Cross-Graded+Classes

One interesting option for gifted learners is to group them not by age or grade level, but instead group them across grades by their progress or academic readiness for content. Cross-Graded classes would thus have students from different grades working on the curriculum that they were ready for and moving on to the next phase in the curriculum when they achieved mastery over it. This allows theses decisions to be based entirely on student achievement instead of age/grade progression.

A study by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development (1993) found that "students reported substantial academic gains in reading and some evidence of similar gains in mathematics for students of all ability levels. The Kuliks' meta-analysis on cross-grade grouping K-12 located 16 studies, which established a moderate gain across all subject areas. Rogers' (1992) best-evidence synthesis reported sizeable academic gains for nongraded classrooms, in which gifted students would work at their own pace in every subject area full-time. The National Association for Gifted Children (2005) states that students need the flexible interventions that Cross-Graded classes bring as this helps them to stay interested in school and be motivated to master content so they can move onto a new challenge.

Cross-Graded Classes like curriculum compacting and subject acceleration allows students the opportunity to work at pace that encourages academic challenges. The option should be considered for students that have worked through their curriculum, but do not have the benefit of being able to be in compacted class. Being able to join a class of students that span age and grade gaps can allow for more appropriate instruction for students in need of it.