Making a List Requires Checking it Twice: A Call for Empirical Evidence in Characteristics Lists

Countless characteristics lists have been made to describe gifted children. But what evidence exists to support them? If such lists are to be useful, they must be appropriately contextualized and grounded in empirical support. Lacking these, they cannot be useful. And many existing lists are severely lacking in both of these things. In this article, I first provide background on characteristics lists and their uses. Second, I outline six limitations of current lists. Third, I introduce a formal nomenclature for determining what constitutes a characteristic of gifted students. Finally, I propose two possible paths forward. First, stop creating or using characteristics lists. Alternatively, if characteristics lists are to be created and consumed, they need to better align the field’s actions with its aspirations. Without sufficient empirical support, characteristics lists will not help schools and can exacerbate both inequity and distrust in research. Calling something a characteristic is a privilege that must be empirically earned.