Grade-skipping By Kumar Singam
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© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
What do the following luminaries have in common? Sandra Day O’Connor (Supreme Court Justice) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Leader of the Civil Rights Movement and the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize) Murray Gell-Mann (Nobel Prize in Physics ) James Watson (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ) W. E. B. DuBois (first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard)
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“While the myth says that students who skip will rarely fit into society, the reality shows that those very students tend to lead American society to greater heights. Young people who achieve their individual dreams are often the ones who inspire us to understand what our national dreams really are.” -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, available from www.nationdeceived.org
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“When a high-school student graduates with the reading skills of a sixth-grader, it is called a failure of the education system. But what do you call it when a sixth-grader who is able to read at the level of a high-school graduate is forced to languish in a class that doesn't challenge her to her fullest academic potential? Experts in the field of gifted education call it a travesty, …” -- Press Release, University of Iowa, available at http://www.newsreleases.uiowa.edu/2004/september/092004acceleration.html
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
I call it a tragedy. © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“In 2004-05, the most recent academic year for which the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) has data, U.S. universities awarded 43,354 doctorates--more than ever during the 50 years NORC has gathered the data. But the rate of increase in the number of U.S. doctorates has fallen dramatically since 1970, when it hit nearly 15% for the year; for more than a decade, the number of doctorates has grown less than 3.5% a year. The staggering late-1960s growth in Ph.D.s followed a period of increased attention on gifted kids after Sputnik. Now we're coasting.” --John Cloud in TIME MAGAZINE: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,16536531,00.html © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“Lately, there has been way too much talk about minting dollars and too little about minting our next Thomas Edison, Bob Noyce, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Vint Cerf, Jerry Yang, Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Bill Joy and Larry Page. Adding to that list is the only stimulus that matters. Otherwise, we’re just Russia with a printing press.” Tom L. Friedman in THE NEW YORK TIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/opinion/28friedman.html?_r=1&em=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1253 290203-BevyhC0PTuDuG6/XP4IALQ
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“No. Tracking, as implemented in the 1960s, referred to a rigid sorting of students by ability. It was a highly contentious educational practice. Today’s ability-grouping procedures are much more flexible. In contrast to tracking or even ability grouping, acceleration is a much more individualized and fluid approach to addressing the learning needs of students based upon ability, not age. Tracking focused on group differences; acceleration focuses on individual differences.” -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students, Vol. I
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. For example, in Maryland, early Kindergarten entrance is codified in COMAR 13A.08.01.02(B)(3): “The local board of education shall adopt a regulation permitting a 4-year-old child, upon request by the parent or guardian, to be admitted to kindergarten if the local superintendent of schools or the superintendent's designee determines that the child demonstrates capabilities warranting early admission. The regulation shall include a provision for promotion of the 5-year-old child to first grade if the local superintendent or the superintendent's designee determines that the child demonstrates capabilities warranting promotion to first grade.” See also: http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/09/keeping-child-out-of-school-for.html © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. For example, in Montgomery County, Maryland, the Gifted & Talented policy-IOA specifies: (1) (2) (3) (4)
Advanced placement in a subject Curriculum compacting Telescoping curriculum Concurrent programming in elementary/middle school, middle/high school, high school/college
See: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/ioa.pdf © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. “We can, then, conclude that grade-skipping is a highly viable option for gifted students, although one that is not currently in vogue. There is no evidence that being younger than one’s classmates is associated with social or psychological difficulties. Often it becomes obvious during the first year or two of school that a bright student needs a higher-level, faster-paced instructional setting. If this is not the case, grade skipping is recommended during the year just before a natural transition would occur (i.e., to middle school or high school) because social groups would undergo realignment anyway in a new and usually larger school. -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students, Vol. II © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. “ … almost all bright students who are screened carefully and allowed to enter school early are as socially well-adjusted as their older classmates. In short, younger students do make friends. In fact, they are happier with older students who share their interests than they are with age-peers. The other side of that statistic may explain some of the scare stories. Children who are not specifically chosen to start school early, but somehow end up being younger—such as kids with a summer birthday—do tend to show more signs of immaturity than older classmates. That’s because age is only one indicator of readiness. But age plus advanced skills and maturity is a different equation.” -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. Accessing above-grade-level curriculum every day, without skipping a grade, is only possible if it is limited to a few subjects, usually Math and English. A student of “outstanding talent and performing, or showing the potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with other students of a similar age, experience, or environment, … needs different services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to develop the student's potential.” These students usually need acceleration in ALL subjects and cannot be served by above-grade-level curriculum in just a few subjects. MCPS offers Reading and Math (see next slide).
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
Just two options:
MATH
READING
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. It should be carefully considered and matched to the child. “Acceleration means matching the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the student. Acceleration does not mean pushing a child. It does not mean forcing a child to learn advanced material or socialize with older children before he or she is ready. Acceleration is really about letting students soar. Acceleration is a strategy that respects individual differences and acknowledges the fact that some of these differences merit educational flexibility.”
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
Talent, identified through the use of proper metrics, cuts across all demographics: ethnicity, gender, geography, and economic background. Acceleration is most beneficial to students who come from modest homes because parents who are wealthy are able to provide for their children extra opportunities that are challenging and accelerated. Acceleration levels the playing field of opportunity because any cost to the family or school is minimal. -- Excerpted from A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students. Section in blue inserted by this author.
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“To hear teachers report it, grade acceleration—or skipping a grade—rarely occurs these days. Approximately one in four teachers (27%) reports that their schools allow students to skip a grade, while a plurality (46%) says they do not. Teachers in high school (48%), middle school (45%), and elementary school (46%) are almost equally likely to report that their schools do not allow grade skipping. The fact that such a large proportion of teachers overall (27%) is unsure what their school’s policy is may also indicate that grade acceleration rarely occurs.” “Three-quarters (76%) of teachers overall would like to see the nation “relying more on homogeneous classes for advanced students so that they learn faster and in greater depth.” More than eight in ten teachers (85%) also favor more reliance on “subject acceleration,” i.e., moving students faster when they have proven their capacity to learn at a quicker pace. But 63% oppose “encouraging advanced students to skip grades when appropriate.” -- High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB, a report by the Fordham Institute © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“Acceleration by subject or grade may not have the same cachet as seeing 2nd graders labeled "gifted." But it serves the needs of children in an uncontroversial, straightforward, and relatively inexpensive way. The only puzzle surrounding acceleration is why more districts don't embrace it. …
If a student moves through grades K-12 in 11 or 12 years, rather than 13, taxpayers save money.” What Ever Happened to Grade Skipping? Accelerating the Gifted in a Time of Tight Budgets, by Laura Vanderkam & Richard Whitmire , available from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/12/37whitmire_ep.h28.html?tk n=OTYCf20aAfi/9G1Z4bcm6Z10PAxTdCgaft3Q
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
What's needed are • Clearly defined models for gifted education, driven by an urgent sense that exceptional intellectual talents are a threatened resource • Competent, qualified, personnel to lead the discussion • Leadership with the vision and courage to rise above the politics • Social pressure to rise beyond mere cachets in favor of robust services and defensible identification
• A clear understanding of the advanced learner, and • Abandoning the culture of secrecy in developing public educational policies
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
THE TUG OF WAR MUST END
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
What do the following luminaries have in common? Sandra Day O’Connor (Supreme Court Justice) Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Leader of the Civil Rights Movement and the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize) Murray Gell-Mann (Nobel Prize in Physics ) James Watson (Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ) W. E. B. DuBois (first African American to receive a PhD from Harvard)
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“While the myth says that students who skip will rarely fit into society, the reality shows that those very students tend to lead American society to greater heights. Young people who achieve their individual dreams are often the ones who inspire us to understand what our national dreams really are.” -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, available from www.nationdeceived.org
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“When a high-school student graduates with the reading skills of a sixth-grader, it is called a failure of the education system. But what do you call it when a sixth-grader who is able to read at the level of a high-school graduate is forced to languish in a class that doesn't challenge her to her fullest academic potential? Experts in the field of gifted education call it a travesty, …” -- Press Release, University of Iowa, available at http://www.newsreleases.uiowa.edu/2004/september/092004acceleration.html
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
I call it a tragedy. © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“In 2004-05, the most recent academic year for which the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) has data, U.S. universities awarded 43,354 doctorates--more than ever during the 50 years NORC has gathered the data. But the rate of increase in the number of U.S. doctorates has fallen dramatically since 1970, when it hit nearly 15% for the year; for more than a decade, the number of doctorates has grown less than 3.5% a year. The staggering late-1960s growth in Ph.D.s followed a period of increased attention on gifted kids after Sputnik. Now we're coasting.” --John Cloud in TIME MAGAZINE: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,16536531,00.html © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“Lately, there has been way too much talk about minting dollars and too little about minting our next Thomas Edison, Bob Noyce, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Vint Cerf, Jerry Yang, Marc Andreessen, Sergey Brin, Bill Joy and Larry Page. Adding to that list is the only stimulus that matters. Otherwise, we’re just Russia with a printing press.” Tom L. Friedman in THE NEW YORK TIMES: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/28/opinion/28friedman.html?_r=1&em=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1253 290203-BevyhC0PTuDuG6/XP4IALQ
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“No. Tracking, as implemented in the 1960s, referred to a rigid sorting of students by ability. It was a highly contentious educational practice. Today’s ability-grouping procedures are much more flexible. In contrast to tracking or even ability grouping, acceleration is a much more individualized and fluid approach to addressing the learning needs of students based upon ability, not age. Tracking focused on group differences; acceleration focuses on individual differences.” -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students, Vol. I
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. For example, in Maryland, early Kindergarten entrance is codified in COMAR 13A.08.01.02(B)(3): “The local board of education shall adopt a regulation permitting a 4-year-old child, upon request by the parent or guardian, to be admitted to kindergarten if the local superintendent of schools or the superintendent's designee determines that the child demonstrates capabilities warranting early admission. The regulation shall include a provision for promotion of the 5-year-old child to first grade if the local superintendent or the superintendent's designee determines that the child demonstrates capabilities warranting promotion to first grade.” See also: http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2009/09/keeping-child-out-of-school-for.html © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. For example, in Montgomery County, Maryland, the Gifted & Talented policy-IOA specifies: (1) (2) (3) (4)
Advanced placement in a subject Curriculum compacting Telescoping curriculum Concurrent programming in elementary/middle school, middle/high school, high school/college
See: www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/ioa.pdf © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. “We can, then, conclude that grade-skipping is a highly viable option for gifted students, although one that is not currently in vogue. There is no evidence that being younger than one’s classmates is associated with social or psychological difficulties. Often it becomes obvious during the first year or two of school that a bright student needs a higher-level, faster-paced instructional setting. If this is not the case, grade skipping is recommended during the year just before a natural transition would occur (i.e., to middle school or high school) because social groups would undergo realignment anyway in a new and usually larger school. -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students, Vol. II © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. “ … almost all bright students who are screened carefully and allowed to enter school early are as socially well-adjusted as their older classmates. In short, younger students do make friends. In fact, they are happier with older students who share their interests than they are with age-peers. The other side of that statistic may explain some of the scare stories. Children who are not specifically chosen to start school early, but somehow end up being younger—such as kids with a summer birthday—do tend to show more signs of immaturity than older classmates. That’s because age is only one indicator of readiness. But age plus advanced skills and maturity is a different equation.” -- A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. Accessing above-grade-level curriculum every day, without skipping a grade, is only possible if it is limited to a few subjects, usually Math and English. A student of “outstanding talent and performing, or showing the potential for performing, at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with other students of a similar age, experience, or environment, … needs different services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to develop the student's potential.” These students usually need acceleration in ALL subjects and cannot be served by above-grade-level curriculum in just a few subjects. MCPS offers Reading and Math (see next slide).
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
Just two options:
MATH
READING
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
No. It should be carefully considered and matched to the child. “Acceleration means matching the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the student. Acceleration does not mean pushing a child. It does not mean forcing a child to learn advanced material or socialize with older children before he or she is ready. Acceleration is really about letting students soar. Acceleration is a strategy that respects individual differences and acknowledges the fact that some of these differences merit educational flexibility.”
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
Talent, identified through the use of proper metrics, cuts across all demographics: ethnicity, gender, geography, and economic background. Acceleration is most beneficial to students who come from modest homes because parents who are wealthy are able to provide for their children extra opportunities that are challenging and accelerated. Acceleration levels the playing field of opportunity because any cost to the family or school is minimal. -- Excerpted from A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students. Section in blue inserted by this author.
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“To hear teachers report it, grade acceleration—or skipping a grade—rarely occurs these days. Approximately one in four teachers (27%) reports that their schools allow students to skip a grade, while a plurality (46%) says they do not. Teachers in high school (48%), middle school (45%), and elementary school (46%) are almost equally likely to report that their schools do not allow grade skipping. The fact that such a large proportion of teachers overall (27%) is unsure what their school’s policy is may also indicate that grade acceleration rarely occurs.” “Three-quarters (76%) of teachers overall would like to see the nation “relying more on homogeneous classes for advanced students so that they learn faster and in greater depth.” More than eight in ten teachers (85%) also favor more reliance on “subject acceleration,” i.e., moving students faster when they have proven their capacity to learn at a quicker pace. But 63% oppose “encouraging advanced students to skip grades when appropriate.” -- High-Achieving Students in the Era of NCLB, a report by the Fordham Institute © Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
“Acceleration by subject or grade may not have the same cachet as seeing 2nd graders labeled "gifted." But it serves the needs of children in an uncontroversial, straightforward, and relatively inexpensive way. The only puzzle surrounding acceleration is why more districts don't embrace it. …
If a student moves through grades K-12 in 11 or 12 years, rather than 13, taxpayers save money.” What Ever Happened to Grade Skipping? Accelerating the Gifted in a Time of Tight Budgets, by Laura Vanderkam & Richard Whitmire , available from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2009/08/12/37whitmire_ep.h28.html?tk n=OTYCf20aAfi/9G1Z4bcm6Z10PAxTdCgaft3Q
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
What's needed are • Clearly defined models for gifted education, driven by an urgent sense that exceptional intellectual talents are a threatened resource • Competent, qualified, personnel to lead the discussion • Leadership with the vision and courage to rise above the politics • Social pressure to rise beyond mere cachets in favor of robust services and defensible identification
• A clear understanding of the advanced learner, and • Abandoning the culture of secrecy in developing public educational policies
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
THE TUG OF WAR MUST END
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
© Kumar Singam, 2007, 2009
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