Gifted learners in one rural middle school have shown signs of underachievement, with 31% failing one or more subject areas. Due to 100% of these students meeting all standards on the Criterion Reference Competency Test (CRCT), a disparity exists between their classroom achievement scores and standardized test scores. The purpose of this…

Attempts to increase motivation in reluctant readers have been the focus of many local, state and federal reading research initiatives. Only recently have researchers and educators come to understand that many of these same issues also face teachers of gifted and talented learners. Frequently, students who are bright and talented but do not…

In his keynote address at the "New York Times" Schools for Tomorrow 2011 Fall Conference, Dr. Larry Summers (2011) suggested that technology implementations have an unusual growth pattern. New technology innovations usually require more time to "catch on" than one might expect, but once they catch on, their use spreads more quickly than anyone can…

Parents and teachers occasionally express concern that their children are too focused on the discovery of mathematics. The author remembers clearly one upset father who told him, "Just teach my daughter what she needs to know. Don't worry if she understands why it works. She just needs to know how to get the right answer." The author agrees with…

The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM) has been one of the most widely used models in the education of the gifted in Brazil. It has inspired the political and pedagogical project of the Centers of Activities of High Abilities/Giftedness recently implemented in 27 Brazilian states by the Ministry of Education. In this article, our experience in…

This is a quantitative research study using archival data to focus on the achievement of Gifted & Talented students in two South Carolina public school districts. The researcher used an open cohort comparative research design for this study. This study attempted to find if differences in student performance existed between students labeled as…

Gifted students' preference to work alone is widely espoused, but studies vary widely in their explanations. We re-examined this notion in terms of motivation and social constructivism among 247 school-identified gifted and high-achieving and regular-education students in Grades 4 through 12. Survey data assessed learning style, interests,…

This study of advanced readers in Reading First (RF) classrooms was part of a larger evaluation of one state's RF implementation. The study's purposes were to (a) assess the longitudinal growth of advanced primary readers as compared with their non-advanced-reading peers over a 3-year timeframe and (b) determine the degree to which RF classrooms…

This paper explores what a governmentality approach can help "open up" about the recent "problematisation" of special education in Ontario. The focus is on a new category of student--gifted/autism--within the Ontario government-initiated special education "transformation". Through an analysis of government resource…

School improvement efforts often focus on students who perform below grade level. These improvement efforts typically focus on improving instruction, often through a framework and professional development. The question remains, how do students who are gifted and talented respond to this type of instruction? We observed 48 students in their…

Fairness is often considered synonymous with equality: the equal treatment of people sharing a uniform description or role. This concept--"fair" means "equal"--has spawned the notion that it is fair to teach all children the same way. Put simply, if fairness means equality in family life, restaurant dining, and sports--not to mention in observing…

In 2004, the National Association for Gifted Children and the National Middle School Association collaborated to create a joint position statement supporting the educational needs of all middle school students, including those of high potential and ability. Since the creation of this position statement, research demonstrates that little has been…

Bridging the gap in student performance has changed the teaching practice in classrooms across America. Educators have the responsibility to teach all learners. There is a need for instruction to be tailored to boost the higher-level achievers and balance the gaps. This study examined the attitudes and actions of regular and gifted teachers…

Although experts in gifted education widely promote cluster grouping gifted students, little empirical evidence is available to attest to its effectiveness. This study is an example of comparative action research in the form of a quantitative case study that focused on the mandated cluster grouping practices for gifted students in an urban…

This article shares narratives, or learning-informed stories, of young gifted learners. The purpose of the article is to document exceptionalities of the youngest gifted learners, supporting advocacy, and to demonstrate the merit of narrative approaches to assessment. Narrative assessment, including learning stories, is particularly useful for…