As public schools are working to make classrooms fully inclusive, where all children are treated equally, many parents are concerned that their gifted child may not be faced with the appropriate educational environment that fosters challenging learning.
Carol Bainbridge, a board member of the Indiana Association for the Gifted, explains: “To be a gifted child is to demonstrate an exceptional talent in a particular area.” This exceptional talent includes high IQ levels and abilities that can be a predictor and indicator of adult achievement. As schools are implementing increasingly orthodox practices across curriculum areas, many gifted children may be left behind instead of pushed ahead.
Gifted Children
- What Qualifies as “Gifted”?
There are various ranges of “gifted abilities,” ranging from “Mildly Gifted,” all the way to “Profoundly Gifted.” In a standard bell curve, most average learners fall between a range of 85 and 115, with 100 being the absolute norm. According to Carol Bainbridge, “the farther away from the absolute norm of 100 a child is, the greater the need for special educational accommodations, regardless of whether the distance is on the left or right of 100.”
- Lacking a Challenge
While gifted children may possess exceptional abilities, they are not always high achievers. As Bainbridge continues, “even when they don't achieve good grades, they tend to score high on achievement tests, most often in the 95-99 percentile range. They love to learn and their love of learning, good memories, and ability to learn quickly and easily enable them