Paper I wrote on 16 Types of Acceleration for Gifted Students

Gifted Students: 16 Types of Acceleration


Educating gifted children can be very challenging in today’s school systems. The popular word in education is differentiation, even when talking about gifted students. Gregory and Chapman (2007) defines differentiation as “one in which the teacher responds to the unique needs of students” (p.2) One of the many ways we can differentiate a gifted student’s education is by acceleration. When acceleration for a gifted student is brought up, people usually refer to either whole grade acceleration or single subject acceleration, but there are 16 different types of acceleration. This paper examines each of these 16 types of acceleration.

Webster’s dictionary defines acceleration as “the rate of change of velocity with respect to time” (www.merriam-webster.com). Education.com defines acceleration as “the practice of offering curriculum at a faster rate than normal for students who are considered capable to handle the additional rigor” (www.education.com). Lohman, Marron, and Wells (2009) say that “acceleration is an educational intervention intended to present talented youth with appropriate levels of academic challenge” (P. 248). Wood, Portman, Cigrand and Colangelo (2010) state “acceleration is the most documented, supported, and cost-effective method of helping students learn only what they don’t already know” (p. 169). Acceleration allows gifted students to work at their pace and on their own level, have material that will be new to them, and will engage and challenge them. This enables the gifted students to learn study habits that will benefit them throughout their lives. However, if they are not challenged, then they will not learn good study habits and when they do receive challenging material in high school or college they may not know how to handle the material (Ruf, 2005, p. 10).

Southern and Jones (2004) show us there are 18 types of acceleration, but I will only talk about 16 that can be used with elementary, middle school, junior high and high school. The other types of accelerations that Southern and Jones talk about are very redundant and I believe that they will be covered within the other 16 types of acceleration. There are many different types of acceleration because just like Gregory and Chapman say, “one size doesn’t fit all,” and one type of acceleration method will not fit all gifted students. Each gifted student is unique and what works for one may or may not work for another. Teachers want to do what is best for an individual gifted student and use whichever acceleration method would best allow them to learn at their optimal level. Sometimes the best way to reach their optimal level is to use one method of acceleration in conjunction with another method of acceleration.

Each state has adopted their own policies for each of the different types of acceleration. Some states will allow acceleration, some will not and others do not have a policy written at this time. Other states just leave it up to the local education agency to deal with the issue as they see fit. In the appendix, I have added the policies for the 16 types of acceleration for the state of Texas if and only if the state has a policy for that type of acceleration.

Types of Acceleration

Early Admission to Kindergarten. Southern and Jones (2004) define this type of acceleration as “students enter kindergarten prior to achieving the minimum age for school entry as set by district or state policy” (P.5). These children are allowed to start school a year ahead of their age peers.

Borland (1989) states, “I can think of no other issue in which there is such a gulf between what research has revealed and what most practitioners believe” (P. 185). Generally you will find that teachers and principals do not support early entrance into kindergarten. The main concern is that these students are not socially or emotionally ready to enter kindergarten. However, Vialle, Ashton, Carlon, and Rankin (2001) say that these “negative attitudes towards early entry…have been largely based on misconceptions and anecdotal evidence rather than empirical data” (p.14). What the principals and teachers need to look at is the whole child not only a small part. Gross (1999) says that they need to look at the “intellectual, academic and social readiness, they will perform as well as or better than their older classmates” (P. 213). In reviewing the literature on early entrance to kindergarten, one will find that these children who enter early are not only equally ready to enter but are better suited than their peers. Gagne and Gagnier (2004) study on The Socio-Affective and Academic Impact of Early Entrance to School says that the “results show clearly, early entrants are definitely not the students most at risk for adjustment problems” (p. 137). In their study the students that were at risk the most were the youngest among the regularly admitted students and intellectually slow boys.

Early Admission to First Grade. Southern and Jones (2004) define this type of acceleration as “the practice can result from either the skipping of kindergarten, or from accelerating a student from kindergarten in what would be the student’s first year of school” (p. 5). This acceleration method is very similar to early admission to kindergarten. It is so similar that all the research actually combines these two types of acceleration. The only difference is that the gifted students in this type of acceleration are of age to enter school.

Principals and teachers often see that kindergarten is not a grade level that students need to skip. They believe the students learn valuable social skills in navigating the school system that they will continue to use until they graduate. Most gifted students have already acquired the concepts that are taught in kindergarten and become less engaged in school and turn into discipline issues. Once this occurs it is very difficult to have this student moved up because the authorities see that they are not emotional or socially ready for a higher grade level. What the authorities do not take into consideration is that if this student was in first grade, the student would be engaged for longer periods and wouldn’t have the chance to disrupt class and be a discipline issue.

Grade-Skipping. Southern and Jones (2004) define grade skipping as “a student is considered to have grade skipped if he or she is given a grade placement ahead of chronological-age peers” (p.5). Neihart (2007) states that “in spite of the well-documented academic benefits of acceleration there is ongoing resistance to increase the use of (any acceleration method) in many public schools” (p. 330). One of the main issues that teachers, principals and counselors bring up are the negative social and/or emotional effects that gifted students will face when skipped a grade level. However, table 1 (Neihart, The Socioaffective Impact of Acceleration and Ability Grouping, P. 330) shows that there are about 20 researches done on the social and emotional effects of gifted children who are accelerated and none of these show any negative effects. If anything, they show that acceleration is a positive effect on the social and emotional growth of gifted children.

Table 1

Socioaffective Benefits Associated With Academic Acceleration

______________________________________________________________________________

Benefit Sample Studies Reporting the Benefit

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Accelerants report satisfying Brody, Lupkowski, & Stanley, 1988; Brody, Muratori, & Stanley, 2004;

social relationships Caplan,Henderson, Henderson, & Fleming, 2002; Charlton, Marolf, & Stanley, 1994; Gross, 2003; Gross & van Vliet, 2005; Janos et al., 1988; Lupkowski, Whitmore, & Ramsay, 1992; Noble, Arndt, Nicholson, Sletten, & Zamora, 1999; Pollins, 1983; Robinson & Janos, 1986; Sayler & Brookshire, 1993



Positive self-esteem, Bower, 1990; Lupkowski et al., 1992; Olenchak, 1995; Rogers, 1992;

self-concept, or Thomas, 1987

self-confidence



No evidence of significant Bower, 1990; Brody et al., 2004; Gagné & Gagnier, 2004; Gross, 1993, 2003; Janos,

negative effects on social Robinson, & Lunneborg, 1989; Lubinski, 2004; Lubinski, Webb, Morelock, & Benbow,

or emotional development 2001; Noble, Robinson, & Gunderson, 1993; Richardson & Benbow, 1990; Robinson & Janos, 1986; Rogers, 1992; Sayler & Brookshire, 1993; Swiatek, 1993



High level of satisfaction Brody, 1988; Brody et al., 2004; Charlton et al., 1994; Gross, 2003; Lubinski et al.,

about the choice to 2001; Noble et al., 1999; Noble & Drummond, 1992; Noble & Smyth, 1995; Sayler &

accelerate Brookshire, 1993; Stanley, Slotnik, & Cargain, 1996



Advanced social maturity; Gross, 1993, 2003; Hobson, 1963; Janos et al., 1989; Noble et al., 1993; Robinson &

greater independence; Janos, 1986; Rogers, 1992; Thomas, 1987; Worcester, 1956

social leadership



No evidence of burnout Kolitch & Brody, 1992; Swiatek, 1993; Swiatek & Benbow, 1991



Higher educational aspirations Lubinski, 2004; Lubinski et al., 2001; Olszewski-Kubilius & Grant, 1996



When most people think about skipping a grade, they assume that the student will be skipping important education concepts and have gaps within their education. In fact, these students usually are not skipping any educational concepts. They are just being placed at their academic level. Most of these students have mastered most, if not all, the concepts being covered in the grade that they are skipping over. If there are concepts that the student has not mastered from the previous grade there are several ways of handling this situation. One way is to test the student on the concepts that will be covered in the grade they are skipping and then have them cover them before the skip, or if the skip is happening after the summer, have them cover the concepts over the summer months. The other way of handling this is just to deal with these concepts as they come up within the classroom after the skip has occurred. Gifted students learn concepts at a faster pace than regular students and many concepts from the previous grade that was not mastered can be mastered within one or two teaching sessions. Sometimes as a teacher you may even notice that the student that has skipped the previous grade level is not the only student in your classroom that has not mastered the concept from the previous grade level.

When schools and parents start to consider and discuss skipping a grade for the gifted student they often bring in the school counselor. The school district administration, principals and teachers look towards the school counselor for their professional consultation on the social and emotional development of these students and how skipping a grade will effect these developments. The parents trust the opinions of these school counselors because of their professional training in consulting in educational matters. However, Wood, Portman, Cigrand, and Colangelo say that “school counselors are not well prepared to fulfill their role in helping parents, educators and students make sound decisions regarding acceleration” (P.168). They go on to say “parents, teachers, administrators, and counselors may be choosing to not accelerate gifted students because of a limited familiarity with and understanding of research on acceleration, political concerns about educational equity, beliefs that gifted students must be educated with their chronological age group or fear that acceleration will hurt students socially” (p. 169). During their study they found that the counselors did not have training nor accurate information in regards to gifted children and acceleration but they continue to give their expert opinion to help principals and teachers make a discussion about gifted children’s education. Their findings showed that the counselors were more aware and comfortable recommending acceleration options for gifted students in high school than elementary and middle school students.

Since counselors do not seem to be knowledgeable on acceleration, The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development has developed a tool for schools and parents to use to see if whole-grade acceleration in grades K-8 is the right choice for gifted students. This tool is called the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) Manual and is published by Great Potential Press. This is not a test but is “a systematic and defensible way to generate recommendations and guidelines for whole-grade acceleration (Colangelo, Assouline, & Lupkowski-Shoplik, 2004, P.77).

Subject-Matter Acceleration/Partial Acceleration. Southern and Jones (2004) define subject-matter acceleration/partial acceleration as the “practice allows students to be placed with classes with older peers for a part of the day (or with materials from higher grade placements) in one or more content areas” (p.5). There are several ways in which a gifted student can achieve subject-matter acceleration. They can be physically moved up to a different grade level for that one subject, work on higher grade level material while still staying in their chronological-age peer classroom, take classes during the summer , or attend a class after school.

The internet has changed a lot in the last few years. In many cases, a student can take a course above grade level at the school on the computer. Such programs that the schools can use for subject-matter acceleration are EPGY at Stanford University, ALEKS for math, Texas virtual class network and many others. These courses can be taken during the school year or over the summer months.

Advanced Placement. Southern and Jones (2004) defines advanced placement as “the students takes a course (traditionally in high school) that will confer college credit upon successful completion of a standardized examination” (p.6). The State of Texas defines advance placement courses as “participation and examination performance data are important in understanding the extent to which Texas students have completed courses that may qualify them for a "head start"--advanced standing, course credit, or both standing and credit--upon beginning college or university course work” (http://www.tea.state.tx.us/acctres/ap_ib_index.html). Most of the students who take AP courses and examinations are in grades 11 and 12; however students in grades 8 – 10 are permitted to take both courses and examinations.

Most high schools will offer AP courses to only juniors and seniors on the basis that they are ready for college level courses. In Texas, the results for students on the AP test in “the 11 or 12 grades who scored in the 3-5 range were 50.7%”. Of the students in 9-10 grades who took the test “45.2 percent received at least one score in the 3-5 range” (Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examination Results in Texas, 2008-09). Based on these percentages, AP courses and examinations should be offered to all high school students not just 11 and 12 graders.

Gallagher (2009) says that “early AP literature was for and about gifted students because they were the college bound population” (p.286). However, times have changed and the population that is headed to college is no longer just the gifted. Gallaher article “Myth 19: Is advanced Placement an adequate Program for Gifted Students?” questions if AP courses today are really good placements for gifted students. Gallagher goes on to say,

“If AP is used with gifted students, it should be held to the same standards as other gifted programs. AP could be adequate, if fast pace was combined with advanced instruction. AP could be adequate as one among many advanced courses. So teachers and administrators hold the final answer to the question of what AP will be for their gifted students, because as it stands AP is not inherently adequate for gifted students” (p.287).

I believe what Gallagher is saying is that if gifted students at the high school level are academically already beyond high school level courses, then the AP courses should be at a college level and not below to be an effective method for gifted students. It may be a better acceleration method if schools would use AP courses in conjunction with subject-matter acceleration for gifted Middle or junior high students.

Concurrent/Duel Enrollment. Southern and Jones (2004) define concurrent/duel enrollment as “the student takes a course at one level and receives credit for a parallel course at a higher level (e.g., taking algebra at the middle school level and receiving credit at both the middle school and the high school level)” (p.6). If a school is going to employ this method then the student will need to be able to walk to the different school that the course is offered at or the school will have to provide transportation. In some cases the parents offer to provide transportation between the two schools for their gifted student. Rogers (2002) says that “the most critical issue involving the success of the concurrent (or dual) enrollment program is whether or not the student can move gracefully within two schools’ schedules without having to show up late for classes already in progress” (p.126). Concurrent enrollment can be between a middle school student attending a high school or a high school student attending college.

Credit by Examination. Southern and Jones (2004) define credit by examination as “the student is awarded standing credit (e.g., in high school or college) by successfully completing some form of mastery test or activity” (p.6). Credit by examination is also known as Testing out or Placement testing. Credit by examination can be for a single-subject, a whole grade, or a semester. Credit by Examinations can be any test that the school district offers that will show mastery in the area that the student is trying to receive credit. Rogers (2002) says that a “score of 80%-85% or above” is what the student will need to show mastery (p.189). Credit by examination can be used to determine what acceleration method would be best suited for the gifted student.

Extracurricular Programs. Southern and Jones (2004) define extracurricular programs as “students elect to enroll in coursework or after school or summer programs that confer advanced instruction and/or credit” (p.6). The normal pull-out GT programs at most schools would be considered extracurricular programs for gifted students. Any program offered through schools like mathcounts, chess, UIL, destination imagination and many others would fall into this category. Most of these programs are offered after school except for the GT pullout program. Other programs that are offered outside of the school would be summer camps. Some of these summer programs that are for gifted students are offered through talent searches. Talent searches are usually options for middle school or junior high students that perform well on a standardized test. Rogers (2002) says that “in order to qualify for these programs, students must be in the top 1% of performance when compared to their age peers” (p.129). Some of these programs include, Duke TIP, Johns Hopkins University CTY, EPGY and many more. Some of these talent searches even offer advanced instruction over the internet through online classes.

Continuous Progress. Southern and Jones (2004) defines continuous progress as when “the student is given content progressively as prior content is completed and mastered” (p.5). This type of method of acceleration has been called many names such as Continuous Progress, Continuous Progress Format, Advancement Based Competency (ABC), Continuous Progress Schools, and Continuous Progress Education. The student becomes accelerated when their progress in content goes beyond their chronological peers. Mack (2008) states that “students learn new materials as they are ready, regardless of their age, and teachers help them advance as far as they are able” (P.324). At the beginning of the each school year the student starts off where they left off the previous school year, reviewing only when needed. With this method, the student keeps a portfolio of what they have covered. These portfolios follow the child so that when a child goes into a new teacher’s classroom that teacher can view the progress of the student and move forward. The pace of the students’ progress is determined by the teacher.

Self-Paced Instruction. Southern and Jones (2004) define self-paced instruction as “an option the student proceeds through learning and instructional activates at a self-selected pace” (p.5). This method is a sub-type of continuous progress. The only difference is that in this method the progress of the student is controlled by the student and not the teacher. Gregory and Chapman (2007) state that “for students to succeed, they need to believe that they can learn and that what they are learning is useful, relevant, and meaningful for them” (p.9). A self-paced classroom allows for self-efficacy and taking control of one’s education. Gregory and Chapman talk about knowing the learner, but this method allows the learner to know themselves. During this method, a student completes pre-tests for each unit to determine what concepts they know and what concepts they need to work on. The student will need some guidance in the beginning to teach them how to teach themselves.

Combined Classes. Southern and Jones (2004) defines combined classes as a “placement which can allow younger students to interact academically and socially with older peers.” (p.5). A combined class is one in which two grades levels are taught within the same classroom (e.g., fourth and fifth-grade split room). In this type of setting a teacher can use the whole grade method of acceleration in which a student of 4th grade age level can work on 5th grade material but still remain with age peers. The teacher can also employ single subject acceleration in which a student will take a single subject from 5th grade but all other subjects are 4th grade. The combined classroom can also include more than just 2 grade levels.

This method can also be used with the self-paced instruction method. A student in a 4th/5th grade combined class would be allowed to move at their pace and cover materials for both 4th and 5th grade within a school year. This would allow the gifted student to cover materials with no gaps and move up to the next grade level at the end of the school year.

Curriculum Compacting. Southern and Jones (2004) define curriculum compacting as “the student’s instruction entails reduced amounts of introductory activates, drill, and practice” (p.5). Rogers (2002) defines curriculum compacting as “streamlining or shortening the regular school curriculum in a specific subject area by pre-assessing the gifted child to discover what she/he has already mastered in the curriculum, and then replacing the areas mastered with replacement learning experiences or curricula that are new or more appropriate” (p.115). In this method the student will only be learning what they have not mastered and will have time to go deeper or work on independent projects during the time period that the other students are working on material that the gifted student has mastered. Rogers (2002) says that “compacted and enriched or accelerated in all academic areas all of the time didn’t allow the children sufficient time to just sit back and “digest” what they were learning” (p.117). The students can become stressed because of the fast pace of their learning if compacting is done in all subjects at once. Rogers suggest that only 2 subjects be compacted.

Telescoping Curriculum. Southern and Jones (2004) define telescoping as “ instruction that entails less time than is normal (e.g., completing a one-year course in one semester, or three years of middle school in two)” (p.6). Rogers (2002) refers to telescoping as “rapid progress” (p.183). He then goes on to define it as a process that “involves allowing a child-or preferably, a group of children of the same age-to complete the school’s curriculum of several years in one year’s less time” (p.183). In telescoping, material isn’t necessarily skipped; students are just moved at a rapid pace through the material. In order to telescope curriculum, Rogers (2002) says that you must do the following: “eliminate repetition, limit practice of already mastered skills and concepts and to step up considerably the pace of learning” (p.183). One of the benefits of telescoping gifted students is to keep them engaged and active in their learning so that they do not become behavioral issues in the classroom. With any type of acceleration method, one of the major concerns is the social adjustment for the gifted student. Rogers (2002) says that for telescoping there is “no difference in social adjustment, but there was a small, positive effect on measures of self-esteem and perceived pressure to achieve” (p.185-186).

Mentoring. Southern and Jones (2004) define mentoring as when a “student is paired with a mentor or expert tutor who provides advanced or more rapid pacing of instruction” (p.6). Manning (2005) says that “mentoring refers to the well-established tradition of an experienced person taking on an inexperienced person, or protégé, for teaching and training in a chosen field” (p.15). The gifted student in the mentoring program will have a chance to learn content that will provide challenge and academic rigor that cannot be provided in the traditional school setting. The mentor and the gifted student must share common interests or career goals in order for the mentorship to work. If a school wants to implement a mentoring program, the school must first determine exactly what the student needs. Once a mentor and gifted student are teamed up, there will need to be some type of training for both parties so that they both know what to expect, the purpose, the responsibilities and the benefits. The mentor will also need extra training in working with students as well as learning the backgrounds and needs of the gifted child.

Correspondence Courses. Southern and Jones (2004) define correspondence courses for gifted children as “coursework delivered outside of normal school instruction” (p.6) Correspondence courses that are offered can be non-credit, for high school credit or college credit. These courses can be delivered through independent study at home, online classes with or without an instructor or through virtual worlds. These courses can be taken during school hours or after school hours. It is up to each school or school district to accept the credit for the class that the student is working on. Since most of these classes do not offer any type of social or emotional response to other student in the class that are taking these classes, the gifted students academic needs should only play a role in the decision to allow a student access to these types of classes. EPGY and DUKE are just a couple of these types of correspondence courses available to students in kindergarten through high school.

Radical Acceleration Gross (2004) defines radical acceleration “as any combination of procedures that results in a student graduating from high school three or more years earlier than is customary (Stanley, 1978)” (p.87). Radical acceleration can happen when any of the previous acceleration methods are used together. Gifted students who are radically accelerated usually have an IQ of 160+. However, there have been documented cases where gifted students below an IQ of 160 have successfully achieved radical acceleration. These gifted students learn at a faster pace than their age peers. If these students are retained with their age peers, they typically underachieve. Gross (2004) says that these students “experience negative affective outcomes, including lowered self-esteem, anxiety, and social isolation” (p.87). Gross (2004) goes on to say that “moderate degrees of acceleration, such as a single grade-skip” (p87) may not be enough to pull these gifted student out of their underachievement behaviors.

As you can see there are many different types of acceleration methods that a school can employ. It is up to each teacher, principal, and school district to be familiar with each type. It is possible for each school to offer one if not more than one type of acceleration method to the gifted students in their schools. If and when a school does decide to implement an acceleration method, all teachers must be trained so that the method will be a smooth process for the gifted students and the teachers. It is important to remember that gifted students need to learn at their own pace and their own academic level. Schools will have to provide acceleration methods in order to achieve this. Wood, Portman, Cigrand, and Colangelo (2010) state “that there may be more harm in not pursuing acceleration as an educational option” (p.169).



























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