A differentiated curriculum for the gifted provides learning experiences that are challenging, interesting, satisfying, useful in the application to the real world, transferable to other disciplines and content areas, and allows for choice. While a differentiated curriculum is necessary for gifted learners, students' attitudes, opinions, and perceptions of the differentiated curriculum are seldom sought. This study examined highly gifted, gifted, and perceived gifted students' perceptions of the elements of a differentiated curriculum defined by the California GATE Standards (2005). The population included gifted students in grades 3-5 from three suburban private schools in Southern California. Quantitative methods and descriptive statistics were used to analyze how gifted students perceived the vignettes on a survey questionnaire depicting examples of a differentiated curriculum. Students' responses also indicated how different formal and informal methods of identification of giftedness affected students' perceptions of challenge, choice, interest, satisfaction, usefulness, and transfer in relationship to their curricular experiences. The findings revealed that highly gifted, gifted, and perceived gifted students identified curricular elements representing the differentiated curriculum positively, and that formally identified gifted students' perceptions of challenge of the differentiated curriculum (51%) were significantly different and lower than formally identified highly gifted (87%) and informally perceived gifted (95%) students' perceptions. Gifted students' perceptions of interdisciplinary connections were significantly different and lower than perceived gifted students. The results indicated that for a better match between the concepts of a differentiated curriculum and the learner, teachers and students need to be collaborators in the teaching and learning processes. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]