Yes, I too remember the SRA reading, although I didn't remember the name until you described the color-coded readers. It was wonderful to be able to read at a level that was interesting and challenging. I would have hated school if I had been required to read "See spot run" all day.
My DS's school boast that they have differentiated reading groups that allow a child to read at their appropriate level. But I remember in first grade being absolutely stunned by what they considered appropriate reading material. Even though my son was testing on the computer-based Accelerated Reading (AR) program at a level of 3.4 (4th month into third grade), he was still given very simplistic books to read in class. They were not challenging at all, and were nowhere near as complex as what he read at home. The teacher just kind of shrugged and said that the books that she was assigning him were as advanced as she could get in first grade. So the school's differentiated reading groups meant that he was placed in the highest reading group that was reading on a level of 1.9 to 2.2. I would say that differentiation does not work for HG+ kids.
On a different note... I was wondering about getting someone like Bill Gates involved in speaking for gifted kids, and I had an idea. I know that when I started reading about gifted kids, their identifying characteristic, and their struggles in school, I recognized many of the concepts from my own childhood. I wonder if Bill Gates would become passionate about supporting gifted educational reform if he saw himself in some of the stories about gifted kids in books like "Genius Denied" (or other books). A letter might get lost in the shuffle... but who can resist picking up a book and leafing through it?
