For Parents of Gifted Children
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has received significant fanfare and criticism over various effects it has had on education. One component that has received substantial attention is the focus on progress toward proficiency. Several reports have been...
Since its inception in 2001, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) appears to be meeting one of its major objectives: to close the achievement gap between high- and low- achieving students nationwide. The situation, however, is a bit...
Boone, Sarah Volume 9 / Issue 1 / Fall 2008 Research Briefs Research and Theory
Anyone involved in the education of a child who needs special accommodations or services for a learning difficulty or disability should read the Special Needs Advocacy Resource Book, by Rich Weinfeld and Michelle Davis, Prufrock, 2008. The authors define...
Collins-Perry, Bobbie Currents Volume 9 / Issue 1 / Fall 2008 Special Populations
You may think that the recent update to the federal Higher Education Act (formally H.R. 4137: College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008) won’t have much of an impact on you and your family until you have a child applying...
College Planning Currents Volume 9 / Issue 1 / Fall 2008 Makel, Matthew C.
Stephanie Monroe, Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education, has issued an open letter to public schools regarding students with disabilities who want to enroll in Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other accelerated programs in...
Currents Volume 9 / Issue 1 / Fall 2008 Makel, Matthew C. Special Populations
Egalitarianism versus Elitism Do gifted students warrant special attention in the public schools in the United States? Rhetoric and heated political discourse surround the question of identification and education of gifted students with the philosophical positions of egalitarianism and elitism...
Just as educational programs and curricula for gifted children differ widely from state to state, so too do the requirements for teachers of gifted children. Since no national degree or certification requirements for gifted educators exist, all policy and funding...
Boone, Sarah Volume 8 / Issue 4 / Summer 2008 Research Briefs Research and Theory
Teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities across the United States abound, but are pre-service teachers being provided with the knowledge and skills needed to recognize and nurture gifts and talents in the children they will serve? Most teachers...
Volume 7 / Issue 4 / Summer 2007 Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
The impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation on gifted children has received national attention in recent months. The February 2007 issue of the School Administrator is devoted to the theme “Gifted Education Left Behind.” This magazine is...
Volume 7 / Issue 3 / Spring 2007 Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
In a report to the President of the United States, the White House Task Force on the Education of Gifted Persons states that “National attention to the recognition and development of gifted persons is intermittent, unevenly distributed, and inadequate...
Volume 7 / Issue 2 / Winter 2007 Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
Not since the Sputnik era has the federal government exhibited such a vigorous interest in increasing the rigor of math education in America’s public schools. In April 2006, President Bush created the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. This body advises...
Currents Educational Strategies Volume 7 / Issue 2 / Winter 2007 Research and Theory Stephens, Kristen R.
What does it mean to be gifted? Experts in the field of gifted education have long debated over a universally accepted definition. The federal definition of the gifted and talented first appeared in the 1972 Marland Report to Congress and...
Volume 7 / Issue 1 / Fall 2006 Parenting/Advocacy Stephens, Kristen R. The Editor's View
If it seems like students have a lot more standardized testing these days than when you were in school, you are absolutely right. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) mandates annual testing in math and reading for...
Volume 7 / Issue 1 / Fall 2006 Matthews, Michael S. Testing, Testing, 1,2,3 Tests & Testing
In his 2006 State of the Union address, President Bush called for 70,000 teachers over the next five years to lead Advanced Placement math and science courses. This would be an expansion of nearly 38,000 teachers with such training. The...
Currents Volume 6 / Issue 4 / Summer 2006 Stephens, Kristen R.
My son knows most of the math being taught in his class and is bored with the slow pace of instruction in other subjects. Classmates sometimes make fun of his advanced vocabulary, and he has fewer friends each year....
Consultant's Corner Gottfredson, Linda S. Volume 6 / Issue 3 / Spring 2006
Although Educating Gifted Students in Middle School: A Practical Guide, by Susan Rakow (Prufrock, 2005), is written for educators, parents can glean from it excellent information about what shapes middle school educational policy and how to bring recommendations to their...
Book Reviews Collins-Perry, Bobbie Currents Volume 6 / Issue 3 / Spring 2006
Many parents who homeschool are becoming interested in having their children participate in extracurricular activities and selected classes offered through the public school system. However, many districts are resisting the idea, citing administrative issues regarding resources, transportation, liability, and...
Currents Volume 6 / Issue 2 / Winter 2006 Stephens, Kristen R.
The new school year means new and not-so-new textbooks coming home to be wrapped in protective coverings. While they’re within reach, familiarize yourself with their content and organization, educate yourself on how they ended up in your child’s book bag,...
Is social studies another unintended casualty of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)? Nationwide, instruction in history, geography, civics, and economics is being squeezed out as schools feel the pressure to meet proficiency goals in reading and math. Al...
Currents Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005 Stephens, Kristen R.
The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law two and a half years ago to provide states with a systematic approach to achieve education reform and improvement. Some view the act as burdensome to states, districts, and...
Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005 Research Briefs Stephens, Kristen R.
Dual enrollment, whereby high school students enroll in college courses and earn high school and college credit simultaneously, is increasingly the subject of state legislation. Do your state’s policies promote or impede such programs? State Dual Enrollment Policies: Addressing Access...
Currents Educational Strategies Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005 Stephens, Kristen R.
Parents of school-aged children have been inundated in recent years with discussions of standards and end-of-grade testing. While standards themselves are not new, much of the current emphasis on testing and standards-based education has grown out of the 2002 enactment...
Boone, Sarah Connections Volume 5 / Issue 1 / Fall 2004 Tests & Testing
A new Web site based on the book Genius Denied: How to Stop Wasting Our Brightest Young Minds, by Jan Davidson, Bob Davidson, and Laura Vanderkam (Simon and Schuster, 2004), pulls together an array of information often needed by parents,...
Currents Volume 5 / Issue 1 / Fall 2004 Parenting/Advocacy Stephens, Kristen R.
The No Child Left Behind Act may be leaving out the nation’s gifted students. A recent Wall Street Journal article reports that, to ensure that all of their students are proficient in reading and math by 2014, the public...
Currents Volume 4 / Issue 3 / Spring 2004 Stephens, Kristen R.
In 2002 the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was overhauled with a decided slant toward accountability, that is, toward making school districts responsible for students’ learning. For the parents of gifted children, the reality of this legislation (known...
Do you know your state’s policies regarding gifted education? Do some states do a better job of addressing the needs of their brightest students? Who oversees gifted education in your state? If you do not know, a recent survey of...
Volume 3 / Issue 2 / Winter 2003 Parenting/Advocacy Special Focus Stephens, Kristen R.
Only 30 states have a full or partial mandate for identification and instructional programming for the gifted. While the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Student Act of 1994 funds projects and research, it does not protect the legal rights...
Volume 2 / Issue 1 / Fall 2001 Karnes, Frances A. Parenting/Advocacy Special Focus
Does my child qualify for gifted services?” is a question that I am asked by parents from all over the country. Often I have to reply that I do not know, since states differ in how they define giftedness. A...
Volume 2 / Issue 1 / Fall 2001 Pfeiffer, Steven I. The Editor's View
The Duke Gifted Letter recognizes that bright students have special needs that all too often go unattended. In most states, funding for the gifted is grossly underappropriated. To ensure that the needs of gifted children are not overlooked and to...
Bush, George W. Gore, Al Volume 1 / Issue 1 / Fall 2000 Special Focus