It's been my observation that the needs of the quiet ones who don't make trouble aren't met 'because' the child never causes problems, while the needs of the 'acting-out-y' child aren't met because the child't bad behavior 'proves' that they aren't ready for acceleration.
If the school makes a commitment to met the needs of ALL the children, then they need to set up systems to evaluate what each child's needs are, and have a range of options availible to match the child's needs to the intervention option. This takes a lot of will on the part of school people or parents to step outside of 'the way things always are' and move toward basic decency.
I completely agree. If there was a system to evaluate the needs of every child and then to act on those demonstrated needs, that would go a long way. Often the kids are, in fact, tested in this way (three-times yearly MAP tests, anyone?) but then nothing is done with the results. If this was done, kids wouldn't have to scream "Gifted AND well-behaved!" from the rooftops to be accommodated.
