The Need for Advocacy It is with continuing advocacy that the educational needs of gifted and talented students will be met today, tomorrow and in the future. In National Excellence: A Case For Developing America's Talent, these children are identified as follows: Children and youth with outstanding talent who perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience or environment. These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor.