Low income and minority students are substantially underrepresented in gifted and talented education programs all across the United States. According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, in the U.S. in 2006, 13.1% of Asian/Pacific Islander students and 8% of white students had been identified as gifted whereas only 4.2% of Hispanic students and 3.6% of black students had been identified. Although a number of environmental and societal reasons may contribute to such a large … [Read more...] about Increasing Representation of Low Income and Minority Students in Gifted Education
Advocacy
Gifted Underrepresentation
Many schools struggle to ensure that gifted program identification practices are fairly and consistently applied to all students, regardless of their backgrounds. To shed light on this issue, researchers assessed the rates at which students are assigned to gifted programs based on race or ethnicity. Using data from a nationally representative dataset of students enrolled in public elementary schools with gifted programs, their results showed: … [Read more...] about Gifted Underrepresentation
Rethinking Mentorship: It’s More than Scholarship
Parents with children who have a strong interest in a subject may consider seeking a mentor for their child, either to augment school-based learning or to provide guidance for enrichment courses. Research suggests that a good mentor can be highly beneficial for a student’s intellectual development. A recent study reported that gifted students may be particularly responsive to high-quality mentorship because of their tendency to process information more quickly and easily─a good mentor can pace … [Read more...] about Rethinking Mentorship: It’s More than Scholarship
Evaluation of State Policies and Programs for Gifted Students
A new report card titled Equal Talents, Unequal Opportunities has been released on what each state is doing to identify and serve its academically talented students. Published by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the report card gives each state a grade on its “inputs” (how much state policies support and facilitate learning for academically talented students) and its “outcomes” (whether students are reaching advanced levels of performance). Overall, they found large variation in performance … [Read more...] about Evaluation of State Policies and Programs for Gifted Students
Advocating for Your Child in School: Strategies for Every Step
Navigating a school system to ensure the best education for your child can seem intimidating, but we can help to break your process into clear, effective steps. 1. Identify the Barriers Talk to your child about what he or she is learning in school and in any gifted programming that the school provides. You may realize that the gifted program meets less than once a month or that your child feels unchallenged in class. There may be cause for concern if your child is assigned to tutor struggling … [Read more...] about Advocating for Your Child in School: Strategies for Every Step
Navigating the World of Special Education with your Gifted Student
By definition, a twice-exceptional (2e) student is one with two exceptionalities—giftedness along with a disability. Familiarizing yourself with the world of gifted education is a difficult task in itself, but when coupled with trying to understand special education options, it can be overwhelming. Unlike gifted education, in the world of special education, there are federal mandates governing the way in which students qualify for services and the ways in which school professionals deliver those … [Read more...] about Navigating the World of Special Education with your Gifted Student
Advocating for Your Gifted Child with Autism
Parenting a gifted child is a challenge. Gifted children can be intensely focused on certain subjects, have poor cooperation skills in a group setting, and may have difficulties in social situations. Interestingly, these same traits are also common among students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Giftedness and ASD can sometimes mask one another so that a child is only recognized as having one, but the two can also coexist! … [Read more...] about Advocating for Your Gifted Child with Autism
How to Effectively Advocate for Your Child
A child demanding an extra scoop of ice cream may not be as successful as one who uses the magical word, “please.” Success advocating for appropriate educational services may need more than a drop of honey, especially when talking to individuals who might hold misconceptions about how to best meet the needs of academically talented students. Recent research shows that there may be a useful protocol for helping optimally advocate your position. … [Read more...] about How to Effectively Advocate for Your Child
State and Federal Government Definitions of Giftedness
One of the greatest concerns parents have is whether their child’s educational needs are being met. For parents of gifted students, the extent to which this happens is dictated by a combination of national, state, and local policies. … [Read more...] about State and Federal Government Definitions of Giftedness
Advocacy: From Micro to Macro
Our recent article, Administrators of Gifted Programs: Paying Attention to the "Man Behind the Curtain," offered a perspective on "Microadvocacy," which operates on the scale of the individual child. Equally important is advocacy at a macrolevel—across a district, a state, or the nation. … [Read more...] about Advocacy: From Micro to Macro