Is the Female Fish the Biggest in the Pond?

According to the Big-Fish-Little-Pond-Effect Theory, gifted students may develop lower levels of self-concept when they are in similar-ability groups. In this matched-pre-and-posttest quasi-experimental research, we investigated the effects of ability grouping based on English proficiency on gifted students’ academic self-concept levels and how gender moderated this effect. The study group consisted of 68 gifted 10th-graders at a public science high school in Ankara. We used the Oxford Placement Test to assess students’ English proficiency levels, based on which they were assigned to three ability groups. The Academic Self-Description Questionnaire II measured students’ academic self-concept levels before and after grouping. We analyzed the data by parametric and non-parametric statistics at p < .05. Results show a significant increase in academic self-concept for four months after grouping, among the girls of the highest-ability group . No significant changes were found among other ability groups or among boys.