“Many school systems are wary of grade skipping even though research shows that it usually works well both academically and socially for gifted students–and that holding them back can lead to isolation and underachievement. [...] our education system has little idea how to cultivate its most promising students. Since well before the Bush Administration began using the impossibly sunny term “no child left behind,” those who write education policy in the U.S. have worried most about kids at the bottom, stragglers of impoverished means or IQs. But surprisingly, gifted students drop out at the same rates as nongifted kids–about 5% of both populations leave school early. Later in life, according to the scholarly Handbook of Gifted Education, up to one-fifth of dropouts test in the gifted range. [...] The social impulse behind No Child Left Behind is radically egalitarian. It has forced schools to deeply subsidize the education of the least gifted, and gifted programs have suffered.”

A co-founder of the Davidson Academy, Bob Davidson, says that not allowing gifted kids skip a grade or more is a grave mistake:

“That’s criminal to send a kid [who already reads well] to kindergarten … Somebody should go to jail for that! That is emotional torture!”

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1653653,00.html

“It is inevitable that we teachers, at one point or another, will have students in our classrooms who somehow ended up with great soil. Academically and intellectually, they often seem to blossom all on their own. They are “where they need to be” (or, more often than not, are well beyond) according to state standards for children their age. With – let’s admit it – sometimes very little effort on the teacher’s part, they learn everything they’re supposed to learn that year, or they already knew it before the year began. They are easily overlooked because it’s a safe bet that they will test as “Proficient,” while so many others are in the danger zone. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t put forth every effort to help our struggling students. Of course we should! Part of the beauty of America is that we believe in the possibilities within EVERYONE. [...] speaking, do we (as a nation, as a profession) put forth every effort to stretch the students who are already “there”?”

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/unwrapping_the_gifted/

November 15, 2006

“Securing America’s position as an international superpower has never been at a more critical juncture. Yet politicians in Washington have once again ignored America’s most valuable resource: our students. In fact, our elected officials are proposing to slash the only federal program dedicated to identifying and educating students with gifts and talents.
At a time when the country is confronting numerous global challenges, we need to provide our most advanced learners with the essential resources they need to excel in the global marketplace.”

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/11/15/12letter-2.h26.html?qs=gifted

April 6, 2007
By Christina A. Samuels

“But the complex nature of identifying gifted students remains a challenge for many states and districts.
First, there are competing definitions of what makes a student gifted. And, unlike in special education, there is no federal policy that oversees how states should handle gifted education. Some states mandate education for the gifted and provide full funding for it. Others mandate it, with partial funding coming from the state and the remainder for local districts. And in still other states, there is no state funding for gifted education, and no mandate from the state that it must be provided, though individual districts may choose to do so.”

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/04/06/32gifted.h26.html?qs=gifted

“Young people in the United States today are being prepared—in school and at home—for standardized jobs in a world that will, very soon, punish those who can’t innovate. Our government and our schools have made a noble effort to leave no child behind: to ensure, through standardized testing, that all children make adequate yearly progress in basic reading and math skills. But we can’t “skill and drill” our way to innovation. Standardized testing produces standardized skills…. But… here’s the good news: The very same technologies that are making it possible to outsource commodity jobs make it possible for students of all ages to prepare for innovative work…. and this book is about how we can use computer and video games to do just that….”

If you’re interested in the future of schooling, the book might be worth a look….

Unfortunately, I live in a state in New England in which simply saying one’s child is gifted (not to mention that the child needs more than schools supply) is usually looked upon as elitist. Needless to say, I received no responses. Recently, the national Javit’s grants are allowing some funds, however small, to go to selected programs for teacher education.
Thus far I am not sure if any funds actually funnel to the children and the classrooms themselves. The Javit’s grants should be able to be identified by state via the national gifted organization (nagc).

Great article I just saw today on this topic:

http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol7no4_feature.html

Also, an interesting-sounding new book is coming out by a parent of a gifted child called “Infinity And Zebra Stripes” by Wendy Skinner. This is to be released September 1st and is published by Great Potential Press.