Another chapter in Gladwell’s book was called “Mostly Likely to Succeed: How Do We Hire When We Can’t Tell Who’s Right for the Job?”

Successful college quarterbacks don’t necessarily go on to become successful NFL quarterbacks. Why? Because the games are played differently. And because college quarterbacks are playing against college students. Once those guys graduate from college and start playing in the NFL, they are playing against, well, NFL players. They may find the level of play is overwhelming.

All too often across America, a primary criterion for a student to get evaluated for a gifted program is a teacher or parent nomination, which can cause all kinds of equity problems. For one thing, white teachers disproportionately nominate white students.

In Washington state we don’t use the word nominations, as if kids are being nominated for a high office. We use the word referral for Highly Capable program. It’s the same word we use for any support services.

Those referrals can be part of the multiple criteria for identification, but there should be qualitative measures as well. We don’t just want teachers comparing their third-grade students to other third-grade students in their class or parents comparing their kids to other kids at the playground. We want to compare to a bigger pool. Which is why the Washington Coalition for Gifted Education is again pushing for universal screening. See how all the second-grade students in the district perform on the same tests. Create equity.

In the end, testing is an inexact science, which is why I wish we could get rid of the HC label entirely.

What we must do is appropriately place, as best we can, with the information that we have. Some students need HC services in math. Some need HC services in reading or writing. Some need HC services all day long. Some need support for their unique social and emotional needs.

Some need help one year and need to take a break the next.

Some may appear ready but flounder in the reality of a HC setting. They made need to wait and get the extra support next year.

If we were much more flexible, we wouldn’t have to push a life-long label on kids. We’d just push services, as needed.