Sunday, January 15, 2017

Dealing with Gifted Students in More Realistic Ways - Science

America's obsession with conformity doesn't jibe well with the bell curve which describes just about everything, particularly distribution of intelligence in the population.  Some are more gifted than others in intelligence but there are other distributions as well and, in general, that's the basis of the study.  (Science Daily:  Gifted students benefit from ability grouping)

I've got a fairly good mind but 'gifted' belongs in a higher category in my estimation.  Nevertheless, there was almost no challenge in high school and, to this day, I consider most of it a waste of time.  We have been through that previously and relative improvements since that time but few seem satisfied with the educational system in America at any level now.

We don't want to get into the politics of it any more than to say every kid needs as much education as the kid can absorb.


Schools should use both ability grouping and acceleration to help academically talented students, reports a new Northwestern University study that examined a century of research looking at the controversial subject.

Ability grouping places students of similar skills and abilities in the same classes. Acceleration, most commonly known as grade skipping, subject acceleration or early admission into kindergarten or college, gives students the chance to access opportunities earlier or progress more rapidly.

The widely debated educational techniques effectively increase academic achievement at a low cost and can benefit millions of students in U.S. school systems, according to the study, published in Review of Educational Research.

- SD

In my own case, acceleration only came because I forced it and I wound up doing my junior and senior years at the same time.  There was never any advice regarding a procedure which would have done that legitimately so my solution was to be a behavior problem and eventually it happened anyway.

Due to my woefully advanced years, I can't authoritatively describe changes which have taken place since the late Sixties but some of you have mentioned Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati which was one of the best in the city and launched a great many brainiacs.


The U.S. spends nearly $600 billion a year on public education, but research questions whether the resources are reaching high-performing students. A recent policy brief reported that 20 to 40 percent of elementary and middle school students perform above grade level in reading and 10 to 30 percent do so in math, according to the study.

Proponents of ability and acceleration point to benefits for children who are under-challenged in their grade-level classroom. With a more homogenous learning environment, it's easier for teachers to match their instruction to a student's needs and the students benefit from interacting with comparable academic peers.

- SD

There's nothing particularly earth-shattering in that part since we know America spends tons on education but does not get a good value out of it so the researchers study why not.  The scoring of American students in international comparisons is abysmal and nowhere near the top.  For the money America spends, it should own such comparisons but the fact remains ... they don't.


Others have said education should "avoid trying to teach students what they already know," the authors wrote. "Based on the nearly century's worth of research, we believe the data clearly suggest that ability grouping and acceleration are two such strategies for achieving this goal."

Though hardly the final word on such a hot-button issue, the new study helps clarify the academic effects of ability grouping and acceleration.

"The conversation needs to evolve beyond whether such interventions can ever work," they wrote. The bulk of evidence over the last century "suggests that academic acceleration and most forms of ability grouping like cross-grade subject grouping and special grouping for gifted students can greatly improve K-12 students' academic achievement."

- SD


Sorry, mates, but I don't see they came up with much of anything which wasn't already known so it's a bit of a non sequitur to say they clarified anything when maybe you see it but I don't.

Ed:  I thought you eschewed poofy Latin affectations?

Normally I do but I wasn't sure of the precise definition so I looked and it fits perfectly regarding the drawing of invalid conclusions.


Lotho is a serious proponent of private schools because they have delivered the product for him in better education and I want the same thing but I want it for everyone.  Going to a private school is de facto ability grouping but we want it a general standard across the board such that private schools are not necessary unless there's some specific thing the private school can provide but the high school cannot.

Ed:  you did it again with Latin

Yep.  I should probably be murdered.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Private schools will always be necessary for multiple reasons including rascists and elitists.
There is no reason we cant save the brightest today with scholarships and vouchers while government figures out why they do such a bad job at education.
It is not spending as public schools spend on average nationwide of $11,600 per year. That does not include the countless fundraisers done by public schools to supplement that money. I will end up conributing about $1000 to the public school this year.
The private school tuition for this year at an above average private school was $11,300.
If you judge schools by the scholarship dollars awarded for achievement excluding need or lottery and athletic scholarships, public schools dont compare

Unknown said...

I'm really not comparing them so much as observing the system as a whole isn't working very well toward the goal of educating every kid. Some of them want to drive trucks and fair enough, kid, as I've thought more than once that wouldn't be such a bad job. Some want to build spaceships and they can do it but I want to serve all of them.

I know this is textbook bleeding heart but I don't see anything more important anywhere than the kids.

Anonymous said...

I am just giving a starting point to begin a solution. We can handle getting the average kids to tech schools now just fine. But we waste far too many resources trying to send everyone to college.
Just look a the looming crisis of outsranding student debt. It would not be there if we stopped giving false hope to so many children and parents

Unknown said...

The meaning of a university education has dropped substantially in many cases while it has increased radically in others. We can see American science doing huge things so the major brainiacs seem to be well-covered.

As you say, encouraging a degree for a job which does not need one only contributes to a bad system and makes a whole lot of back-breaking debt.

I don't dispute for a moment America spends huge money on education but, again as you say, it doesn't spend it well and, yes, the fix has to start somewhere but it didn't start yet so we look to Trump for something different. His Education Secretary was not impressive but it's still just fortune telling if we try to forecast the future from that. I want to see his moves.

Anonymous said...

America is severely lacking in producing homegrown brains. Most seem to come from overseas and finish thier education here.
The dept of education is a waste. Did they not develop No Child Left Behind
Or Outcome Based Education or my true favorite Common Core
As long as we set the standard to encompass everyone it will always be mediocre at best. Parents are not told the truth Most children are just average and some are above average but very few are exceptional.
Once the subject is broached, the education system has a chance of successbut not until children are taught based on ability not the desire nit to hurt ones feelings

Unknown said...

Whoa, whoa, I want everyone to get an education but not necessarily by the same mechanism. I mentioned before that some kids will drive trucks and good luck to them.

This rubbish about no grades because someone might be hurt isn't just offensive, it's destructive. That's no preparation for the real world where they call you for a meeting on Friday and they hand you a pink slip then you're walked out of the building. The world absolutely works on grades and that phony reality they create is no damn good.

I do think that's too harsh about American minds and there are some racial differences with smarter Asians but, like you say, the populations within a country are distributed and the bell curve applies anywhere. We only see the smartest from overseas and we don't see the truck drivers.

The first time you see Chinese tourists taking pictures of everything they can possibly see doesn't usually leave the impression Oriental people are super geniuses (larfs). They have brainiacs and so does America. I see in the science articles how they play together and they do it with Russia too. They collaborate on all kinds of things and in much more esoteric ways than would ever get to the newspaper.

Anonymous said...

I did not say America does not have great minds. I said most of the great minds are imported. Most the great American minds are wasted. They get bored because they arent challenged then poof they become truck drivers
Until we save the brightest, the average have no hope

Unknown said...

Fair enough and maybe it sounds like quibbling but I question whether 'most' are imported even when I realize the one I likely worship the most, Elon Musk, came from South Africa.

I need to observe with Betty DeVos as I have little confidence she's any good but I want to know that rather than hearing it from pundits.