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Midwest Academic Talent Search

The Midwest Academic Talent Search (MATS) is one of several talent search programs in the United States that uses off-level testing to assess the abilities of academically gifted children. Talent search programs like MATS have a history of 25 years or more and have become a prominent service delivery model in the United States for both assessment and educational programming for gifted children.

MATS is conducted by the Center for Talent Development of the School of Education and Social Policy of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. MATS is an annual program that involves assessment of children in Grades 4 through 9 via above-grade-level tests, including the Explore test, the ACT (American College Test), and the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test).

Underlying Rationale

Underlying the MATS program is the belief that the typical tests used to assess achievement within schools are not appropriate for gifted children. Because these tests are designed for heterogeneous groups of students, they suffer from ceiling effects due to the lack of sufficiently difficult items. As a result, on-grade-level tests are too easy for gifted learners and do not provide adequate measurement of their abilities. The use of on-grade-level tests to assess the abilities of gifted learners is akin to using a yardstick to measure height. The measuring instrument cannot discern differences in height beyond that of 3 feet. Similarly, on-grade-level tests can determine students' mastery only of grade-level material but not what students know and understand beyond that. Many gifted students can reason and think beyond what is expected on the basis of their age or grade. MATS uses tests designed for older students with younger students, thereby providing more accurate measurement of their abilities in key areas. Through the use of tests such as the ACT, SAT, and Explore, gifted students' level of ability (e.g., moderately gifted, highly gifted) in several key domains (math, verbal, science reasoning, and English) can be determined. Use of these tests with children of these ages is also appropriate because differentiation of cognitive abilities (e.g., relative strengths and weaknesses in different areas) is known to occur in early adolescence. The MATS program assists students in Grades 3 through 9 who are already scoring well on on-grade-level tests (e.g., at the 95th percentile or higher) to register for and take an appropriate above-grade-level test.

Students in Grades 3 through 6 take the Explore tests, typically given to eighth graders. Students in Grades 6 through 9 take the SAT or ACT, typically given to high school juniors and seniors. MATS participants take these tests on Saturdays at national test centers located near their homes.

Services to Families and Schools

The MATS program is more than just testing. Subsequent to testing, MATS participants receive information that helps them to interpret and understand their scores on the above-grade-level tests. For example, in the MATS program, they receive percentile rankings for their scores based on students their own age who took the test, that is, other gifted students. They are given recommendations for out-of-school programs such as contests and competitions, summer programs, and distance learning programs that they are eligible for based on their scores and that will further develop their abilities. They receive information directly from the Center for Talent Development on its educational offerings for gifted students as well as brochures and information from other gifted centers and institutions that offer special programs for gifted learners. Students and families receive academic advising regarding sequences of courses to take in Grades 4 through 12, depending on a student's abilities and areas of strength. Families of MATS participants also receive information about giftedness, talent development, and parenting via print materials including magazines, newsletters, and the like, as well as access to experts in gifted education through conferences and seminars. Students who participate in MATS continue to receive information about special programs until the end of high school.

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