The report investigates main components, instructional approaches, staffing, professional development, and service delivery for middle school gifted and talented programs.
Each year, the National Association for Gifted Children recognizes administrators for exceptional management of gifted and talented programs. This report incorporates insights from five of those administrators and finds that middle school gifted and talented programs elevate the rigor of gifted students' coursework and provide opportunities to develop a sense of community among themselves.
Create gifted classes or clustersTo optimize gifted student instruction, create classes specifically for gifted students or cluster gifted students in general education classes with mid- to high-achieving students if too few students qualify for gifted services. Teachers can focus specifically on gifted student needs and preferences through classes exclusively designed for these students. Therefore, middle schools at most profiled districts—District B, District C, some middle schools at District D, and District E—offer these types of classes.
In some cases, however, not enough students exhibit giftedness in a subject area to completely fill a gifted-level class. At District A and some middle schools at District D, administrators cluster gifted students and assign them to general education classes. Contacts at District D recommend that administrators place these clusters in classes with mid-to-high achieving students so teachers can focus on a narrower range of student abilities.
Use complex content for gifted studentsRigorous instruction for gifted and talented middle school students…