GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Gifted Students Participation in Early Acceleration in Elementary Education

Kathleen C. Callahan
St. Bonaventure University

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Acceleration, as an educational intervention, has been used as a strategy to permit

students to progress at a rate appropriate to their intellectual capabilities. It is idyllically
appropriate to academically gifted students, those who have an enhanced capacity to learn
(Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004). These practices provide the appropriate level of
challenge and reduce the time necessary for students to complete traditional schooling.
Acceleration is based on the premises that gifted students can acquire and process information
more rapidly than their peers and that through their speed and depth of knowledge acquisition,
they are able to master advanced levels of content thus necessitating above-grade-level
placements (Subotnik, Olszewski-Kubilius, & Worrell 2011). Parents, teachers, and school
administrators tend to be hesitant about whole grade and subject skipping as well as entering
children into kindergarten early (Rimm & Lovance, 2004). This fear continues to persist despite
a plethora of research which documents that early acceleration is a beneficial strategy for
fostering academic success and motivation for gifted students.
Methods of Acceleration
The use of acceleration for elementary students is one of the most strongly recommended
and researched yet underused strategies for gifted learners (Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross,
2004). One form of acceleration is whole-grade acceleration, the skipping of an entire academic
year. This may be beneficial for some gifted students; however, the literature suggests that
subject-specific acceleration is one of the most effective, cost-efficient ways to meet the needs of
advanced learners (Rambo & McCoach, 2012). Consistently, despite the research findings,
teachers are resistant to using this strategy with gifted learners (Vialle, Ashton, Carlton, &
Rankin, 2010). A recent longitudinal study (Rim & Lovance, 2004) tracked fourteen students
participating in multiple methods of acceleration including early entrance to kindergarten, whole

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

grade skipping of first grade, and subject acceleration in first grade. At the beginning of the
study, the teachers and administration displayed hesitance and negative attitudes toward the
methods. The results indicated that of the fourteen participants, five students who partook in
subject acceleration later went on to grade skip, and the three students who participated in early
entrance to kindergarten needed further subject acceleration to keep them challenged. Test
scores and surveys were used to determine both parent and teacher perceptions, and it was
determined that in all fourteen case studies everyone came to a consensuses that they had made
that right decision choosing to accelerate the students early.
Academic Aspects of Acceleration
Early acceleration can lead to a number of positive academically affective outcomes for
high-ability learners. A survey of 60 academically gifted students (Vialle et. al., 2010) found
that within six to ten weeks of being accelerated in some manner all students involved were
placed at the top of the class in which they were accelerated to. In addition, a recent research
study (Seon-Young, Olszewski-Kubilius, & Peternel, 2010) found that gifted students, whom
had been accelerated by subject at the elementary level, performed as well as older nonaccelerated students of comparable ability. In some instances they were able to outperform their
classmates on standardized achievement tests by nearly one year. Teacher perceptions for this
study were also discussed stating that acceleration had provided necessary challenges for the
students, making them more committed to schoolwork, and enhancing their academic
achievement.
Gifted students can benefit from acceleration both during early school years and longterm. Specifically, accelerated students tend to outperform other gifted students who have not
been accelerated in their performance on standardized achievement tests, college grades, number

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

of degrees obtained, accreditation of universities or colleges attended, and career status

(Steenbergen-Hu & Moon, 2011). Unfortunately, gifted students often do not reach that full
academic potential when acceleration is not an option for them. When they remain in their
general education classroom with same-aged peers they are frequently less motivated to succeed
because they are not being academically challenged (Chapman, 2009).
Social-emotional Aspects of Acceleration
While gifted and talented children have specific educational needs that require
identification and support within the school system, they also present particular challenges in
terms of social emotional development. The general opinion on acceleration, shared by most
teachers, parents, and administration is that students will be socially unprepared for
advancement. Often times, this is the excuse schools give as a reason to keep students at grade
level or prevent them from early entrance and grade skipping. Research has determined that the
opposite is true.
High-ability learners exhibit no more behavioral difficulties than do other children;
however they do tend to show higher levels of emotional symptoms and difficulties with peers
(Morawska & Sanders, 2008). Struggling with peer group relationships has been identified
(Pfeiffer & Stocking, 2000) as a specific problem for gifted and talented children and is generally
related to their asynchronous, or uneven, intellectual development. It is likely that in a regular
classroom gifted students may be perceived as different by other students, thus negatively
affecting a students self esteem and ability to initiate and sustain positive peer relationships.
Acceleration may help to reverse these aspects or provide support to students facing some of
these challenges.

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Research shows (Chapman, 2009) that gifted students in accelerated classroom

placements may temporarily have a lower sense of academic ability than they demonstrated prior
to acceleration. However, these students tend to develop a greater sense of membership in
learning communities where they are on a level playing field with their classmates, this is called
the assimilation effect (Ludtke, Koller, Marsh, & Trautwein, 2005). This effect provides
social acceptance, increased self-efficacy, and eventually ameliorates the students initial feelings
of inability.
Transition Planning for Students Participating in Early Acceleration
Acceleration should be used as a tool to implement academic challenge for student
success. However, students perceptions of success are often delayed due to transition issues,
especially if they are not transitioned early enough in their school careers. In one study
(Colangelo, Assouline, & Gross, 2004) 26% of accelerated students felt they had not adjusted
well because of previously underdeveloped social skills. These issues arise as gifted students
experience a shift in perceptions of themselves as learners and as members of a classroom
community.
While little research is available on facilitating the transition of accelerated gifted
students, it seems the focus should be on implementing classroom strategies that raise selfefficacy, improve social skills, and increase collaboration (Chapman, 2009). Emphasis on
individual student success decreases comparison of students to others and helps them to realize
their own goals as learners. In a positive environment and with collaborated support many
accelerants equal or surpass their non-accelerated classmates in self-concept, self-esteem, selfconfidence, social relationships, and participation in extracurricular activities (Steenbergen-Hu &
Moon, 2011). In addition, if schools adopt early acceleration policies and practices specifically

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

designed to sustain the success of they may adequately and effectively help accelerated students
to transition smoothly (Xin, 2014).
Supporting Acceleration: Parents and Teachers
The success of acceleration depends on the nature of support students receive during the
transition process as well as the attendance to individual differences (Cornell, Callahan & Loyd,
1991). In a survey of accelerants (Vialle et. al., 2010) the students commented on feelings
toward the transition. They outlined the importance of a belief in themselves, their happiness at
school and the role that their teachers and parents played in helping them to accept their own
abilities and advocating for their individually needs in placement. Often because gifted students
have such autonomy they are expected to advocate for themselves. However, advocacy and
continued support from school administration, teachers, and parents is just as important for gifted
students as it may be for exceptional students and students performing at grade-level in
elementary education.
Unfortunately, in todays school system gifted students often do not reach their full
academic potential they are frequently less motivated to succeed because they are forced to go
remain in placements that are developmentally inappropriate for them. Despite limitations,
acceleration has been shown to be very effective in providing incentive to gifted students whose
academic underachievement and social-emotional difficulties had previously been exacerbated
by an unchallenging curriculum in their general education placement (Rimm & Lovance, 2004).
It is imperative that schools take into consideration the research that has continually disproved
previous ideologies on why not to accelerate students early.

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

The vision of schools should be based on the belief that everyone has an important role to
play in societal improvement, and that everyone's role can be enhanced if we provide all students
with opportunities, resources, and encouragement to aspire to the highest level of development
(Renzulli, 2005). Traditional methods of schooling have failed to support gifted students in
developing to their fullest potential and creating outlets for their success and achievement. By
highlighting the preponderance of empirical evidence it is clear that these methods require
change. Every school has students who possess the highest potential for an advanced level of
learning and it is now the time that these talents are fostered to their full development through
academic acceleration.

GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

References
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accelerated gifted students. The Science Teacher, 76(3), 42.
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back America's brightest students. The Templeton National Report on Acceleration, 1.
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of adolescent girls enrolled in a residential acceleration program. Gifted Child
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Ludtke, O., Koller, O., Marsh, H.W., & Trautwein, U. (2005). Teacher frame of reference and
the big-fish-little-pond effect. Educational Psychology, 30, 263-285.
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GIFTED STUDENTS ACCELERATION IN ELEMENTARY EDUCATION

Rimm, S. B., & Lovance, K. J. (2004). The use of subject and grade skipping for the prevention
and reversal of underachievement. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(2), 100-105.
Seon-Young, L., Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Peternel, G. (2010). The efficacy of academic
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Xin M. (2014). Early acceleration of mathematics students and its effect on growth in selfesteem: A longitudinal study. The International Review of Education, 48(6), 443-468.