Relationship of Mathematics Olympiad Performance of Gifted Students with IQ and Mathematics Achievement

The purpose of this study is to investigate relationship of mathematics Olympiad (analysis-algebra and geometry) scores of gifted students with IQ scores (verbal, performance and general) and mathematics achievement scores of the gifted students. Study group of the study included 64 gifted students (27 girls and 37 boys) who took courses from one Science and Art Center. Data of study involved scores of the participants on mathematics Olympiad exam, WISC-R test and school mathematics achievement. For analysis of the data Pearson correlation analysis, Spearman correlation analysis, independent groups’ t-test and Mann Whitney U test were utilized. The findings showed that there was no significant relationship between the Olympiad scores on analysis-algebra and geometry and IQ scores (general, performance and verbal). But the Olympiad scores on analysis-algebra and geometry factors were significantly related to school mathematics achievement. Comparing IQ scores of highest and lowest scorer groups on the Olympiad scores showed that there were no significant differences between IQ scores (general, performance and verbal) of the groups. However school mathematics scores of the participants significantly differed in terms of groups determined based on analysis-algebra and geometry scores.