The Problem…
The Global Picture: PISA Scores
According to Analysis by Harvard
University & OECD:
Reading: USA is 14th Place; behind
2/3 tested regions of China
Science: USA is 20th Place;
behind all tested regions of
China
Math: USA is 28th Place; behind
average score and all tested
regions of China
Harvard Kennedy School of Government: U.S. Math Performance in Global Perspective, 2010;
and Oganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Our National Problem:
Stagnant Math & Reading Performance
Fordham Institute: High-Achieving Students in the Era of No Child Left Behind, June 2008
Few U.S. Students Reaching the Top
• The U.S. placed 31 of 56 countries in the percentage of
students achieving at the advanced level (levels 5 & 6) in
math on the recent PISA exam.
– Percentage of Students Reaching Highest Level on PISA:
• 10 % of students in the U.S.
• 25.6% of students in Korea
• 20% of students in Switzerland, Finland, Japan and Belgium
• 35.6% of students in Singapore reached the highest levels.
The average was 12.7%.
And on the NAEP exam
• Only 2.26 % of U.S. students reached the advanced level on
the NAEP 8th grade math exam in 2007.
A Widening Excellence Gap
Excellence Gap: Differences
between subgroups of
students performing at the
highest levels of
achievement.
Excellence gaps exist in
reading and math on NAEP
and state assessments;
majority of states have
experienced worsening
excellence gaps.
Indiana University Center for Evaluation & Education Policy: Mind the (Other) Gap, February 2010
Closing the Excellence Gap
Between Top Students in Subgroups
At the current pace of achievement:
• It would take 72 years to close the gap
between Whites and Hispanics in grade four
mathematics.
• It would take 31 years to close the gap
between Whites and African Americans.
• 128 years to close the gap between grade four
English Language Learners (ELL) and non-ELL
students.
Indiana University Center for Evaluation & Education Policy: Mind the (Other) Gap, February 2010
Minority Underrepresentation in G&T
Office of Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education (2006)
• African American and Hispanic students are underrepresented in
gifted education programs
68%
56%
17%
20%
9%
13%
Leaving Talent on the Table
• High-achieving students from
disadvantaged backgrounds, when
compared to their more advantaged
peers are:
– twice as likely to drop out of school;
– Less likely to attend or graduate from
college;
– 44% of high-achieving students are no
longer high achieving by 5th grade
• 45% of academically gifted students who
are underachieving in grade 7 continue
underachieving through high school.
Jack Kent Cooke
Foundation: The
Achievement Trap: How
America is Failing
Millions of HighAchieving Students from
Lower Income Families
A Day in the life….
"First grade would be all right if it weren't
for the 11 sequels."
Federal & State
Support
Minimal Federal Support
• Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Act (PL 107110; Title V, Part D, Subpart 6)
– Established in 1989
– National research center and grants to identify best
practices in gifted education (approximately $7.5 - 11
million each year)
– Focus on underserved gifted populations
– De-funded in fiscal year 2011
• No federal data collected on the condition of education
for these students.
A Patchwork Quilt of State Support
• 13 States provide $0 in state funds for high-ability
students.
• 17 states do not require services for high-ability
students. Of the states that do, only 5 fully fund
them.
• Only 5 states require all teachers to have pre-service
training in gifted and talented education.
• Only 5 states require professional learning for
teachers in gifted and talented programs.
• 18 states collect no data on students enrolled in
gifted and talented programs.
National Association for Gifted Children and the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted State of the States in Gifted
Education, 2009
Consequences of the Lack of Support
• Academically talented students already know
40%-50% of traditional course content at the
beginning of the school year and would benefit
from moving on to new material. However,
most classroom teachers do not have the skills
needed to make the necessary modifications to
the curriculum.
• Only 59% of high-achieving lower-income
students that graduate high school obtain some
form of postsecondary degree.
What Javits Research Has Taught Us…
• We now have numerous strategies and
assessments that can be used to increase the
participation of minority, ELL, low-income,
and children with disabilities in gifted
education programs.
What Javits Research Has Taught Us…
• High ability low-income, minority, ELL, and
students with disabilities are able to achieve at
high levels with challenging curriculum and
appropriate supports. Otherwise, the students
underachieve.
– In a large urban high school, 50% of students
identified as academically gifted were underachieving
by the end of 4 years. Many failed every subject, some
dropped out, and others became pregnant, or joined
gangs.
What Javits Research Has Taught Us…
• Numerous gifted education strategies and
interventions can be used to improve
achievement for all the students in the class.
The TALENT Solution
S.857
The TALENT Act:
Increase In Professional Development
• Title II, Part A Grants: Include description of the comprehensive
strategy a state will use to improve the knowledge and skills of
school personnel identifying and serving students with gifts and
talents.
• Professional Development and Best Practices Grant Program, a
targeted, competitive grant program that will conduct schoolwide and classroom-based research to develop innovative
instructional practices and provide high quality professional
development in gifted education.
• Enhances the Rural Education Achievement Program to include
gifted education as an allowable professional learning topic.
The TALENT Act:
Changes to Assessment & Accountability Systems
• Require state assessments are vertically aligned and
able to measure student knowledge of standards
above their grade level;
• Require that states, districts, and schools report
learning growth for their most advanced students on
state report cards.
• Require that states and districts include description
of how they will address the needs of high-ability
students in their Title I reports.
The TALENT Act:
Emphasis on Developing & Disseminating Best Practices
• Enhance the U.S. Department of Education research
initiatives
• Professional Development & Best Practices Competitive
Grant Program focuses on school-based research to
develop innovative, best practices in identifying & serving
high-ability students.
• Emphasize efficient dissemination of effective strategies
into the classroom to immediately help students and
teachers.
– Use existing network of national content and technical
assistance centers under ESEA and IDEA.
Closing
“A coherent, proactive, sustained effort to
identify and develop our Nation’s future
innovators will help drive future economic
prosperity, improve the quality of life for all,
and ensure both equity and excellence in
education.”
National Science Board, Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing Our
Nation’s Human Capital, 2010
Contacts
Dr. Sally M. Reis
University of Connecticut
sally.reis@uconn.edu
Dr. Julia Roberts
Western Kentucky University
Julia.roberts@wku.edu
Jane Clarenbach, J.D.
Director, Public Education
National Association for Gifted
Children
202-785-4268
janec@nagc.org
Kim Hymes
Director, Policy & Advocacy
Council for Exceptional
Children
703-264-9441
kimh@cec.sped.org