I am aware that I probably cut and pasted a section of this article a tiny bit larger than I should have. Here's the real research by smart people who did research.
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10177.aspxThe students who enter college early are a highly selective group. They have exceptional intellectual abilities. In addition, the fact that students are aware of the possibility of early entrance and enter these programs suggests that they have unusually interested and supportive families or teachers. Early entrants may be outstanding in other ways, such as socially or in their level of confidence and maturity. Researchers may eschew the research findings reported below because of the selectivity of the samples studied. It is probably true that if a random group of academically qualified high school students were put into an early entrance program, the results of these investigations would be different. But, as Benbow (1991) points out, accelerative strategies are not for every gifted child and it is appropriate that students self select themselves into these opportunities. Self selection really entails matching a child's needs, personality and abilities to the characteristics of a program (Benbow, 1991). Early entrance programs, especially those that offer radical acceleration (i.e. four years or more), have continuously refined their selection procedures based on experiences with students to ensure that participants can do college level work and adjust socially. They try to choose students who will succeed. As Southern and Jones (1991) point out, most accelerative options, including early admission, are administrative arrangements to accommodate students who have mastered material at an earlier than usual age. Candidates for early admission are usually very obviously different from other students and both positive and negative findings regarding early entrants are as likely attributable to these differences as to the early entrance experience itself (Southern & Jones, 1991). This said, the research supports that early entrance to college is an appropriate option for some gifted students.
