Within the discipline of special education is academically gifted education, and this distinct area is not typically required as a topic of focus in traditional teacher preparation programs for regular education teachers. Therefore, it is essential that current research is conducted and published that provides educators, both general and special,…

Two studies examined response to varying amounts of time in reading intervention for two cohorts of first-grade students demonstrating low levels of reading after previous intervention. Students were assigned to one of three groups that received (a) a single dose of intervention, (b) a double dose of intervention, or (c) no intervention.…

This study investigated policies about the use of content acceleration and grade skipping for gifted students in middle and secondary schools by 105 school districts. Results indicated that only 15% of responding districts had formal policies about grade skipping, whereas 57% had informal policies effectively preventing grade skipping. Formal…

This study sought to determine if success and continuance in an accelerated high school mathematics program could be predicted, and which identifying tools would best accomplish this purpose. The sample consisted of 72 tenth- and eleventh-grade students in one high school who were either identified for acceleration or had accelerated on their own.…

A meta-analysis of 26 studies shows that accelerated gifted students outperform students of the same age and ability who are not accelerated and achieve as well as equally gifted older students in the higher grades. Correlational studies suggest that accelerates are equally successful later in life. (MLF)

The literature on the emotional adjustment of intellectually gifted adolescents and the literature on adjustment of students admitted at younger than normal ages into college are reviewed. The review on gifted adolescents is divided into the following sections: background (acceleration in elementary and secondary grades); personality and…

A randomized pretest-posttest-control group design study, replicated three times, each time with 24 subjects randomly selected and assigned to either a treatment or control group of 12 subjects each, was conducted to determine the effectiveness of a modified instructional strategy for accelerative and mastery learning of basic arithmetic by a male…

Results from a meta-analysis of 26 controlled studies on the effects of accelerated instruction on elementary and secondary school students are presented. The examination performance of accelerates surpassed the performance of equivalent age and intelligence nonaccelerates and equalled the performance of same-grade but older, talented…

This study examined self-esteem at 13 and 18 years of age among 340 gifted students. Results found no differential change in self-esteem according to whether or not students experienced academic acceleration. Analysis of students' self-perceptions of other personality characteristics also yielded no differential correlation to acceleration status.…

A multivariate approach reexamined Lewis Terman's longitudinal study data comparing the 100 most successful and 100 least successful men identified in the 1920s as having very high intelligence. Results reaffirmed the importance of educational attainment in vocational achievement, though intelligence and amount of early acceleration also predicted…

A comparison of the educational attainment of white natives and children of white immigrants in the United States for a 90-year period from 1890 to 1980 indicates that the higher achievement of the children of immigrants has been a general phenomenon over several decades. Natives are defined as American-born with American-born parents; children of…

Participants in a fast-paced mathematics course and qualified nonparticipants were surveyed 10 years later with respect to undergraduate record, graduate experience, attitudes toward mathematics/science, and self-esteem. In general, participation was associated with stronger undergraduate records for all students and with more advanced graduate…

Reported are the findings of a study of the effects of academic acceleration on the social and emotional adjustments of students. Subjects included 1,247 12 to 14 year olds who scored in the top 1 percent on a national mathematics examination. The advantages of academic acceleration are emphasized. (CW)

The effect of intervention lessons designed to accelerate the development of formal operations taught over a period of two years to adolescents was assessed. Results indicated that the experimental group had achieved a significantly greater gain in cognitive levels than the control group. Implications are discussed. (CW)

This follow-up study of gifted students who had either entered the University of Washington before age 15 (n=61), qualified for early entrance but chose the normal high school path (n=36), or were nonaccelerated National Merit Scholarship finalists (n=27) found that early entrants entered graduate school in greater numbers than did the other…