In 1972, the United States Office of Education (USOE) released a lengthy and unprecedented report about gifted education in response to a Congressional mandate. Both Congress and the USOE lamented the inadequate state of gifted programmes in American schools and urged that gifted education should become a greater national priority. In this essay,…

Complex Instruction is a multifaceted instructional model designed to provide highly challenging learning opportunities for students in heterogeneous classrooms. The model provides a rationale for and philosophy of creating equity of access to excellent curriculum and instruction for a broad range of learners, guidance for preparing students for…

As the awareness of the existence and negative effects of excellence gaps has grown among educators and policy makers, so too has a desire for research-supported interventions to reduce these gaps. A recent review of research related to promoting equitable outcomes for all gifted students identified six specific strategies for reducing excellence…

In a school district with over 60% of the school population African American and Hispanic, it would seem judicious to believe the gifted, talented, and high ability programming would similarly represent these populations. Yet, based on the findings of this study, the representation of African American and Hispanic students in these programs is…

In this article we describe the ways that academic opportunity is distributed within the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), Canada's largest and most demographically diverse public education system. By putting a range of recent outcome data into historical, organizational, and policy contexts, we provide a snapshot of how one of North America's…

Knowledge of English/language arts, mathematics, and the sciences are considered important in the development of gifted children. Familiarity with the arts--music, the visual arts, dance, creative writing, and theatre--is, for many, a more difficult proposition. Budget cutbacks have marginalized the art offerings in numerous school districts…

Areas of concern in the mandation of gifted education include its defensibility, affordability, and contribution to excellent education. Recommendations for improvements or alternatives to mandation are offered. In response to this paper, Neil Salkind supports mandated programs, while Peggy Dettmer's counterpoint calls for deferring judgment and…

There are many students with high native abilities that remain underdeveloped because of inadequate opportunity, practice, and motivation. Although genetics significantly affects development of various intelligences, environment (including cultural values) and sequential experiences help crystallize native abilities. Schools must organize and…

This article contrasts two traditions in American education affecting gifted education: Hamiltonian elitism and Jacksonian egalitarianism. It recommends instead the Jeffersonian tradition of equality of opportunity but not necessarily of outcome. Discussion is in the context of saving funding for gifted education despite the negative impact of…

This paper examines factors contributing to the underrepresentation of black children in gifted and talented education programs. The paper reviews the history of school desegregation and finds that integration and equal educational opportunity for minority students have yet to be achieved. The persistent maintenance of cultural control by the…

This article describes a gifted program that identified students after entry into the program. Students are judged suitable for gifted education after having had opportunities to develop and exhibit behaviors within a gifted classroom. The result has been student opportunities and achievements that span the chasm between excellence and equity.…

Describes the Teaching Enrichment Activities for Minorities (TEAM) project designed to give minority students in Dade County (Florida) elementary schools experience in the type of thinking skills that are required for placement in gifted and advanced programs. (FMW)

This article is intended to dispel the myth that Latinas and Latinos and other urban high school youths of color are not capable of performing at high academic levels. Much research shows that youths of color are underrepresented and underserved in gifted education programs. The authors describe the four success factors to which 10 working-class…