain or that searching thoroughly enough would uncover exceptional abilities in everyone. Apparently, complete mediocrity only exists in adulthood—never childhood. One wonders where these non-gifted adults originate.

Like intelligence itself, giftedness lacks a universally accepted definition. Early twentieth-century scholars equated it with high IQ scores. This changed after a 1971 US government report identified six potential giftedness areas: general intellectual aptitude, specific academic aptitude, creative thinking, leadership, visual and performing arts, and psychomotor ability. This expanded definition included far more abilities than just general intelligence, though scholarly definitions continue to vary widely.

Broader definitions certainly increase who qualifies as "gifted." But this doesn't mean everyone is gifted. The term inherently implies exceptionality and above-average ability. Stretching "gifted" to encompass everyone renders it meaningless—if everyone is gifted, nobody truly is. This claim essentially denies giftedness and individual differences entirely, which is absurd. People clearly vary in intelligence, specific aptitudes, leadership, artistic skills, and athletic abilities. Anyone who's attended school events can confirm this.

Often, claiming all children are gifted reflects discomfort with intelligence differences. While motivations are usually good—not wanting to discourage children or believing in intervention power—individual differences in intelligence undeniably exist. People receive different genetic and environmental influences affecting their intelligence, with some getting fortunate combinations and others less so.

Believing all children are gifted leads to problematic educational policies. When schools open gifted or Advanced Placement classes to everyone, two inevitable consequences emerge: either academically unprepared students fail at high rates, or curriculum gets diluted to accommodate them. Both occur because typical children struggle with advanced material that gifted peers handle easily.

AP test data demonstrates this clearly. As participation increased from 1.3 million (2006) to 2.8 million students (2018), average scores declined. For instance, AP English Literature averaged 3.05 in 1998 but dropped to 2.56 by 2018. When Philadelphia eliminated non-AP courses, forcing all students into AP, only four of 41 schools achieved 50% passing rates—and these had selective admissions. Among remaining schools, none exceeded 33% passing rates, and thirty had rates below 10%.

High-IQ learners require different instruction than average students. They benefit from abstract, self-directed, incomplete instruction allowing them to construct knowledge independently, whereas lower-ability learners need highly structured, detailed, concrete instruction. Gifted students also learn faster, requiring less repetition and practice. Classes accommodating substantial numbers of average students must inevitably become less abstract, more concrete, and more carefully structured—essentially watering down the gifted program.

Some children are gifted; some aren't. Acknowledging this isn't elitist—it recognizes that individual differences exist and shape appropriate educational responses. Programs reflecting this reality will necessarily provide different experiences for gifted and non-gifted students. Ignoring these differences produces negative consequences, particularly for gifted children who spend extended periods without learning anything new. However, all children deserve rigorous, challenging education—just education appropriately matched to their abilities.





From Chapter 18 of "In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths About Human Intelligence" by Dr. Russell Warne (2020)