Dive Brief:
- Researchers at Duke University’s Talent Identification Program and Johns Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth studied standardized test results to determine the portion of students performing at levels that would be expected for their peers a grade ahead of them.
- NPR reports 25-45% of students tested ahead of grade level on the NAEP test, the NWEA MAP test, the Florida Standards Assessment and Smarter Balanced tests in Wisconsin and California, and while two-thirds of middle schools reported offering acceleration by subject in 2013, there is no national data about how many students take advantage of that.
- In Baltimore County, Superintendent Dallas Dance is hoping to change the way gifted and talented students are identified, shifting from a process that begins with a teacher or parent nomination to universal screening and allowing students to participate in gifted classes in one subject but not all of them.
Dive Insight:
The pressure of sanctions under No Child Left Behind encouraged teachers to focus on students who were at risk of failing standardized tests and bring them above the benchmark. It has been widely recognized that in these classrooms, more advanced students often do not get the attention they need to be challenged. With an expectation that all students must meet a minimum standard, there has been a missing conversation about whether we still accept a range in skill levels and mastery among students. If there is an understanding that this range did not disappear with the passage of NCLB, schools need to figure out how to teach to it.
Personalized learning offers obvious possibilities. Students at all levels can get instruction and practice in the areas they need it to catch up or move ahead. When it comes to gifted programs, black and Latino students are generally underrepresented and universal screening procedures are one important way to make sure biases do not factor into the selection process.