Should We Teach Gifted Curriculum to All Students?

What are the possible downsides?

There are as many things that can go wrong as there things that can go right. So, let’s take a look.

Right now, I’m recalling what reasons might be for a good or bad fit for the general student population to suddenly receive material and curriculum that is designed for students who are advanced learners, i.e., gifted students.

When I was still in practice assessing and guiding families of gifted children, I helped them to find the best school for their own children. Our area has school choice and parents can shuttle their children to schools outside their home districts if there is room for them. There is one public school here that started an Exceptionally Gifted Program in their 2nd through 5th grades. It’s been at least twenty years since the elementary school program was started, and it continues to have the best scores across all grade levels in its school, more students who go on to higher education, etc., even in the classrooms that aren’t in the Exceptionally Gifted Program. One reason for that is that spaces are limited in the Program and most parents want their children to go to the same school with each other. They are bright motivated parents and children. The children can take the tests each year and may gain entry later, for example…