Family Factors Associated With High Academic Competence in Former Head Start Children at Third Grade

Most studies of gifted students have looked at already identified groups, often convenience samples. This study takes a more epidemiological approach. Of the 5,400 children in the National Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration group Project tested at the end of third grade, the highest achieving 3% ( N = 162) were selected by conducting a principal components analysis on their scores on the vocabulary and achievement measures. Compared with the remaining children, the high-achieving children were thriving both socially and academically, and, although as a group they were not enamoured of school, fewer were strongly disaffected. On the whole, the families of these children had somewhat more resources on which to call and somewhat fewer stresses with which to deal than the families of the remaining children, although their mean income was only 1.26 times the Poverty Index. Compared to caretakers of the remaining children, caretakers of high achievers ascribed to more positive parenting attitudes and were seen by teachers as more strongly encouraging their children's progress. Of the 113 third-grade high achievers with test scores at grades 1, 2, and 3, 52 had met the 3% criterion in at least 2 grades, and 37 had done so in all 3. Years of high achievement correlated with family resources. These findings demonstrate that even families sorely stressed by life circumstances can support very positive intellectual and social competence in their children.