Lakland Curriculum

Gifted students have a higher risk of dropping out of school due to a number of factors including a lack of challenge in academic areas, feeling disconnected to their fellow students and their teachers, potential drug and alcohol abuse and the lack of coping skills to deal with increased sensitivities. Additionally, gifted students are known to experience a lack of community or none acceptance at school, a high sensitivity not acknowledged in school, no help in learning coping skills for dealing with a major loss such as illness, death or changing schools, issues with authority but most importantly, they often do not have an advocate to help bring out meaningful change (Hansen and Torso, 2007). These factors have led to gifted students being underachievers, dropouts, or students who have developed an overall negative impression on school and learning in general.

If the schools didn’t make AYP for three years in a row, they had to provide free tutoring and supplemental educational service. Everyone involved felt that the NCLB had unsolved issues. (Randolph & Wilson-Younger, 2012). There are teachers that argue that the testing is not fair with the children that are under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Children with individualized education plans are being forced to take standardized test on their grade level and the teachers argue that the tests might be way above where these children are academically. This also includes the children who have English as their second language because they are struggling when they are taking the standardized tests. Additionally, Choi, (Aug. 2012) describes how many schools struggle to meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the Act called No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Pressures on the schools to meet the AYP can affect how each school does their testing and teaching policies. While states have been silent, the question has been whether states have a responsibility to intervene.

gifted students within those states, and are not consistent across the United States. “Seven states

(2013). Curriculum Issues. Gifted child Today. Retrieved from Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson), Ipswich, MA. Accessed July 29, 2015.

The underlying irony behind the American education system is the fact that the people are constantly calling for a better education for all students, yet reforms put in place often don’t change anything, or make the education worse for the children. For decades, people from the presidential cabinet to the local boards of education have been trying to figure out a way to make their schools look good. It’s always been about the test scores showing improvement amongst students, and nothing to do with the fact that most tests don’t test what children actually know. In Connecticut, I grew up taking the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMTs), and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT), and I have no idea what they proved or what information they provided for the teachers, other than the fact that I was put into the gifted program starting in fourth grade, and I was able to graduate once I achieved proficiency on one subject of the CAPT.

When an English Language Learner either goes to school for the first time or finds themselves at a new school, they are assessed. Many times these ELL students are put in the wrong classes or programs. This is a constant issue still today. "Disproportionality is considered one of the most complex issues in the field of special education. Disproportionality is defined as the “overrepresentation” and “under-representation” of a particular population or demographic group in special or gifted education programs relative to the presence of this group in the overall student population" (National Education Association, 2007, p. 6).

59. Data about Brown Middle School shows that 99% of the students enrolled are African American. African American and poor children continue to achieve below grade level and drop out in much greater numbers (Nieto, 2004, p. 48). One example is that Black students are underrepresented in programs for the gifted and talented, being only half as likely to be placed in these programs as are White students, even though they may be equally gifted (Nieto, 2004, p. 59). Studies have linked participation in advanced placement, gifted and talented programs, and advanced math and sciences classes with better outcomes later in life. Brown Middle School’s enrollment rate for the gifted and talented is 14 percent. These factors can be another factor in the low-test scores at Brown Middle School. Many studies also show that rigid tracking is prominent in poor communities with large numbers of African American, Latino and American Indian students (Nieto, 2004, p.

Virginia’s teachers are being forced to teach to a test which does not allow the bright students to excel. In contrast, it forces them to be held back to the same level that other children are held at because teachers will not allow other students to advance until every student understands the standards that are set for them. Many students do not feel that the work they are given is challenging and this leads them to get left behind and to not do their work. Bright students should not have to be held at the same level of a student who cannot quite grasp a concept. Yes, the students who do

It comes as no surprise that our gifted and talented education program is growing in the United States as we are recognizing more students who need a higher level of academic content than the grade level they currently reside. According to a policy brief compiled by Rachana Bhatt (2011); the percent of students in the United States in the gifted and talented (G&T) education program has grown from 6.3% in 2000 to 6.7% in 2006 (A Review of Gifted and Talented Education in the United States, 2011). What seems to be lacking however, is the array of diversity found in our general education classrooms into our G&T programs. Within a nation that strives to provide an

I after reading this chapter I can now fully understand why teachers don’t like having gifted students in the classroom. Considering all the extra things they need to provide and do just for a couple or maybe

The acknowledgement of the linguistic, academic, cultural, and economic diversities among gifted students and afterschool programs is evidence of that there are ways to

Teachers must become aware of their bias and not let them dictate the ability of a student. Personal instinct should not be thrown out of the equation when evaluating students. Teacher experience and training should never be overlooked. However, students must be given ample amount of time to prove their capability. Student progress must be recognized if a remedial group and allowed to change the ability group if warranted. Research has shown ways to

During the collection and revision process of acquiring information there were several discoveries made that were evident that a lack of financial support in developing gifted students was happening and also more emphasis is being placed on lower achieving students. The government has allowed for more freedom for states and communities which allows each states and school districts flexibility in how they use federal education funds (Beisser 2008). This flexibility allows districts to use their funds for their needs whether it is hiring new teachers, increasing teacher pay, or improving training for teachers (Beisser 2008). However, most schools in their desperate zest to improve test scores for struggling students overlook those who exceed

Debriefing the interview responses from our county AIG coordinators proved to be enlightening. There were many points of commonality between their evaluation of our gifted program, and my own personal evaluation, but there are also points of contradiction. One particular point I agree with is that a major strength of our gifted program is that our district is diligently working to improve the program, within our capabilities. We are of course, limited by financial resources and time, of which our coordinators have little control. In an attempt to be more responsive to the needs of our district, and more inclusive, in 2016, our district adopted a new identification process for the gifted program that included three different pathways to

Also over time the idea of teacher have to focus their attention on their lower achieving students taking their attention away from gifted students. Even with funding for gifted programs because in 2002 the funding was $11.25 million but in 2014 dropped down to $5 million. Then it is brought up by Jay Mathews an education columnist that “why geniuses don’t need gifted education.” By bring up the point that the geniuses make themselves and school need to get out of their