I've become cynical on that score, I'm afraid-- I used to think that it was a pendulum. Not sure I think that anymore, because every "new" thing I've heard proposed since about 1990 strikes me as... er...
well, you know the old colloquial advice-- "When you find yourself in a hole, quit digging."?
Pretty sure that a lot of policy makers never heard that one. Or if they did, they didn't understand what it meant.
It's appalling how many states the described practices (OH-specific in the link) actually apply to. Oregon is another state in which students are "identified" and supposed to be "served." But they aren't, because there is no money and no real mandate. Ergo, no identification even happens in low SES districts where parents don't push for it, and even in very high SES districts within the state (like mine), there is still virtually nothing done for actual gifted students because of vast over-identification and too-broad ability grouping. Oh, my district believes in AP for all, all right... but they mean for EVERY senior in the district, whether or not it's actually appropriate. If you need something more than AP for challenge, or if you need it as a middle schooler or freshman, you're out of luck.
