case study

Case Study:

Larz Larz is an energetic, fun-loving, and kind little boy. He always has had a softness that demonstrates a charitable nature. Growing up in an African-American home in Iowa, Larz has grown up a minority in his community that is mainly white. From an early age, Larz has demonstrated a passion for numbers and puzzles that was different from children in his age group. Cognitively, Larz started exhibiting signs of being a gifted child. Larz always showed advanced reasoning skills and was able to remain calm and analyze tasks that frustrated other kids. His parents also noticed his unusually long attention span for children of his age. Yet, his fascination for puzzles, especially those associated with numbers, was the most important trait. By age two, Larz was completing jigsaw puzzles, was able to recognize intricate patterns, and counting exceptionally high. However, growing up as the third child in a family of four girls and three boys, his parents did not realize his gifts until they had enrolled him in preschool, and they saw a contrast between Larz and his classmates. However, despite his distinct predilection for mathematics, Larz was not tested to be identified as gifted for several years.

Larz went through Kindergarten through the second grade, not being touted as exceptional or gifted. None of his teachers noticed his giftedness in math. Barlow and Dunbar (2010) explain that the “processes of identifying gifted and talented students examine how unequal access to educational opportunity is perpetuated through practices that express and protect the advantages of whiteness” (p. 64). In other words, it was common for minority students to slip through the cracks and not be recognized as gifted. Unfortunately for Larz, this was the case that caused him not to be identified as gifted earlier. He would have to wait for the opportunity to be tested until the third grade.

Upon entering third grade, Larz’s teachers quickly recognized that Larz might be gifted in mathematics. Larz was given the Iowa Test of Basic skills, where he scored in the 96th percentile in the mathematics portion (Figure 1.) This test then led to further study and

3rd Grade Measures of Academic Progress MAP (NWEA) Achievement Test (Larz)
3rd Grade Reading NPR	3rd Grade Math NPR
Fall 84	winter 86	Spring 85	Fall 96	Winter 94	Spring 92

accommodation of Larz’s gift. On the other hand, he also scored in the 97th percentile for the quantitative battery, and in the 93rd percentile for the nonverbal battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test (figure 2), which led his parents to research gifted schools and programs for Larz. Carman, Walther, and Bartsch (2018) state, “The participating district chose to use the CogAT7 non-verbal battery in the hopes that the results would identify students of different demographic groups proportionally” (p. 205). Fortunately, this is the test that Larz excelled in the most.Finally, in the third grade, Larz was tested for his gift. However, since entering school, several problems arose for Larz that continued to hold him back from being identified as truly gifted.

3rd Grade Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) National Percentiles (Larz)

Verbal	Quantitative	Nonverbal
86	97	93

Since Larz first started school, he demonstrated a shyness and lack of social skills with peers. After school started, Larz’s parents noticed that he retreated inward and stopped showing his normal amiability or social nature with other children. He started developing reclusive habits and antisocial behaviors. His parents later realized he had been teased and tormented by some Caucasian classmates due to his race. As Larz grew older, he reported to his parents how he feels being a minority. Larz lives in a community that is 80% white. In the fourth grade, he was the only African-American child in his class, which included a Caucasian teacher, support staff, principal, and superintendent. In many ways, Larz's struggles and treatment as a minority have

held Larz back academically and socially. The challenges of being a minority and being viewed as different affected Larz’s social skills and confidence, which, in turn, negatively impacted his classroom performance.

Larz’s teachers noticed that he stopped showing interest in subjects not related to math and did not engage in learning of other topics. By the end of fourth grade, he was described as an average student with excellent performance in Mathematics, but in no other subjects. Larz’s teacher recorded on his school communication log, “Larz has very strong math skills, but shows some trouble in making friends at school.” Indeed, Larz’s current teacher in the fifth grade interviewed Larz and found out that while he is a near-genius in mathematics, he lacks confidence and has poor social skills. Larz’s teacher also reported that he especially showed difficulty communicating with his Caucasian peers. In a session with the school guidance

counselor, Larz expressed his boredom in school, even with his math class. This led her to conclude that Larz is not being challenged enough, and his boredom combined with his social struggles, have also begun to affect his math scores. Larz has suffered from several unfortunate oversights in his education thus far. Overall, even though he is described as a near-genius in mathematics by those who know him well, there is no indication in his academic records of him being officially identified as gifted.