Gifted Education Strategies Separate studies conducted during the last few decades have demonstrated both the need for and the benefits of gifted education programs. Of special interest are the documented benefits that occur for all children when gifted education strategies and programs are extended to other students, as well. Simply stated . . . Gifted education works! Please click on a link below for more information on the research-based evidence supporting the distinctive method or methods listed below. * Why Gifted Programs are Needed Gifted and talented students and those with high abilities need gifted education programs that will challenge them in regular classroom settings and enrichment and accelerated programs to enable them to make continuous progress in school. [1]Read more about why gifted education programs are needed. * Acceleration Educational acceleration is one of the cornerstones of exemplary gifted education practices, with more research supporting this intervention than any other in the literature on gifted individuals. The practice of educational acceleration has long been used to match high-level students’ general abilities and specific talents with optimal learning opportunities. [2]Read more about acceleration. * Curriculum Compacting This important instructional strategy condenses, modifies, or streamlines the regular curriculum to reduce repetition of previously mastered material. “Compacting” what students already know allows time for acceleration or enrichment beyond the basic curriculum for students who would otherwise be simply practicing what they already know. [3]Read more about curriculum compacting. * Grouping The practice of grouping, or placing students with similar abilities and/or performance together for instruction, has been shown to positively impact student learning gains. Grouping gifted children together allows for more appropriate, rapid, and advanced instruction, which matches the rapidly developing skills and capabilities of gifted students. [4]Read more about grouping. * Identification Identification is a critical component of effective gifted education programming. One size does not fit all. In addition to using assessments appropriate to the services provided, different strategies may be needed to ensure students with high potential are identified. [5]Read more about best practices in identification. [6]Read about including diverse populations in the identification process. * Pull-Out and Other Specialized Programs Programming options for gifted and talented students occur in a variety of ways, and research demonstrates the effectiveness of pull-out programs, specialized classes, and other special programs and schools and the curriculum these services use in raising student achievement. [7]Read more about pull-out and specialized programs. * Teacher Training Teachers who know how gifted students learn and are well trained in gifted education strategies are critical to high-level gifted programs; however, most gifted students spend their school days in the regular classroom. Providing basic training for all teachers on recognizing and serving advanced students helps identify and more appropriately educate those students in the regular classroom. [8]Read more about why teacher gifted training is important for all teachers. Why Are Gifted Programs Needed? High-ability students need gifted education programs that will challenge them in regular classroom settings, along with accelerated and enrichment programs to make continuous progress in school. * According to one report on high-achieving students, more than 7 in 10 teachers of these students surveyed noted that their brightest students were not challenged or given a chance to “thrive” in their classrooms. [1] Additionally, gifted students need gifted programming in many cases because the “general education program is not yet ready to meet the needs of gifted students” (p. 9) due to lack of general educators’ training in gifted education and the pressure classroom teachers face to raise the performance of their struggling students. [2] * It’s more than just giving students a challenge in classrooms: Gifted programming positively influences students’ futures. Several longitudinal studies have shown that gifted programs have a positive effect on students’ post-secondary plans. For example, studies found that 320 gifted students identified during adolescence who received services through the secondary level pursued doctoral degrees at more than 50X the base rate expectations. [3] In a follow-up report on the same study participants at age 38, 203 participants, or 63%, reported holding advanced terminal degrees (master’s and above). Of these, 142 (44%) held doctoral degrees and 8 of these 142 had more than one doctoral degree. As a benchmark for this accomplishment, the authors of this study compared these rates to the general U.S. population, noting that only approximately 2% of the general population held a doctoral degree according to the 2010 U.S. Census. [4] * Additionally, in a study looking at gifted students who participated in talent development through competitions, the researchers reported a long-term impact on these students’ postsecondary achievements, with 52% of the 345 students who participated having earned doctoral degrees. [5] * Further benefits of gifted programs have been shown that students who had participated in gifted programs maintained their interests over time and stayed involved in creative productive work after they finished college and graduate school. [6] * A sample of 2,409 intellectually talented adolescents (top 1%) who were assessed on the SAT by age 13, and provided services through a talent search program, was tracked longitudinally for more than 25 years. Their creative accomplishments, with particular emphasis on literary achievement and scientific-technical innovation, were examined and results showed that distinct ability patterns identified by age 13 foreshadowed creative accomplishments in middle age. Among the sample, participants had earned 817 patents and published 93 books, one had been awarded the Fields Medal in mathematics, and another had won the John Bates Clark Medal for the most outstanding economist under 40. [7] [9]Horizontal Line 1 ^1 Loveless, T., Farkas, S., & Duffett, A. (2008). High-achieving students in the era of NCLB. Washington, DC: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. ^2 Hertberg-Davis, H. L., & Callahan, C. M. (2013). Introduction. In H. L. Hertberg-Davis & C. M. Callahan (Eds.), Fundamentals of gifted education (pp. 1–10). New York, NY: Routledge. ^3 Lubinski, D., Webb, R. M., Morelock, M. J., & Benbow, C. P. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10 year follow-up of the profoundly gifted. Journal of Applied Psychology, 4, 718–729. ^4 Kell, H. J., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2013). Who rises to the top? Early indicators. Psychological Science, 24, 648–659. ^5 Campbell, J. R., & Walberg, H. J. (2011). Olympiad studies: Competitions provide alternatives to developing talents that serve national interests. Roeper Review, 33, 8–17. ^6 Westberg, K. L. (1999, Summer). What happens to young, creative producers? NAGC: Creativity and Curriculum Division Newsletter, 3, 13–16. ^7 Park, G., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2007) Contrasting intellectual patterns predict creativity in the arts and sciences: Tracking intellectually precocious youth over 25 years. Psychological Science, 18, 948–995.