Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development

"Taking the ACT helped me realize how much I know and how much I can accomplish if I just try."
Kelly P.

"It gave me an idea of what to expect when I take the tests later in high school."
Michael Q.

"I love a good challenge, and this was the perfect opportunity to show what I know."
Jesse T.

Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search
(BESTS)

Welcome to the Belin-Blank Exceptional Student Talent Search for 2007-2008 (BESTS). BESTS is an opportunity for students to take part in an enjoyable and academically stimulating experience to learn more about their academic strengths. It is also a chance for parents and educators to discover the level of academic challenge appropriate for their students.

The goal of a Talent Search is to discover, via above-level testing, students who need further educational challenge to fully realize their academic talent. Above level testing is an educational procedure in which a test developed for older students is administered to younger students. Students who do well on a grade-level test have correctly answered most of the questions on that test. This tells us what they know, but doesnt tell us what theyre ready to learn. The results of an above-level test can tell us what students are ready to learn.

The Goals of BESTS are

to discover, via above-level testing, students who need further educational challenge to fully realize their talent;

to provide students, parents, and educators with an objective measure of a student's readiness for specific academic enrichment and/or accelerative programming;

to provide a challenging and fun experience for students;

to provide students, parents, and educators with information on Belin-Blank Center programs, research, and other informative articles through our newsletter, VISION;

and to be a portal to the enrichment programs at the three Iowa regent Universities.