U.S. Commitment to Gifted Students Severely Lacking

The U.S. education system neglects the needs of our gifted and talented students, leaving the nation ill-prepared to identify and effectively serve high-potential students, a survey reports.

The report – 2008-2009 State of the States in Gifted Education by the National Association for Gifted Children and the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted finds a fragmented collection of policies and resources that vary greatly between states and local districts and that are almost universally underfunded and underresourced.

More than a quarter of all states provided no funding for gifted students during the last school year, and most high-potential students are taught by teachers with little to no training in gifted education, the report concludes.

"At a time when other nations are redoubling their commitment to their highest potential students, the United States continues to neglect the needs of this student population, a policy failure that will cost us dearly in the years to come," said Dr. Ann Robinson, President of the National Association for Gifted Children and Director of the Center for Gifted Education at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

"The solution to this problem must be a comprehensive national gifted and talented education policy in which federal, state, and local districts work together to ensure all gifted students are identified and served by properly trained teachers using appropriate curriculum," Robinson added.

A Nationwide Lack of Commitment

Of the states that reported funding for gifted students, per-pupil expenditure varied sharply from $2 to $750 for the 2008-2009 school year.

Only 5 states require teachers to receive any preparation on gifted students before entering the classroom. Even for instructors teaching in specialized gifted programs, only 5 states require annual professional development for them.

"Most gifted students spend the majority of their school days in general education classrooms, receiving little specialized instruction per week. The fact that most states do not require classroom teachers to have any exposure to the unique learning needs of gifted children means the majority of high-potential students are not being taught by appropriately trained teachers," Robinson noted.

Uneven Services

The report also found that in most states, even those that define giftedness and mandate services, key policies pertaining to gifted education are set exclusively at the local district level.

"The lack of leadership and failure to hold districts accountable for serving gifted students by Washington and the states has produced a largely uneven and inconsistent delivery system, said Nancy Green, NAGC Executive Director. "For every local district making an outstanding commitment to gifted learners, we have scores of districts doing nothing."

Impact on the Nation

The ramifications of the nation's underinvestment in gifted education is evidenced in many areas including continued underperformance on international benchmarks, particularly in math, science, and engineering, and in the shortage of qualified workers able to enter professions that require advanced skills.

"Forty years ago, we realized the impact of a sustained commitment to academic excellence when we celebrated the landing of a man on the moon. Future breakthroughs and discovery in science, medicine, and technology will be impossible if we fail to identify and serve today's brightest young minds. The time to act is now," Robinson said.