Giftedness and High School Dropouts - Neag Center for Gifted ...

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A causal-comparative design was used in this study because the NELS:88 data are
collected from self-administered surveys. A causal-comparative design allows for the
investigation of possible cause-and-effect relationships in a situation where experimental
manipulation is impossible (Borg & Gall, 1989; Kerlinger, 1973).
Samples
The sample in this study is composed of the students who were eighth graders in
1988 and participated in the base year through the third follow-up survey of NELS:88.
The sample in Study 1 consists of dropout students who were not in an academic program
leading to a high school diploma, had not received a GED by the spring 1992, and had
completed the Second Follow-up Dropout Questionnaire. In this study, to apply a more
flexible definition of gifted, gifted students were defined as those who participated in
their school district's gifted program or who had been enrolled in three or more classes in
advanced, enriched, or accelerated English, social studies, science, or math (variable
codes, BYS66A, B, C, BYS68A). Among 1,285 students who completed the Second
Follow-up Dropout Questionnaire, 334 were identified as gifted.
The sample in Study 2 consists of gifted students who were eighth graders in 1988
and participated in all four rounds of the survey. It should be noted that gifted students
who dropped out of school in Study 1 and Study 2 are not exactly the same group,
because some of the students who dropped out of school in Study 1 might have returned
to school before the third follow-up, classifying them as non-dropouts in Study 2. Also,
gifted students who dropped out of school in Study 1 did not participate in the third
follow-up survey, thus decreasing the number of students in the third follow-up (see
Figure 2). Among 12,625 students who participated in the four rounds of the survey, a
total of 3,520 gifted students were identified as a sample using the same definition of
gifted as in Study 1. In Study 2, dropout students were defined as students who were not
graduates or GED/certificate holders (f3diplom=6) in 1994. The dropout and gifted
status of the sample is described in Table 2. Of the students identified as gifted for this
study, 95% (3,343) received their high school diploma, while 5% (177) were considered
dropouts. Approximately 5% of students identified as non-gifted dropped out of school
as well.
Weights and Standard Error of the Study
The variables used in Study 1 and Study 2 were all included in the NELS:88 third
follow-up, public use data files. The operational definitions and NELS:88 coding
schemes (in parentheses) for each variable are described in the Appendix A.