''A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students'' is ''The Templeton National Report on Acceleration'', a report which was published in 2004 and edited by Nicholas Colangelo, Susan G. Assouline, and

Miraca Gross Miraca Una Murdoch Gross (1944-2022) was an Australian author and scholar recognised as an authority on the academic, social and emotional needs of gifted children. Life Born and trained in Scotland but spending a large part of her life in Aus ...

. This report argues for the

academic acceleration Academic acceleration is moving students through an educational program at a rate faster or at an age younger than is typical. Students who would benefit from acceleration do not necessarily need to be identified as gifted education, gifted in ...

of qualified

gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average and is also known as high potential. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to pe ...

and talented students, based on the results of studies on outcomes of accelerating and not accelerating high-achieving students. Despite the evidence that acceleration is a beneficial practice when implemented correctly, many teachers and parents are reluctant to accelerate students. The report presents the research on acceleration in an effort to increase the number of students who have access to acceleration. The report is divided into two parts: Volume I, which summarizes the research and provides an introduction to acceleration as an academic intervention for gifted students; and Volume II, an edited volume that provides a more detailed overview of relevant research studies. The success of ''A Nation Deceived'' led to the creation of the ''Acceleration Institute'' (formerly the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration), which is dedicated to the study and support of educational acceleration for academically talented students. '' A Nation Empowered'', a follow-up to ''A Nation Deceived'', was published in 2015. It expands upon findings of the original report and incorporates research that has emerged since publication of ''A Nation Deceived''.

The first three of its "20 Most Important Points from Volume II" are:''A Nation Deceived Volume I'', p. 2 #Acceleration is the most effective curriculum intervention for gifted children. #For bright students, acceleration has long-term beneficial effects, both academically and socially. #Acceleration, especially in the form of

grade skipping Grade skipping is a form of academic acceleration, often used for academically talented students, that enables the student to skip entirely the curriculum of one or more years of school. Grade skipping allows students to learn at an appropria ...

, is a virtually cost-free intervention. Among other points, the report also indicates that: * Gifted students are frequently better matched with their cognitive peers (older peers) rather than age peers. * Above-level testing is useful in identifying candidates for acceleration. Above-level testing is defined as testing that is two or more grade levels above a student's current placement. For example, a fourth grader might take a test intended for sixth graders. Above-level testing helps eliminate the ceiling effect that often makes it difficult to determine appropriate placement for high-ability students. * Early entry to kindergarten benefits some gifted children both academically and socially. * Skipping two or more years of school is academically and socially beneficial for highly gifted students. * Although significant evidence for the validity of acceleration exists, many educators remain negative about the practice.

References

External links

A Nation Deceived

Acceleration Institute
2004 documents Gifted education Education literature {{US-edu-stub

Contents

See also

References

External links