Pull-out programs focused on academics may accelerate learning for gifted students

While some believe a gifted education is meant to help higher-performing students gain access to advanced material, a new study from the National Center for Research on Gifted Education has found that many of these pupils are not getting this exposure, wrote The Hechinger Report.The survey took a look at three states in the South and Midwest, with three-quarters of the schools surveyed noting that they don’t design a separate curriculum for gifted students. Additionally, what students learn differs dramatically depending on the class, as individual educators are able to actually choose what they want to teach.Ultimately, there appears to be a lack of agreement on what constitutes a gifted education — and what doesn’t — in districts that offer these programs. In some cases, offering advanced courses for students is not apparently the main goal. Gifted students may not be moving faster academically in the gifted classes their schools offer. Instead educators may be focused on developing critical thinking and creative thinking skills instead of accelerating student learning.