By: Peggy Humphries
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“Progress through an educational program at rates
faster or at ages younger than
conventional”(Pressy,1949,p.2)
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Early entrance to school
Whole-grade acceleration (grade skipping)
Grade telescoping
Early entrance to college
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Effective intervention for high-ability students
Carefully planned acceleration decisions are
successful
Grade-accelerated students generally out-perform
older classmates academically
No negative effects on social-emotional
development
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Do you have an assessment of the accelerated
student’s academic performance?
Acceleration should not have a negative impact on
social and behavioral adjustment.
Is there going to be enough academic challenge for
the student?
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Absolute age requirements for entering school
Curriculum requirements for entering school
Curriculum requirements for specific grades
Prerequisites for certain courses or programs
Limiting participation in dual enrollment programs
Attitudes of parents, teachers, counselors, and
administrators
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Research has not addressed whether poor and
minority students are less likely to be gradeaccelerated than others with similar academic
achievement.
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Students are challenged and less likely to experience
isolation and underachievement
More likely to be in gifted and talented program in
high school
Improved achievement test scores than older
students with similar achievement
More time to pursue interests after college
More likely to enter graduate school and further
their education
Saves the district and taxpayers money
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Quest to raise achievement levels of the nation’s
lowest-performing students
Ignores the three to five percent of children
nationwide that are considered academically gifted
Ignores gifted learners rights to equity in education
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If work is not challenging, students become
invisible
Drop out rates are almost as high as non-gifted
students
Failure to accelerate may cause relationship
problems
Become underachievers and never reach their
potential
Never develop study skills
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Nation’s schools are lagging behind other countries
Our nation’s brightest students are being held back
Excellence can become complacency and apathetic
National standards are being lowered by ignoring
our gifted students and not allowing them to reach
their potentials
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Martin Luther King, Jr., - leader of the Civil Rights
Movement and Nobel Peace Prize winner graduated
from high school at 15.
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – Supreme Court
Justice graduated at 16.
W.E.B. DuBois- graduated from high school at 16.
T.S. Eliot- finished his undergraduate degree at
Harvard in three years, his masters degree in one
year, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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Fears that motor skills and stamina are not advanced
enough
Children will be hurried out of their childhood
Acceleration hurts children socially
Political concerns about equity
Other students will be offended if one child is
accelerated
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Acceleration is the most effective curriculum
intervention for gifted children.
Acceleration has long-term benefits, both
academically and socially for gifted students.
Acceleration is very economical .
Acceleration provides a better personal maturity
match with classmates for gifted students.
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