Parallel Session Proceedings »
3.9.1 A Thirty-year Study on Identification Procedures and Program Options for Nebraska Gifted Middle School Students
Since we have been in the midst of a protracted political season, we have become inundated with what some call the Socratic Curse by asking the unwanted questions. Politicians love to query: Are you better off then you were eight years ago. Our question today focuses on gifted education—are we better off than we were 30 years ago? Closing the decade of the 80s was the report publication by the Carnegie Task Force on Education of Young Adolescents, Turning Points: Preparing Youth for the 21st Century. Recommendations were geared to improve the educational experiences of middle level students, but would most greatly benefit the students who were considered at risk. Too often, the students who are overlooked are the gifted. The purpose of the study is to re-examine the Nebraska schools that were surveyed in 1989 regarding their procedures for identification and available program options for gifted middle level students. Surveys were mailed to principals in Nebraska AA accredited junior and middle schools. Only schools that provided the best educational experiences for their students were selected to receive AA accreditation. Thirty years later, there is no AA accreditation, but the research was replicated with the same schools, contacts and questions. Respondents from the 1989 survey were the sample of the 2019 survey. It is a qualitative study using information collected electronically. The data from the surveys are compared to identify similarities and difference for the past twenty-six years. The study is beneficial in that it will inform current practices on how districts in 2019 approach gifted education for their students and if the gifted education focus is on a curriculum commensurate with the individual student’s ability.