A major problem facing schools is lack of curricular differentiation and academic challenge for the most academically able students. Also, contemporary textbooks have been "dumbed down." Curriculum compacting is a flexible, research-based technique enabling high-ability students to skip work they already know and substitute more…

Guidelines are given for an enrichment program that uses preservice teachers as mentors to provide experiences for gifted and talented pupils in grades five through seven. Ratings of the program by 31 students are also included. (MLF)

Gifted 11- to 14-year-olds from all parts of the country participated last summer in fast-paced three-week programs in mathematics, writing, or science sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. (Author/MLF)

To serve all gifted students, we must broaden identification methods, develop more and varied types of programs, and provide comprehensive teacher training. (Author/TE)

Although differentiated learning for high-ability students in heterogeneous classrooms is as important as for other children, gifted students' needs are frequently overlooked. Instead of offering extra credit, teachers should compact the curriculum, design alternative learning experiences, allow differentiated pacing, and agree on expectations.…

Inclusionary practices may appease critics, but have actually caused a decline in rigorous academic options for high achievers. Mainstreamed gifted kids have fewer chances to challenge one another. Full inclusion for all special-needs students is tomorrow's bad practice. Programs featuring flexibility, acceleration, and variety are promising…

A study of 17 bright underachievers aged 8 to 15 attributed low achievement to emotional issues, peer group pressure, lack of an appropriate curriculum, undiagnosed learning disabilities, and poor self-regulation. Teacher researchers discovered that involving these students in creative productivity reversed the cycle of underachievement. (12…

When an Idaho school district initiated computerized adaptive testing, it discovered that all the growth occurring in the district was limited to the lowest-achieving students. The more proficient students, which included both gifted and above-average learners, showed little or no growth. The assessment data showed a weak curriculum that tended to…

A junior high school English teacher explains how she managed to teach gifted and talented students in a mixed-ability classroom. She discovered the importance of taking "baby steps" (allowing independent study), varying learning activities, raising the bar for everyone, and discovering her students' passions. (MLH)