The major issue isn't just the material (which he can self-differentiate at home but not in school) but also the level of conversation around him and the standards and expectations of writing. So it's hard to work at his level if the assignments are too short, too easy, too superficial. And if others in the class can't follow his ideas, he's frustrated.
Oh my gosh, yes! I think this is what is missed so often in meeting the needs of gifted readers. The gifted reader so often has observations and connections that are completely beyond the rest of the group. The gifted reader shares a comment and....nothing. No response, no feedback, no one to take the idea and either run with it or challenge it. It's a very lonely place to be, and one that leaves the gifted reader feeling like the one who doesn't know anything.
I also think that there is a lack of thought put into "next steps" for gifted readers. At a certain point, "harder books" is not the next step. Thinking about high school english classes, for instance, the goal isn't to give students progressively harder books, it's to change the way in which students interpret and communicate about the books.
