Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, with various consequences studied in longitudinal studies of giftedness over the last century. There is no generally agreed definition of giftedness for either children or adults, but most school placement decisions and most longitudinal studies over the course of individual lives have followed people with IQs in the top 2.5 percent of the population—that is, IQs above 130. Definitions of giftedness also vary across cultures.
Gifted education is a broad group of special practices, procedures, and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented.
Early entrance to college, sometimes called early admission or early enrollment, is the practice of allowing high school students to be accelerated into college, one or more years before the traditional age of college entrance, and without obtaining a high school diploma. In some cases this is done individually. Often, however, it is done as part of a cohort acceleration program, in which many such students are accelerated into college together at the same time. These programs are usually targeted to gifted students, and may provide their students with a social support network and help in dealing with the adjustment.
When children are young, schools begin to analyze the youngsters’ abilities and sort them into clusters based on their predicted success. The system labels the cream of the crop as gifted. Clark (2002) defines giftedness as “only a label that society gives to those who have actualized their ability to an unusually high degree or give evidence that such achievement is imminent”. The American government defines giftedness as “students, children or youth who give evidence of high performance capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields, and who require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop such capabilities”. Gifted students learn in a different manner and at an accelerated rate compared to their peers in the classroom and therefore require gifted programs to develop and apply their talents.
Education policy consists of the principles and government policies in the educational sphere as well as the collection of laws and rules that govern the operation of education systems.
Julian Cecil Stanley was an American psychologist. He was an advocate of accelerated education for academically gifted children. He founded the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY), as well as a related research project, the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY), whose work has, since 1980, been supplemented by the Julian C. Stanley Study of Exceptional Talent (SET), which provides academic assistance to gifted children. Stanley was also widely known for his classic book, coauthored with Donald Campbell, on the design of educational and psychological research - Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Research.
Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search is the above-grade-level assessment program within Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development. Originally called the Midwest Academic Talent Search (MATS), NUMATS was started in 1982 by Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska. This research-validated program aims to provide families and educators with insights into participants’ academic strengths, measure growth, and help connect students with supplemental enrichment, accelerated programs, and appropriate school-based curricula and courses.
A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students is The Templeton National Report on Acceleration, a report which was published in 2004 and edited by Nicholas Colangelo, Susan G. Assouline, and Miraca Gross. This report argues for the academic acceleration of qualified gifted and talented students, based on the results of studies on outcomes of accelerating and not accelerating high-achieving students. Despite the evidence that acceleration is a beneficial practice when implemented correctly, many teachers and parents are reluctant to accelerate students. The report presents the research on acceleration in an effort to increase the number of students who have access to acceleration.
The report is divided into two parts: Volume I, which summarizes the research and provides an introduction to acceleration as an academic intervention for gifted students; and Volume II, an edited volume that provides a more detailed overview of relevant research studies.
Academic acceleration is the advancement of students designated as gifted in a particular subject: placement at a rate that places them ahead of where they would be in the regular school curriculum. It has been described as a "fundamental need" for gifted students as it provides students with level-appropriate material. The practice occurs worldwide. The bulk of educational research on academic acceleration has been within the United States.
Grade skipping is a form of academic acceleration, often used for academically talented students, that enable the student to skip entirely the curriculum of one or more years of school. This is done when a student is sufficiently advanced in all school subjects, so that they can move forward in all subjects or graduate, rather than in only one or two areas.
The Davidson Institute for Talent Development is an American nonprofit organization established by former educational software entrepreneurs, the Davidsons. The organization's mission is to support the needs of profoundly gifted children through information resources, networking and educational opportunities, family support, advocacy, summer programs and scholarships.
Cluster grouping is an educational process in which four to six gifted and talented (GT) or high-achieving students or both are assigned to an otherwise heterogeneous classroom within their grade to be instructed by a teacher who has had specialized training in differentiating for gifted learners. Clustering can be contrasted with other ability-grouping strategies in which high achievers fill their own dedicated class, entirely separate from other students.
Gifted pull-outs are an educational approach in which gifted students are removed from a heterogeneous (mixed-ability) classroom to spend a portion of their time with academic peers. Pull-outs tend to meet one to two hours per week. The students meet with a teacher to engage in enrichment or extension activities that may or may not be related to the curriculum being taught in the regular classroom. Pull-out teachers in some states are not required to have any formal background in gifted education.
Gifted students are outstanding learners who are not usually considered at risk of academic failure or problems. However, gifted students can still underachieve. There are risks related to the student's giftedness. This concept was formally set forth in 1972 in the U.S. in the Marland Report:
Gifted and talented children are, in fact, deprived and can suffer psychological damage and permanent impairment of their abilities to function well which is equal to or greater than the similar deprivation suffered by any other population with special needs served by the Office of Education.
The Gifted Education Research Resource Institute (GERI) is a multidimensional center dedicated to the study, discovery, and development of human potential. It was founded by John F. Feldhusen in 1977 and is situated in the College of Education, Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. GERI's mission is holistic development of giftedness, creativity, and talent among individuals throughout their lifespan. This is accomplished through enrichment programs for talented youth, graduate programs for future scholars and leaders, professional development and coursework for educators, and ongoing research on the psychology of giftedness, creativity, and talent development. GERI faculty and staff work with P-12 educators in developing and improving services for gifted, creative, and talented children, as well as training school teachers and administrators in gifted education. In addition, GERI has developed several programs for talented youth. The Super Saturday program, a six-week enrichment program, was created in the spring of 1976. In 1977, GERI began Summer Residential Camps, aimed at providing a preview of college life to talented students.
The National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (NAGTY) was based at the University of Warwick and was founded in 2002 by a government (DfES) initiative for high-achieving secondary students in England. It closed in August 2007, after Warwick University decided not to apply for the new contract.
The University of Iowa College of Education is one of 11 colleges that compose the University of Iowa. It is located in Iowa City, Iowa. The College of Education is divided into four departments that include Educational Policy and Leadership Studies, Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, Rehabilitation and Counselor Education, and Teaching and Learning. Within those four departments, there are more than 20 specific academic programs, 500 undergraduate students, and 640 graduate students.
The Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development is a center of the University of Iowa College of Education, and housed in the Blank Honors Center on the campus of the University of Iowa. It is a comprehensive center for nurturing potential and inspiring excellence in gifted education. The center provides services for all aspects of gifted education. Educators can earn their gifted education endorsement. Students can participate in various programs that will be academically challenging. In addition, the Belin-Blank Center involves a clinic for assessment and counseling services and an institute for academic acceleration.
The University of Connecticut (UConn) Neag School of Education offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in education, sport management, and leadership across four campuses, with the main campus located in Storrs, Connecticut. The Storrs location is home to the Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, and additional locations are in Hartford, Waterbury, and Groton. It is ranked number 16 among public graduate schools of education in the nation. The schools' research and teaching programs have been funded by a wide number of institutions, such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Education.
