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A recent report highlights a persistent disparity within the county school system: White and Asian-American second-graders are identified as "gifted and talented" far more than their black and Hispanic peers.

The challenge is not unique to the Montgomery County system, the state's largest district with more than 139,000 students in 200 schools. For years, school systems throughout the nation have struggled with the gap in labeling gifted and talented students.

A total of 3,806 white second-grade students were tested in the spring for accelerated instruction, according to a report released in November by the school system's Office of Shared Accountability.

Of those students, 1,997 were identified as "gifted and talented," which represented 52 percent of white second-graders tested, the data show.

Conversely, 2,155 black second-graders were tested for accelerated instruction, and 535 were identified as gifted — 25 percent of black second-graders tested.

As for Asian-American second-graders, 1,568 were tested for accelerated instruction, and 934 were given the gifted label — 60 percent of those tested from the subgroup.

Among Hispanic second-graders, 2,083 were tested for accelerated instruction, with only 463 labeled as gifted — 22 percent of those tested, according to the report.

The numbers play a role in the recent controversy over accelerated instruction. The school system pushes for all students to take accelerated classes, so administrators are proposing to drop the "gifted and talented" label altogether.

Under the proposal, the school system still would test each second-grader for accelerated instruction. But, instead of giving the student a general "gifted" label, officials would place the student in accelerated classes tailored to his or her strengths.

The proposal must be presented to the school board's Policy Committee before it goes before the entire board.

Because the school system's proposal would alter the policy, it would have to be approved by the school board before any changes are enacted.

"We want to look at what services they are being provided," said Martin M. Creel, director of the school system's Department of Enriched and Innovative Programs.

But even if the board approves a policy change, "we think we're still going to see a disparity, but we believe we'd be able to better attack the problem," Creel said.

The new process would not cost the school system additional money. School staff would spend more time implementing the process, but no new staff members would be hired, Creel said.

Eliminating the disparity

Several reasons are given for the disproportionate numbers.

For instance, the tests used to screen students for gifted and talented are largely biased toward economically advantaged students, said Jane Clarenbach, director of public education for the National Association for Gifted Children.

Children from affluent families "tend to have books and tend to go to museums," she added. "Any disadvantaged child isn't likely to score as well. If you don't fit that profile and have those opportunities, you don't appear as gifted as others do."

Also, school systems typically rely on teachers to recommend pupils ready for accelerated instruction, which could lead to inconsistencies in identifying gifted students, Clarenbach said.

In the report, testing supervisor E. Grace Chesney and Kay K. Williams, the school system's director of accelerated and enriched instruction, suggested that administrators monitor the process by which students are given access to tougher courses.

Chesney and Williams also suggested that the system look into any inconsistencies among schools in expectations, instruction and services provided to students.

Overall in the county, the number of second-graders identified as gifted has remained relatively flat the past three school years.

Of the 9,632 students tested last school year, 3,940 students, or 41 percent, were labeled as gifted, according to school system data.

In 2005-06 and 2006-07, some 39 percent of students screened were identified for accelerated instruction, the data show.

White second-graders accounted for 51 percent of all students identified for accelerated instruction last school year, while black students accounted for 14 percent, according to the data.

Asian-American second-graders accounted for 24 percent of all those identified as gifted last school year, and 12 percent of Hispanic students were so identified, according to the report.

To lower the disparity, school systems nationwide ought to develop processes to allow students to be tested for accelerated instruction more than once, Clarenbach said. The county school system retests students for accelerated education.

"We need to help education leaders understand that giftedness is more of a flexible concept," she said. "Just because you were gifted in third grade doesn't mean you aren't gifted in fourth grade."

Rosemary Hills Elementary in Silver Spring screened 189 second-graders for accelerated instruction last year, the most of any elementary school in the county, according to the report.

Of those students, 92 were labeled as gifted, which accounted for 49 percent of the total. At Rosemary Hills, 122 of the students screened were white, and 70 were labeled as gifted, accounting for 57 percent of the total.

Thirty-three black second-graders were screened, but only eight were identified — 24 percent of those tested from the subgroup.

As for Asian Americans, 12 were screened at the school and seven were identified. Twenty Hispanic second-graders were tested for gifted and talented instruction, but only five were labeled, according to the report.

"Poor does not equal dumb," Clarenbach said. "It's a very sad state of affairs when educators don't see the potential of children. It's a national tragedy because those children don't have families that can buy the services for them," such as enrolling in summer science camp or weekend programs.