A scale development study to identify gifted individuals

The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale that can be used to identify the academically gifted students among elementary school students. A basic research model has been used in the study. The study group was selected from primary school students in the province of Erzincan. In the study, a scale consisting of 71 items was used to identify academically gifted individuals, which was developed based on Sternberg's Successful Intelligence Theory. The study group was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, 410 primary school students living in the province of Erzincan were reached. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with the collected data. The result of the exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure consisting of 51 items. There are 16 items under the first factor, 22 items under the second factor, and 13 items under the third factor. In the second stage, the scale consisting of 51 items was taken back to the field and 310 data were obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the obtained sample and the 3-factor structure was confirmed. As a result of the confirmatory factor analysis, the CFI value was found to be .93, the TLI value was .92, the SRMR value was .02, and the RMSEA value was .06. As evidence of the validity of the similar scales, correlation values were examined between the data obtained from the scale and the TONI-3 intelligence test applied to the students. A correlation of .80 was found between the data obtained from the scale and the TONI-3 intelligence test. As evidence of the reliability of the scale, Cronbach's Alpha and Composite Reliability coefficients were obtained for each subscale. Upon examining the findings, it can be seen that the scale is a reliable and valid measurement tool that can be used in the identification process of elementary school students.