This has been a problem forever. It seems that our public schools can only focus on one thing at a time. The results indicate the systems fail to educate those at the lower echelon and those at the higher echelon. And, with the latter, therein lies the real problem.
Over the past few years, we seem to have insured that those children at the bottom end of the spectrum increase in performance. Those in the middle have made no gains or registered slight losses, while those at the upper end are left to their own devices. It’s assumed that the intellectually gifted child can perform with or without assistance from the schools. But, a report by the National Association for Gifted Children released on 9 November indicates otherwise.
The 2010-1 State of the States in Gifted Education (developed with the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted) depicts classrooms that fail to challenge the performance of those students that are significantly above average. The report also faults the mainstreaming of gifted children by abandoning special classes for the gifted (as a result of the No Child Left Behind, 2002 law).
The report states that 19 states have no program requirements to identify gifted children, while 27 provide no funding for any gifted child education programs. Skipping grades, a practice prevalent when I was much younger, is no longer the normal response- only 8 states have specific policies to deal with this issue. This is true despite the some $ 12 billion spent on special education services in our public schools.
Some folks have advocated adding virtual classroom study to provide for the gifted child. This advocacy is part of the larger trend observed: More and more children are being educated in virtual schools, currently up to 250K full-time enrollment nationwide. The problem is that those in full-time virtual schools perform worse overall on standardized tests and fail to register increases in performance, when compared to children educated in traditional schools.
However, we don’t know if those results arise because the students already had problems in conventional programs or that the curricula is not fully developed as yet. Another reason these virtual programs may be failing our children is because a teacher in a conventional high school has 150 students; virtual school teachers have a 250 student load. Or, perhaps it’s due to skimping on resources, in general; a conventional class experience ranges in costs from from $7500 to $ 15000- which is roughly twice that allocated to virtual education classes. Obviously, this sort of augmentation does not seem the avenue to approach for gifted children.
The scary trends shown in the chart below is that the scores for history should range as high as 500, but the scores for the top 10% of students are only around 300. The maximum score for the writing component is 300, yet the top 10% only score 200. 
If this continues, there is no doubt that other countries will outperform us and become the prevalent force in science, engineering, and medicine. All places that yield our best opportunities for economic growth and prowess, among the other nations of the world.
Interesting, Roy. Having home schooled some and sent others of my kids to high school, I can see the problems. One of my kids (the one who just got his masters) was one that I homeschooled, part of that was dual enrollment at the local community college (grades 11 and 12). In the later years he was largely self-taught, but I also had him enrolled in some enrichment classes and found this format very good for him as we or his teacher just assigned different reading material or required more written work to keep him challenged. He would have been overlooked in a typical classroom. I sure like the ability to pick and choose what kind of education my kids receive.
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Bonnie- that is among the avenues one needs to choose. As I wrote to Melanie, I did the same for myself. To some degree, I did that with my own children (by moving them to different schools, offerings on the side, etc.), as well as for some promising kids I happened to meet or to whom I was introduced.
But, our schools need to address this issue as a whole.
Thanks for the comments- and the addition to the discussion. Hopefully, you can propel another parent to follow your lead.
Roy
This issue REALLY gets my blood boiling, Roy. And you know me pretty well by now — I’m not a radical, rebel, or revolutionary by any stretch of the wildest imagination.
” … those at the upper end are left to their own devices.”
You can say THAT again!!
But here’s a little secret I’ll share with you having raised four 4.2 GPA students and having worked for a school district for eight years:
The schools SURE DON’T WANT TO LOSE their brightest students. They love those kids! Why? Because every year they play a MAJOR ROLE and have the biggest impact on a school’s FUNDING.
Bottom line: The higher a school’s spring testing scores, the more money they get.
It’s a crying shame how the most gifted students are just shoved in a corner instead of being put in the spotlight.
Okay, I’ll step down from my soapbox now.
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Melanie- welcome to the soap box arena!
it’s a big issue for me- I created my own curriculum. OK- I kind of did- took what I wanted and left when I wanted (very early on). I was lucky that it was back when you could do those things. (I did it in college, too, because they were not really computerized back then and had no idea someone could register twice…)
I, too, worked with my children and others who needed that little bit extra (including two or three that needed the little bit extra because they were at the opposite end of the spectrum).
We need the best and brightest to help us develop systems, products, and hope for our future. If you don’t believe me- look at our current crop of leaders trying to get nominated (or already populating the Washington Dome). We went from the best and brightest to the vapid and vacuous.
Roy
This situation has always been the prime example of regression towards the mean. Schools tend to educate towards the average in all subjects with little attention paid towards each child’s specific needs. Some are gifted across the board, but there are others who have amazing talents in one subject but struggle in other areas. Regardless of their needs, they often get the same education as a child who is three grade levels behind. This approach does not seem to work well for anyone.
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Kristen- that is indeed correct.
Thank you so much for making that point. it helps round out the discussion!
Roy
Very good points made here about schooling, and backed up with facts too. You’re right, Roy.
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Glad to see you found the article of interest.
Please drop by often.
Roy
Roy, I haven’t followed your blog…don’t know why. I am enjoying my visit here today 🙂
So, let me start off by saying that I have two children, one on each end of the spectrum. My daughter is affected by the ‘no child left behind’ law. During her elementary years, it seemed as though everything was going fine. Then, she stepped into middle school. She was having additional health issues at the beginning of her 7th grade year which complicated matters. Long story short, I ended up home schooling her. Not being really familiar with all the different curriculum available out there, I chose the ABEKA program, which I soon found out did not account for learning or developmental delays. We chose to continue with this program, feeling it would challenge our daughter. It certainly did, but what we learned early on was that we had to go back and teach her all the basics. We found that she had been given answers to get through her tests and move on to the next topic, never really learning. In essence, I had to totally re-frame her entire way of thinking and learning. Her 7th grade took a year to complete and was a difficult year for all of us. She is now in 8th grade, and everything that we worked on last year has stuck with her. She HAS learned and remembered. But it required 8-10 hrs a day, 6 days a week with minimal holiday breaks.
My son, on the other hand, is extremely gifted but has never been challenged. Teachers and school administration have never agreed with me on that aspect. This is what I was told when I questioned the school: “We have seen gifted children, and he is not one of them”. This was said to me when my son was in 5th grade and teaching himself how to write Japanese and Chinese from the computer. He was making ‘name’ stands for all the children and teachers in school, making $.50 for each one he did! Okay, so maybe his ‘new’ business only lasted 2 years, but he was proud of himself and was good at it.
Even in high school now, he is in 3 out of 3 advanced classes for the last 2 years and continues to get ‘A’s without lifting a book to study. They still just breeze him through the years without any additional challenges. I can’t even begin to imagine what he could do if he had to study! At the end of his freshman year and now going through his sophomore year, he is receiving letters of interest and email invitations to colleges across the US. He just recently received an email from a college telling him he was eligible for one of their scholarships!
Schools receive monies for both ends of the spectrum. In my daughter’s case, yes they wanted special needs students, but not any that would take more time than they were willing to give. In my son’s case? Well, he will be finished with school in another two years so why bother? When you begin to get involved in the school politics, it’s not what you would think it would be. Actually, it is quite disappointing.
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Nice to meet you, Mary.
First- I agree with your assessment. Schools are generally arranged to educate the masses. The silent majority. And, I personally feel they were doing a much better job doing so before NCLB. Now, the system is geared towards having the children pass an exam to cover a whole year- but many (most?) of the teachers are teaching to the exam, which does not necessarily provide for an education.
It is unclear that students with educational difficulties such as dyslexia are being benefited by the NCLB program. It is clear that our gifted children are not. And, it is clear- at least from my locality- that the failure of a child to master English (or even attempt to do so) has a greater affect upon his or her results than the teaching can counteract. After all, if you are going to provide exams in subject matters in various languages, the child may demonstrate knowledge. A standardized exam in English when the child speaks Spanish or Urdu will not convey much- if anything.
I am thrilled to see your efforts made a difference. One of the things that every parent must recognize is that their efforts need to be directed towareds their children’s education. Non-involvement by parents only guarantees failure by their children.
My post scheduled for today will demonstrate we can influence more often than effect. Let’s use that influence for good.
Roy
But guess which country will have the crappiest pop musicians and richest reality tv celebrities who do absolutely nothing to contribute to the world?
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And, there’s nothing to add to your sentiment, Marie. Thanks for sharing.
Roy
I can’t tell you how screwed up I think our entire educational system is. I have my son in charter school. There are only 55 students in 3 grades. While it isn’t perfect, he gets a lot more individualized attention than he was ever getting in public school. If I could change just ONE thing about our schools (and there are many I’d like to change) it would be to stop teaching memorization and test taking skills that have little application in the real world and start teaching how to THINK!
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Nicole- you have hit the nail squarely upon the head.
Thanks for these great points. And, yes, thinking is the goal- not the spewing of memorized (and unlearned) material for an exam.
Roy
Oh the education system is so broken..and this is coming from a teacher. If you can imagine the insanity of expecting one person to essentially teach upwards of 6 different grade levels in one grade (in an average classroom, lord it gets worse in a split grade or other issues) make all the accomodations for special needs (high and low) and somehow also teach the kids who are not in a way that reaches them too. And that for many different subjects.
The problem isn’t even about how much money, it’s about where and how we are spending it. Its about who up at the top is changing the rules about how and what to teach. Too many fingers with no educational background are making the decisions. It’s plain dumb. Like asking an accountant to go ahead and make the marketing plan. It’s rare teachers get a chance to have any input.
The children teachers have to teach have changed in many ways but the system has not. Gifted children are often given busy work because they don’t do things like throw chairs or stab you with pencils…both things I’ve had happen to me. It’s not uncommon and I was in a very nice area. Teachers ask for assistance for kids on both ends of the spectrum and are denied more often than you can imagine. For some inane reason those with the purse strings don’t understand the idea of the old saying a stitch in time, saves nine?
Ack..the rant I could go on about what needs to change.
Good points in your post Roy (as always) but wow..got me all fired up lol
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Glad to “see” you fired up, Bonnie.
You brought out excellent points. Thanks for those additions.
Roy
It’s very true. My sister was a C student in grade school. It was realized that it was because she was bored and unchallenged. She tested as a gifted student. Then, it turned around. She was Valedictorian in high school, summa cum laude, has a masters from Northwestern and will be pursuing a Ph. D at Johns Hopkins. Imagine if she was left to being a C student…
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Yup, Anthony.
My son was the same. (I won’t bore you with my background.) They wouldn’t put him in any special classes. So, I pulled him out at the end of year 2, sent him to a private school which required the knowledge of two languages (he only “knew” English). He was in the low class for general studies and Kindergarten/1 for foreign language. By December, he was in advanced 3rd grade general studies and normal 3rd grade language. Now- he’s got a 3.7 cum at Michigan (year 3 with enough credits to graduate), active in sports and fraternity life, among other things.
Thanks for the addition- and I look forward to hearing more about your sister…
Roy,
Thank you for your post, and related information.
This topic drives me insane. It’s maddening. I’ve been a volunteer in the classroom all through the years my child has been in school. Most of my time was spent with children that were so far behind the rest. I spent almost no time with my own daughter. So, as a country, we do have a supporting population giving our government way more bang for their buck! Yet our teachers are struggling to make things work…..always….not really fault of their own.
I’ve volunteered in school. All through my daughter’s elementary & jr. high years. I’ve been on every steering committee and levy re-newal task force. I’ve run for school board, and I’ve done research.
There are teachers out there there that cannot spell and use questionable grammar. But that’s not the problem. There are far less of them than those that care.
My daughter is considered in the group of “above average.” She’s graduating this June. Did I have higher hopes? Yes. But it’s nothing she’s really done….I blame our national administrators. {I wonder how their pay is evaluated, and if the nation fails if they are not granted tenure}.
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Keri:
I’m with you. We have these tests – and that seems all the administrators value. So, everyone teaches to the test. The kids don’t learn more or better.
Then, we have politicians who tell us that they must cut taxes. They never bother to inform anyone what that really means- they are cutting things we need- education, infrastructure, but not their buddies special projects… (Where would they get their election money?)
Thanks for your comments and your visit.
Roy
After reading the comment and knowing the difference between the educational pattern here and there. But somehow, education is becoming more of a business here. People with more money and more influence have access to better schools and better facilities. And despite of all that; there seems to be a huge gap between children and education providers. Some how the Asian system is based more on rote learning and that has a huge impact on the lateral thinking of the students. Many students who might have done better owing to their hard work get caught up in the competition and the pressure to “pass” and fail to make it to the top. As for those on the top; they are a whole different lot.
Well, there is so much more that can be said about this topic, but when is education going to get better?
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Hajra:
I certainly hope it’s today. Tomorrow is late. The day after tomorrow is too late.
Unfortunately, our politicians are aiming for too late.
Roy