The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "College Readiness and Access." Contents include: (1) Highlights of IDRA's 35th…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is "Rejecting a Return to Tracking." Articles include: (1) Getting it…

The Richmond (California) Unified School District's System for Choice allows parents and students to select from a variety of programs designed to satisfy diverse interests and needs. This publication describes offerings at De Anza High School, a Paideia school. De Anza is the only high school in the district that offers Classical Studies, a…

To gain some insight into test preparation, some testing experts were asked to share their thoughts from their own parenting experiences. A crucial performance factor for a substantial number of students is test anxiety. According to University of Southern California Professor Harold O'Neil, Jr., "The relationship between high anxiety and…

A mother reviews the radical acceleration of her high school daughter who will enter college at the age of 14. She recounts both positive and negative experiences during elementary and middle school, the encouragement of individual educators, flexible scheduling to allow taking advanced courses at other institutions, and barriers of school system…

Designed for Spanish-speaking educators and parents, this pamphlet discusses academic acceleration for gifted children. Major types of academic acceleration and their benefits are described. These include: (1) early admission to kindergarten that saves parents of gifted children the expenses of a year of preschool, allows children to be…

This article examines available literature on a variety of options for accelerated learning in middle school. Different forms addressed include concurrent enrollment, guided independent study, combined enrollment, out-of-school acceleration, self-paced instruction, grade skipping, and differentiated or advanced class enrollment. A list of…

Designed for teachers and parents, this pamphlet addresses academic acceleration for gifted children and offers brief descriptions of some major types of acceleration along with issues of assessment and appropriateness for each. Early admission to kindergarten is described as attractive because it allows children to be accelerated without the…