Abstract
Eliminating Advanced Education Options
Students from low-income backgrounds and those who are Black, Hispanic, and Native American are often underrepresented in programs for high achievers such as honors courses, gifted education, and selective high schools. Opponents of advanced education offer arguments for eliminating these options. In his review of research, Wright (2024) suggests eliminating these programs will not solve inequities. He describes how these programs should be improved by implementing more effective methods of identification and education strategies, which will allow more students from underrepresented groups to access these programs and improve their academic outcomes. These are the arguments and Wright’s counterarguments: Claim 1: Programs for advanced students don’t work, especially for marginalized students. False. Interventions including acceleration and readiness grouping benefit high-achieving students from all backgrounds and don’t harm their lower- and middle-achieving peers. Claim 2: What’s commonly termed “differentiated instruction,” (i.e., grouping all readiness levels into single classrooms), works just as well as advanced programs that group some of them separately. False. No high-quality research shows that heterogeneous differentiation can work at scale for the full range of student readiness levels that are typically present in American classrooms. And several large-scale meta-analyses say it doesn’t work. Claim 3: School systems under-identify marginalized students due to biased practices. Perhaps. We can’t deny that bias can take place, but the problem is deeper—and it is up to us to intervene early. Claim 4: Many school systems have a gatekeeping mentality, which serves to worsen segregation and inequity. True. And we must address it.
Wright recommends that schools should (a) expand and augment school programs for higher achievers; and (b) screen all students for advanced program eligibility using local norms. States should mandate that districts offer fully developed advanced programs and regularly audit districts for compliance.
Enhancing College and Career Counseling
Every student should have access to postsecondary education and career opportunities and support to allow them pursue degrees and certificates that align with their interests and aptitudes. Education Trust and All4Ed created a national vision for federal policies to strengthen strong pathways for students ages 16–24 (Shackleford & Hengtgen, 2024). Pathways include (a) career and technical education; (b) work-based learning, including internships and apprenticeships; (c) early postsecondary opportunities such as advanced coursework, dual enrollment, each college high school; and (d) postsecondary programs of study leading to industry-recognized credentials and/or degrees. Student obstacles in learning about these pathways include a lack of access to information, too few school counselors, a lack of data on the value of career-connected learning opportunities and pathways, inequitable access to high-quality opportunities, and racialized stereotypes. Shackleford and Hengtgen (2024) describe these five elements of an ideal pathway system: • Clear choices. Students have a clear understanding of all of their options. • A smart start. Students and families understand available paths before entering high school. • Access for all. Information is accessible and provided to students and their families in multiple formats. • Guided beginnings. Students explore their options through regular, early high school touchpoints with pathways counselors. • Final prep. Staff provide dedicated and targeted support in high school. All students should have a postsecondary plan and be prepared for either college or a career, or both.
Competency-Based Education
Competency-based education is awarding credit based on students’ mastery of skills, recognizing learning takes place outside the classroom, and incorporating more student-led projects into everyday instruction (Stone, 2024, p. 3). In a recent Education Week special report, Stone and his colleagues describe (a) how competency-based education has been implemented in school districts, (b) how it affects grading, and (c) challenges needing to be addressed. In terms of implementation, one school district in Pennsylvania, allowed students to choose an approach where lessons and assignments were tailored to their individual interests in a range of subjects. Students receive written feedback on their progress instead of grades on their assignments (Klein, 2024). Stone (2024) compares and contrasts standards-based grading with traditional grades. With standards-based grading, school-wide rubrics are aligned to skills to minimize variability with grades awarded on a 1–4 scale. Because of multiple skills, multiple grades may be awarded for the same class. With grading, students receive a single course grade, which may also incorporate non-academic factors. Grading methodology may vary from teacher to teacher. Some of the challenges in implementing competency-based education are limited teacher knowledge and skills, accommodating students who transfer into or out of the school district, and parent and student understanding of how much students have learned (Lieberman, 2024). On the other hand, competency-based education emphasizes mastery of skills, allows students to learn at their own rate, personalizes education based on student interests, and emphasizes learning more than grades.
On the Web
Signing Savvy
Have you ever wanted to learn American Sign Language? This website features a dynamic online video dictionary of American Sign Language. You can type in a word or phrase and see a video recording of the sign and the finger spelling in sign language. You can also browse signs by numbers, colors, animals, holidays, baby signs and more! You can study with quizzes and digital flash cards as well. The site also features printable posters of the alphabet, and you can even sign up for one-on-one ASL lessons. Becoming a Signing Savvy Full Member will allow access to all the features on the site.
United States Mint
Before we used the United States dollar and coins, people bartered food, livestock, or even used foreign or colonial money for the goods and services that they needed. In 1792, the United States Congress passed the Coinage Act, which established the first national mint. You can read about the history and timeline of the United States Mint, the history of circulating coins in the United States, the production process of coin production, and more. This site also contains information about collecting coins and caring for your coin collection. Click on the kid’s section for games and videos about the life of a coin, coin design, women on coins, making bullion coins, and even view virtual tours of the Denver, Philadelphia, and West Point Mint.
This Day in History
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
You can sign up for daily emails about what happened each day in history. A video with a summary of major events, anniversaries, famous births, and notable deaths is available. You can also select other dates as well.
Notable
The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) recognized the following leaders, scholars, and advocates at its 71st annual convention in Seattle, Washington USA: Ann F. Isaacs Founder’s Award—Susan Assouline, University of Iowa, Belin-Blank Center President’s Award—Yvette Robinson, Xavier House Unlimited Administrator of the Year Award—Lohren Carter-Nzoma, Detroit Public Schools Community District Distinguished Service Award—Jonathan Plucker, Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Scholar Award—Anne N. Rinn, University of North Texas Early Leader Award—Ashley Y. Carpenter, William & Mary’s Center for Gifted Education Early Scholar Award—Rachel U. Mun, University of North Texas David W. Belin Advocacy Award—Kyna Iman, Gifted Association of Missouri Gifted Coordinator Award—Cheryl McCullough, Arlington Public Schools, VA; Vanessa Hill, Amphitheater Public Schools; Brooke Bilby, Ladue School District (St. Louis, MO) Carolyn Callahan Doctoral Student Award—Sarah A Caroleo, Johns Hopkins University; Maryann R. Hebda, Baylor University; Yuyang Shen, University of North Texas; Benna Haas, Purdue University; Gayle Bentley, Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education Gifted Child Quarterly Paper of the Year: Most Mathematics Classrooms Contain Wide-Ranging Achievement Levels—Blaine Pedersen, Matthew C. Makel, Karen E. Rambo-Hernandez, Scott J. Peters, and Jonathan Plucker