Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums GT Research Are gifted education programs a waste of money?

Hmm. I read up on this recently and wrote something about it for work that synthesized a large pile of research on the subject. There is plenty of evidence out there that accelerating, skipping, and early entrance to K or college are beneficial for GT kids. Enrichment programs have the least evidence in their favor, but IIRC, there is at least some. All this media furor is focusing on this one study, largely because the conclusion is "exciting" and controversial and makes for a good chance to throw rotten fruit at the "pushy parent." Meanwhile it ignores decades of much better research. Nothing is about this is atypical about science reporting. But of course, to regard this study as "proof" that there is no point to ANY kind of gifted education, or even as proof that there is no such thing as giftedness, is throwing the baby out with the bathwater in a major way.

Pull-out programs vary enormously, in my experience, and it doesn't surprise me at all to learn that some have no effect on test scores. My pull-out program in elementary was pretty great, but by high school it was useless "enrichment" that did absolutely nothing for my skills, though it was mildly interesting.