In its various forms, acceleration continues to be an evidence-based and widely used service provided to gifted students but remains controversial and unsupported in legislation in most states. Case studies, current legislation, interviews with state directors of gifted education programs, and a deep dive into the 2018-2019 State of the States in…

Policy and funding influence equitable education for students who are gifted. The concept of equity is examined through variations in policy and in funding at the state, district, and local levels. Challenges and barriers to equity in policy and funding include policy structures, where policy provides guidance without accountability measures, or…

Robin Zapotocky is a first-year teacher in a fifth-grade classroom at Cannaday Elementary in Mesquite ISD, Mesquite TX. She graduated from Baylor University in the gifted and elementary dual certificate program, and first met Carl when she was student teaching in a gifted and talented pullout program for third- and fourth-grade gifted students.…

The members of Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest's Texas English Learners Research Alliance requested this project because they were interested in learning more about the participation of current English learner students in gifted and talented (GT) programs in Texas, and how their participation compared with that of former English…

In the gifted community, many voices offer research, information, and advice on what gifted children need. University professors who study gifted children share their findings through research, published articles, and books. State gifted education associations and the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) publish important information…

This report presents Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examination participation and performance results in Texas public schools for the 2016-17 school year. Data are provided by student characteristics, including race/ethnicity; gender; and economic, at-risk, dyslexic, English language learner, homeless, immigrant, and…

This report presents Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examination participation and performance results in Texas public schools for the 2015-16 school year. Data are provided by student characteristics, including race/ethnicity; gender; and economic, at-risk, English language learner, immigrant, and migrant statuses.…

The University of North Texas's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science began admitting students to its 2-year early college entrance science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program in the fall of 1988. This program provided accelerated entry for top students in Texas in the areas of mathematics and science. Approximately 200…

This report presents Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examination participation and performance results in Texas public schools for the 2014-15 school year. Data are provided by student characteristics, including race/ethnicity; gender; and economic, at-risk, English language learner, immigrant, and migrant statuses.…

This report presents Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examination participation and performance results in Texas public schools for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years. Data are provided by student characteristics, including race/ethnicity; gender; and economic, atrisk, English language learner, immigrant, and migrant…

At a time of mushrooming interest in Advanced Placement (AP) tests, a new book, "AP: A Critical Examination of the Advanced Placement Program," assembles studies on how capable the program is of meeting the increasingly diverse expectations held up for it. Growing out of a symposium held at Harvard in 2007, the book focuses on AP science…

Curricular reform is an intense process. Broad-based reform--like that at the statewide level--takes on complexities that may not be easily predictable. Two states, Texas and Florida, with a large diversity of gifted populations, learn from each other as they experience creating curriculum standards for their gifted students. This article…

This article discusses a campaign called STIR: Stop Tobacco in Restaurants, that was started by fourth and fifth grade students. The goal was to end smoking in public places, including restaurants, bowling alleys, sports bars, and pool halls. For two years they motivated their peers, coordinated an information campaign to urge kids and adults to…

Borders--places where nations, people, and their cultures come together--are interesting spaces. The meeting may be friendly enough, but borders are by their nature places of "otherness," where those who are moving from one place to another are often conceived of as not belonging. High-ability students in this state of…

The effort to leave no child behind is a major threat to high-ability students, whose cognitive and affective needs are increasingly falling by the wayside from default, according to gifted education advocates. They argue that the No Child Left Behind Act, with its unprecedented, high-stakes focus on students performing below grade level, leaves…