I agree-- particularly true in younger kids who have been hothoused by well-meaning (but Tigerish) parents.
What I think cannot be mistaken is the rate at which gifted children learn, or how rapidly they attain mastery.
I do not think that a child who is not gifted can, for example, go from basic decoding skills (e.g. Bob books) to late high school reading ability (no, not just decoding, but actual comprehension) in just a few weeks or months.
The problem with this idea of 'evening out' is that while it may be true that other kids learn to read during this period, and achieve basic numeracy... if a gifted child is allowed to learn, too, then they will still be traveling that road in a faster car, if that makes sense.
So while the differences may be more subtle than "this three year old can read, and all these others can't," there is little doubt that the third grader who has been fully literate for YEARS will have experienced much more during that time than his/her newly literate classmates will have in the last 18 months.
