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 __Introduction__

Gifted Education is an ambiguous topic for many. Who are the "gifted", how do we go about identifying giftedness in a person, what are the educational implications of having identified gifted students? All of these questions and many more have been and will likely continue to be the subject of research and debate. Of these questions, the issue of how to best meet the needs of students that are gifted in the classroom is critically important. The answer to these questions by schools and educational researchers has been to implement and suggest a wide array of services and programs. In some states like Kansas, gifted education has been placed under the asepses of Special Education, making it certain that all students who have been identified as gifted will have Individualized Educational Plans (IEPs). Difficulties arrises here because of the nature of the enriched and specialized education that gifted students should and need to receive and the available staff support to carry out these individualized plans for an increasingly large number of students on the staff member/facilitators case load. For some gifted facilitators, this number is anywhere from fifty to ninety students. How then should a gifted facilitator, school, or school district structure the services they provide to ensure that each and every student that is gifted is challenged and also has access to highly trained and qualified staff members?

The answer for many school districts has been to develop a gifted program in which all students that are identified have their individualized plans based off of the services that can be provided through the gifted program. Indeed, in many states that do not place gifted education under the umbrella of Special Education, these types of gifted programs are common.

The reason for creating this website came from attending and being part of my school district's discussion on the appropriate type of gifted program and the appropriate time to begin the identification process. It is my hope that the summary of research that I have included on this site will be helpful in analyzing and identifying the potential positive outcomes of specific programs while also making decisions that take into account student's social and emotional well being.

This website will provide information on nine common types of gifted programs with the hope of analyzing what research shows to be the benefits and consequences for students that are gifted in terms of both academic success and emotional/social affect of placing students in such a program. I have included a discussion on grade skipping as well. Although this would not be considered a "program", research by Karen Rogers (1992, 2002, 2005) and others suggest one of the highest rates of academic growth for this option leading me to believe that a page devoted to grade skipping was necessary.

Finally, the topic of identification will also be examined. The debate and conventional wisdom against a one time IQ Test to determine and place a child into gifted services has received considerable attention and other options will only be briefly addressed. Instead, the primary focus of this section will be to examine what research supports as an appropriate age to begin the identification process, with the goals of the student's academic and social success in mind.

Table of Contents 


 * __Program Options__**

Advanced Placement Courses Cross-Graded Classes Curriculum Compacting Enrichment and Differentiated Instruction Full-Time Ability Groups Pull-Out Groups Subject Acceleration


 * __Additional Options__**

Grade Skipping Mentorships


 * __Identification__**

Appropriate Age to Identify


 * Summary and Conclusion **

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 * Works Cited **