Opinion
Curriculum Letter to the Editor

Can Holding Back the Gifted Be a True ‘Race to the Top’?

August 24, 2009 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

Wouldn’t a mandate for states to have an acceleration policy for gifted students be a perfect add-on to the U.S. Department of Education’s draft criteria for awarding Race to the Top funds (“Rich Prize, Restrictive Guidelines,” Aug. 12, 2009)? The 2004 report “A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students” compiles all the research needed to support such an action.

While I understand the Education Department’s concern over the nation’s lackluster K-12 results, and its corresponding emphases in its reform criteria, it seems simple to me that this relatively cheap curricular accommodation should also be included among the Race to the Top requirements. To ignore our best students while others catch up is no way to increase student achievement.

The assessment of gifted students via age-determined tests allows their underachievement to be called a success under too many accountability systems. As the 2008 Thomas B. Fordham Institute report “High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB” makes clear, there have been minimal gains among children at the top, while the lowest performers have made greater progress over the past decade.

The exclusion of gifted students from a law now bearing the phrase “no child left behind,” the lack of protection for these students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the scarcity of gifted education in many states, the pittance of funding for gifted students, and their vulnerability to being seen as good test scorers not requiring growth—surely these have not been part of any race to the top.

This race might better be described as a car wreck of our best young minds, a stalling of the most energized thinkers while others get fueled, a detour of the quickest so the slowest can near, or the junking of those who would best compete. We must stop the derailing of our best and brightest, and let them race as fast as they can go.

Diane Hanfmann

Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

A version of this article appeared in the August 26, 2009 edition of Education Week as Can Holding Back the Gifted Be a True ‘Race to the Top’?

Events

Student Well-Being Webinar After-School Learning Top Priority: Academics or Fun?
Join our expert panel to discuss how after-school programs and schools can work together to help students recover from pandemic-related learning loss.
Budget & Finance Webinar Leverage New Funding Sources with Data-Informed Practices
Address the whole child using data-informed practices, gain valuable insights, and learn strategies that can benefit your district.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Classroom Technology Webinar
ChatGPT & Education: 8 Ways AI Improves Student Outcomes
Revolutionize student success! Don't miss our expert-led webinar demonstrating practical ways AI tools will elevate learning experiences.
Content provided by Inzata

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum Opinion Making the Case for Restoring Wisdom to America’s Schools
A Johns Hopkins professor discusses how to improve what he sees as a siloed, incoherent education system to best serve students.
7 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Curriculum Swim Lessons Save Lives. Should Schools Provide Them?
A push is on in some states to make swim lessons part of the school curriculum.
5 min read
Close up of African American person's legs in the pool.
E+/Getty
Curriculum Audio Climate Change Is Tough to Teach. 5 Ways to Approach It
Listen to a conversation about how educators can approach teaching about climate change.
6 min read
Students from Bridger School learn about water filtration from Carmellē Muñoz, Portland General Electric employee, during an event to announce Portland General Electric's partnership with Portland Public Schools on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, in Portland, Ore. This experiment created by In4All is one example of how this climate change curriculum could come to life through in-classroom experiences nationwide.
Students from Bridger School learn about water filtration from Carmellē Muñoz, Portland General Electric employee, during an event to announce Portland General Electric's partnership with Portland Public Schools on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020, in Portland, Ore. This experiment created by In4All is one example of how this climate change curriculum could come to life through in-classroom experiences nationwide. <br/><br/>
Carlos Delgado/AP
Curriculum The Case for Choosing a Physical Book Over a Digital Reader
Physical books encourage a deeper reading of a text than digital devices do, some experts argue.
2 min read
Stack of library books with two blurred people in the background.
iStock/Getty