So, My Child Accelerated. Now What?

Posted byGEFN Gifted Education Family NetworkPosted inAcceleration, Blog

Over the past decade, in the field of gifted education, significant time and resources have been devoted to publicizing the benefits of academic acceleration. Overall, research strongly supports both the short- and long-term benefits of acceleration for students who demonstrate readiness and who meet certain criteria.

But what happens when problems develop later on, either months or years after an acceleration placement?  For example, if a child has difficulty adjusting to a new campus, if the school can’t resolve a scheduling issue, or if the school “runs out” of advanced courses in an accelerated subject, where should parents turn?  Are there recommendations for preventing and solving issues that can sometimes arise for a younger child attending classes with older students, either full time or for a single subject?

No educational setting is perfect for children with ability needs that are different from the majority of their peers, but when acceleration is the solution chosen for a better academic fit, experts do recommend several practices for maintaining the long term success of these placements. GEFN hopes that families, teachers, and administrators will find this post helpful, and we hope that all adults involved in placements will work to ensure that these pathways remain navigable for the full educational journey of every accelerated student.  

What do experts say about monitoring acceleration placements? 

Experts recommend that schools monitor acceleration placements for months and even years after the placement. Monitoring provides opportunities to address smaller issues before they become larger problems, ensuring that acceleration remains successful.  What should this monitoring look like?

  • Academic Acceleration Guidance issued by the Michigan Department of Education states that when an acceleration placement is made, “[a]n agreement for regular communication between the designated staff member and parent/legal guardian should be agreed upon within the written acceleration plan.”  This can include “[a] multi-year plan with opportunity for yearly review and re-evaluation as deemed necessary by the acceleration committee.”
  • In exploring considerations for accelerated twice-exceptional students (gifted with one or more disabilities), researchers at the University of Iowa note that “[o]nce accelerated, it is important to remember that learning pace and style will be as individualized as twice-exceptional students themselves….Recognizing and planning for these individual differences is crucial to creating a welcoming classroom where challenge is offered regardless of learning style or pace” (Foley-Nicpon & Cederberg, 2015).
  • Mentorship is often emphasized in recommendations for highly gifted students, who are likely to need one or more forms of acceleration. One researcher states that “[e]ach [highly gifted] child must be assigned an academic advisor whose chief role is to provide a sounding board and to be an advocator, encourager, and expediter of changes in curriculum, program, and extracurricular opportunities” (Jackson, 2011). 
  • To mitigate the impact of social separation from age-peers, researchers state that “[s]upport services in counseling in academic adjustment should be provided” (Southern & Jones, 2015). 

Just as students with IEPs or 504 Plans need annual monitoring of services and accommodations that change what a student learns or how the student accesses learning, it makes sense that students would need continued monitoring when their physical age (and potentially, social and emotional development) will continue to be different from all or most of the other students in their classrooms.  It would never be expected (and would not follow federal law) for educators to put an IEP or 504 Plan in place and to never check back with the student and parents to see if any adjustments are needed. In fact, in summarizing research on academic acceleration, experts have noted that “[t]he few problems that have been experienced with acceleration have stemmed from inadequate planning and insufficient preparation on the part of educators or parents” (Assouline et al., 2015) – and part of this essential planning involves a plan to monitor placements.

If we know that continued monitoring can make acceleration successful, what should parents expect that to look like?  

Who should monitor acceleration placements?

The individual(s) responsible for monitoring acceleration placements should receive training that enables them to understand the needs of gifted learners. For several reasons, Texas districts will wish to assign this role to an administrator responsible for gifted/talented services or to school counselors. 

Coordinators responsible for gifted/talented services may be most likely to have experience with the complex needs of gifted and twice-exceptional students; the Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students requires that districts assign an individual “who has thirty (30) hours of professional learning in gifted/talented education and annual six (6) hour professional learning updates” to “coordinate district level services for gifted/talented students in grades K–12” (State Plan Section 3.10, 2019).  Although teachers who deliver gifted/talented services have this same training, a teacher’s workload is often already overwhelming, and it can be difficult for teachers to keep track of students once they have moved on to the next grade level.  

As of 2019, the State Plan now requires that school counselors receive some gifted/talented training, so counselors may be able to assume the role of monitoring placements, as well.  The new requirement reads: “Counselors who work with gifted/talented students are required to complete a minimum of six (6) hours of professional development that includes nature and needs of gifted/talented students, service options for gifted/talented students, and social emotional learning” (State Plan Section 5.9, 2019).  Additionally, state law requires that counselors develop programming specifically for gifted students.  Texas Education Code §33.006(b)(1)(c) states that school counselors must “participate in planning, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive developmental guidance program to serve all students and to address the special needs of students… who are gifted and talented, with emphasis on identifying and serving gifted and talented students who are educationally disadvantaged.”  Annual monitoring of all acceleration placements could be added as part of this programming.  

What kinds of issues should be expected?

Acceleration Policy Guidance includes a checklist of considerations to include when creating acceleration policies. Families often find that the acceleration pathways of their students can be influenced by multitude of factors, including student interests, student physical characteristics, campus training and awareness regarding gifted characteristics and needs, campus awareness regarding academic acceleration, the size and resources of a school or district, the beliefs and experiences of individual teachers and administrators, additional student exceptionalities (disabilities), and whether a school environment fosters inclusiveness and acceptance. To prevent common issues that arise, Policy Guidance (Lupkowski-Shoplik & Assouline, 2018) suggests asking whether an acceleration policy addresses these needs:

  • Is the student accelerated in a single subject, such as math?  Recommendations: “Clarify transportation issues for students who need to travel between buildings” and “Identify options for students who may run out of advanced content within their building in the future”
  • Might the student be interested in academic competitions?  Recommendation: “Specify whether students may participate in academic competitions and with age-mates or grade-peers”
  • Will the student be taking courses outside of school that prepare them for higher level courses during the school year?  Recommendation: “Provide[ ] a process for determining placement for students who have completed advanced work outside of school”

Twice-exceptional students require additional considerations, as well, and it is even possible that disabilities (such as learning or attention disorders) can be diagnosed years after an acceleration placement has been made. Experts note that “[i]t is very likely that a twice-exceptional student who enters an accelerated math class may still require, for example, assistance with executive functioning skills. Even though the student understands and can successfully complete advanced algebraic equations, he may still forget to turn in work by the deadline, complete all the problems assignment, or finish the test questions in the time allotted. Therefore, accommodations likely will still be needed, especially to foster self-efficacy and avoid embarrassment, criticism, or lowered self-esteem” (Foley-Nicpon & Cederberg, 2015).  

Researchers have noted the importance of ability grouping for gifted-identified students, including both academic and social-emotional benefits, but without active monitoring, these needs may not be prioritized for accelerated students. Gifted students need ability grouping in order to find peers with similar needs and interests, and it seems only logical that accelerated students with more extreme ability needs can experience an even greater need for this grouping. Yet in the years following an acceleration placement, without specific planning and monitoring, the adults assisting students in selecting courses – or the adults finalizing a student’s schedule and class sections – may not be aware of the increased importance of this grouping.  

Special situation: cohort acceleration  

In some schools, students are accelerated as part of a cohort (for example, in a “school within a school” program for the highly gifted), and monitoring is likely to look different for these students.  Issues can still arise, but many problems can be resolved more easily for a group. Students within an accelerated cohort who belong to additional special populations (twice-exceptional; racially, culturally, linguistically, or economically diverse; low socioeconomic status; LGBTQ+; highly gifted with acceleration needs beyond the cohort) continue to face unique challenges, however, and they will continue to require individualized planning and support from both educators and parents.  

What can parents do?

Based on the research and the experiences of students in our Texas communities, we suggest that parents consider asking some of the following questions when reviewing acceleration policies and/or when attending meetings regarding acceleration.

  • Does my district’s acceleration policy include details on how monitoring of placements will occur?  Who will be responsible for monitoring placements, how frequently will monitoring occur, and what indicators will be monitored (i.e., grades, student satisfaction, parent satisfaction, attendance, behavior)?  
  • Can my district’s policy (or my child’s acceleration plan) be updated to include regular check-ins with each accelerated student and their family? Which campus or district staff member(s) will be responsible for checking in with students and families, and how frequently (i.e., once each semester, once each year)? 
  • Does my district’s policy include provisions for subject acceleration transportation between campuses? Do these provisions include considerations or accommodations for socioeconomic diversity and for student exceptionalities (disabilities)?  
  • Does my district’s acceleration policy comply with State Plan requirements (i.e., “services are available during the school day,” and “opportunities are provided to accelerate in areas of student strengths”) (State Plan sections 3.1, 4.5) as well as state and federal education laws (i.e., access to minimum state-required weekly “physical activity” minutes, equal access for students with disabilities, etc.)? 
  • Does my district’s policy provide high school students with access to college coursework in areas of student strengths, both within and outside of the district?
  • How will counselors, administrators, and teachers in my district monitor my accelerated child’s social-emotional growth and ensure that intervention is provided if they experience challenges as a younger student?  
  • Are resources or supports available to help my younger student adjust to the study skills and organization expectations needed in advanced courses taken earlier than the student’s age-peers?  
  • Are resources or supports available to assist my child with social and emotional needs during transition years (first year in acceleration placement, or first year at a secondary campus or different campus)?  
  • If scheduling arrangements will need to be made for annual subject acceleration placements, who will communicate these arrangements to parents and ensure that they are finalized in sufficient time before school begins?  
  • If problems arise with my child’s acceleration placement or scheduling, who should parents contact?  If problems remain, what is the appeals process for resolving issues?  
  • If a student has an IEP or a 504 Plan, how will the staff involved in ARD or 504 meetings be informed or trained about the student’s needs as a gifted student with an acceleration placement?  
  • Can my district provide guidance or referrals for grade-skipped students who may wish to consider a gap year between high school and college?

Planning for future acceleration access 

Experts continue to recommend academic acceleration as a highly successful intervention for gifted students who meet certain criteria, but problems can arise in any school setting. To ensure that acceleration placements remain successful – and that academic acceleration does not fall out of favor with schools, for the benefit of future students –  it is essential for districts to plan ahead and to work to promptly solve issues when they arise. 

As long as Texas public schools remain critically underfunded, families will need to advocate continuously for the needs of students with learning differences, including acceleration needs. To ensure equity of access to services, gifted/talented program coordinators should strongly consider assigning one or more staff members to undertake an advocacy role, as well, and provide active assistance and regular check-ins for students whose families may be overwhelmed, less knowledgeable about acceleration, or otherwise unable to provide academic advocacy and support. 

GEFN encourages all families of gifted learners to connect in our online support group and to advocate as necessary for the needs of their own students, and we hope that this resource has helped. When parents advocate for the needs of their own child, their school and their district learn how to meet the needs of future students with similar needs. When acceleration succeeds, and when students do well in placements, educators can be more willing to see and consider advanced learning needs in future students. We also encourage administrators and teachers to help spread the word. It takes hard work and careful planning to make an acceleration placement.  Let’s all make sure that each placement has the intended outcome and that every student is able to succeed.  

References

Assouline, S. G., Colangelo, N., VanTassel-Baska, J., and Lupkowski-Shoplik, A. (Eds.) (2015).  A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Volume 1, Chapter 1, pp. 1-6).  University of Iowa.

Foley-Nicpon, M., & Cederberg, C. (2015). Acceleration with twice-exceptional students. In S. G. Assouline, N. Colangelo, J. VanTassel-Baska, and A. Lupkowski-Shoplik (Eds.), A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Volume 2, pp. 189-198). University of Iowa.

Jackson, P. S. (2011).  Integral practice and radical programming with highly gifted learners.  In J. A. Castellano & A. D. Frazier (Eds.), Special populations in gifted education: understanding our most able students from diverse backgrounds (pp. 125-151). Waco: Prufrock Press.  

Lupkowski-Shoplik, A., Behrens, W. A., & Assouline, S. G. (2018).  Developing academic acceleration policies: whole grade, early entrance.  Belin-Blank Center of the University of Iowa, National Association for Gifted Children, and Association for the Gifted (TAG), a division of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC).  https://www.accelerationinstitute.org/Resources/Policy_Guidelines/Developing-Academic-Acceleration-Policies.pdf 

Michigan Department of Education. (2019-2020).  Guidance for academic acceleration.  Michigan government.  https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mde/Flexible-Learning-Options/Academic-Acceleration—Gifted-and-Talented/MDE_Academic_Acceleration_Guidance.pdf?rev=2e733a2de3624b31858807ed15e3f291 

Southern, W. T. & Jones, E. D. (2015).  Types of acceleration: dimensions and issues.   In S. G. Assouline, N. Colangelo, J. VanTassel-Baska, and A. Lupkowski-Shoplik (Eds.), A nation empowered: evidence trumps the excuses holding back America’s brightest students (Volume 2, pp. 9-18). University of Iowa.

Texas Education Agency.  Texas State Plan for the Education of Gifted/Talented Students (2019). Texas government.  https://tea.texas.gov/academics/special-student-populations/gifted-and-talented-education/gtstateplan20191.pdf 

Texas Educ. Code §33.006(b)(1)(c).

Acknowledgements

Thank you very much to Lin Lim, Ph.D., to Justin Vawter, M.Ed., and to Selcuk Alcar, Ph.D. for review and feedback on this post.

Emily Villamar-Robbins is a founding board member of the Gifted Education Family Network,  and she is passionate about equitable access to education, including gifted education programs and interventions. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and UT Austin, and she holds a Graduate Academic Certificate in Gifted and Talented Education from UNT.  

This resource is provided for general information purposes, does not constitute legal advice, is not intended as and should not be interpreted as legal advice, and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.