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

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
Reading & Literacy Webinar
The Future of the Science of Reading
Join us for a discussion on the future of the Science of Reading and how to support every student’s path to literacy.
Content provided by HMH
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
College & Workforce Readiness Webinar
From Classrooms to Careers: How Schools and Districts Can Prepare Students for a Changing Workforce
Real careers start in school. Learn how Alton High built student-centered, job-aligned pathways.
Content provided by TNTP
Student Well-Being Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: The Power of Emotion Regulation to Drive K-12 Academic Performance and Wellbeing
Wish you could handle emotions better? Learn practical strategies with researcher Marc Brackett and host Peter DeWitt.

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 How Digital Games Can Help Young Kids Separate Fact From Fiction
Even elementary students need to learn how to spot misinformation.
3 min read
Aerial view of an diverse elementary school classroom using digital  devices with a digitized design of lines connecting each device to symbolize AI and connectivity of data and Information.
iStock/Getty
Curriculum Opinion How Much Autonomy Should Teachers Have Over Instructional Materials?
Some policymakers are pushing schools to adopt high-quality scripted lessons for teachers. And here's why.
8 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Curriculum Middle Schools Often Prioritize English and Math Over Other Subjects. Should They?
An Illinois district is equalizing time across the four major content areas. But the decision comes with trade-offs.
5 min read
Blue gradient photo of a middle school boy and girl in science class working with beakers with an overlay of a pie chart showing a slice of the pie.
SDI Productions/E+/Getty
Curriculum Q&A How This School Librarian Transformed the Library and Got More Kids to Read
While schools across the country have shed librarians, Leigh Knapp became the first full-time librarian at her school.
7 min read
A look at the new seating librarian Leigh Knapp brought into Bethune Academy's school library in Milwaukee.
A look at the new seating librarian Leigh Knapp brought into Bethune Academy's school library in Milwaukee. Knapp became the school's first full-time librarian at the start of the 2024-25 school year, with a vision of revitalizing the library and changing the school's culture around reading.
Courtesy of Leigh Knapp