# New Study Finds Gifted Programs Favor Wealth Over Ability



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Oct 11, 2019)

*New Study Finds Gifted Programs Favor Wealth Over Ability *
By MERIBAH KNIGHT • OCT 10, 2019
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION



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*A new study confirms that lower-income elementary students are far less likely than their wealthier counterparts to be placed in gifted programs. That’s even when those students go to the same school and display the same levels of academic achievement.*

Vanderbilt University's Jason Grissom co-authored the study. He says, while people often talk about a lack of access to gifted programs for low-income students, his research found something different.

“The biggest separation wasn’t across schools, but within schools,” Grissom says. “We found kids going to the exact same schools had very different probabilities of being assigned on the basis of socioeconomic status.”

The study, conducted jointly by Vanderbilt and the University of Florida, was just published in the Harvard Educational Review. And it’s the first of its kind to use both national data and achievement data (math and reading scores) to weigh the question of access to such programs.

Grissom, an associate professor of public policy and education at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, says districts like Metro Schools should take stock of recruitment efforts to gifted programs. In 2017, for example, Nashville tested every second grader in the district for its gifted program, only to stop the next year due to cost.

“I think our results suggest that the district would benefit from taking a hard look at its assignment processes and how kids are identified [for gifted programs],” Grissom says.

According to the city’s most recent diversity report, the number of black and Hispanic students in the district’s gifted program falls short of its equity requirements.


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## nyeredzi (Oct 11, 2019)

Probably, too, wealthier people advocate for their kids to be in these programs more


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## itsallaboutattitude (Oct 11, 2019)

Not surprised.


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## aminata (Oct 12, 2019)

You all know we didn't need a study to tell us this...


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## Kurlee (Oct 12, 2019)

Duh?!


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Oct 12, 2019)

aminata said:


> You all know we didn't need a study to tell us this...


WE dont need to be told but a lot of people do, and some will still doubt it


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## Kurlee (Oct 12, 2019)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> WE dont need to be told but a lot of people do, and some will still doubt it


Right! But sadly even with this info, I still don't feel confident that change is coming.


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## IslandMummy (Oct 16, 2019)

Kurlee said:


> Right! But sadly even with this info, I still don't feel confident that change is coming.


It’s not.


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## Theresamonet (Oct 16, 2019)

nyeredzi said:


> Probably, too, wealthier people advocate for their kids to be in these programs more



I think this is definitely the case as well.


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## HappilyLiberal (Oct 18, 2019)

Theresamonet said:


> I think this is definitely the case as well.



This.  My little cousin is gifted.  We've known this since she was 4.  Her mom was too lazy to get the evaluation completed.  She's now in seventh grade and they are talking about skipping her.  I wish her mom would have gotten her into the gifted school instead because she would have gotten a better education.

Then, someone offered to pay for the child to go to one of the best Catholic girls schools in the city.  Her mom doesn't want her in an all-girls school!

I mourn for what could have been for this child!


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## Guapa1 (Oct 19, 2019)

^ This is heartbreaking.


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## dancinstallion (Oct 20, 2019)

HappilyLiberal said:


> This.  My little cousin is gifted.  We've known this since she was 4.  Her mom was too lazy to get the evaluation completed.  She's now in seventh grade and they are talking about skipping her.  I wish her mom would have gotten her into the gifted school instead because she would have gotten a better education.
> 
> Then, someone offered to pay for the child to go to one of the best Catholic girls schools in the city.  Her mom doesn't want her in an all-girls school!
> 
> I mourn for what could have been for this child!



That is many blessings that the mom keeps passing on. It is a blessing for a school to want to skip a child. All girl schools are some of the best top performing schools!
I, too, weep for your little cousin because of all the opportunities her mom is depriving her from. 

I have to pull teeth and jump through hoops to get Dd skipped a grade level.  The school/assistant principal asked me why would I want her to skip when she can stay is this grade and make all A's? I said because I want her to be challenged.


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## Evolving78 (Oct 20, 2019)

IslandMummy said:


> It’s not.


Not in a diverse school. Gotta build our own. People that are smart enough, or skilled enough could start something themselves.  Can’t wait for others to do it. Like somebody likes to crochet and they are good at it, so they set up a meetup at Starbucks to teach others.  Very simple. White folks ain’t coming to save us.


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## Evolving78 (Oct 20, 2019)

HappilyLiberal said:


> This.  My little cousin is gifted.  We've known this since she was 4.  Her mom was too lazy to get the evaluation completed.  She's now in seventh grade and they are talking about skipping her.  I wish her mom would have gotten her into the gifted school instead because she would have gotten a better education.
> 
> Then, someone offered to pay for the child to go to one of the best Catholic girls schools in the city.  Her mom doesn't want her in an all-girls school!
> 
> I mourn for what could have been for this child!


Some people don’t like to compete, move forward (not liking to make changes that make them or things uncomfortable), therefore they stay )for a lack of a better word) mediocre.


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## Southernbella. (Oct 20, 2019)

Both of mine were recommended for screening by their white teachers. I know anecdotes aren't data but equity it is possible when there is a concerted and conscious effort in the school. Our gifted program is representative of the student population which should always be the goal but we know how unconscious bias works. (Our district is middle class, for reference)


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## Kurlee (Oct 20, 2019)

Evolving78 said:


> Not in a diverse school. Gotta build our own. People that are smart enough, or skilled enough could start something themselves.  Can’t wait for others to do it. Like somebody likes to crochet and they are good at it, so they set up a meetup at Starbucks to teach others.  Very simple. White folks ain’t coming to save us.


This. The data shows that Black kids are severely underrepresented in gifted.  I'm sure there are anomalous circumstances where kids are getting what they need through advocacy or chance, but for every one that gets, there's dozens that don't. Those kinds of odds are not going to cut it.


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## Southernbella. (Oct 21, 2019)

Evolving78 said:


> Not in a diverse school. Gotta build our own. People that are smart enough, or skilled enough could start something themselves.  Can’t wait for others to do it. Like somebody likes to crochet and they are good at it, so they set up a meetup at Starbucks to teach others.  Very simple. White folks ain’t coming to save us.



What do you mean when you say "build our own"? Are you referring to black schools?


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## Evolving78 (Oct 21, 2019)

Southernbella. said:


> What do you mean when you say "build our own"? Are you referring to black schools?


Are we talking about black schools? I’m not understanding your question. I thought the OP was centered around schools with a diverse student population regarding race and economic status.


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## Southernbella. (Oct 21, 2019)

Evolving78 said:


> Are we talking about black schools? I’m not understanding your question. I thought the OP was centered around schools with a diverse student population regarding race and economic status.



I'm asking what you mean by "build our own." Build our own what?


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## Evolving78 (Oct 21, 2019)

Southernbella. said:


> I'm asking what you mean by "build our own." Build our own what?


Build our own gifted programs. 
I think this article presents an idea to start a gifted program for students that may not be granted access to programs within the school district.


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## Southernbella. (Oct 21, 2019)

Evolving78 said:


> Build our own gifted programs.
> I think this article presents an idea to start a gifted program for students that may not be granted access to programs within the school district.



That's not a bad idea. Would the goal be for them to be in schools or separate/out in the community?


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## Southernbella. (Oct 21, 2019)

Also, statistically, the more black teachers in a school, the higher the percentage of black students recommended for G&T. Advocating for more black teachers could help.


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## RoundEyedGirl504 (Oct 21, 2019)

One thing I have found out since looking into schools here, for some of the better public schools, you can have your kid tested at pre-k level, and if they're determined to be gifted they can be admitted to the pre-k programs and of course then they can stay on to complete lower school at the good school. But, you as a parent would need to pay for an assessment, and a gifted pre-k 4 child isn't likely gifted in any true sense, so really you are paying to get ahead of the curve. I don't know if many parents even know this option is out there, and whether they can afford to exercise it.  There is a lot of gaming the system when it comes to these things, and as someone who wasn't designated as gifted until middle school, I think a lot of it comes down to knowing what to ask for. If you're not well versed on what's available as a parent it's easy to miss the opportunity to even attempt to advocate.


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## dancinstallion (Oct 21, 2019)

I have an eery feeling.  Once a black kid is in the gifted classes, I have noticed a weeding out system of the black kids/minorities in these gifted programs.


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## Kurlee (Oct 22, 2019)

The histories and biases embedded in these standardized tests are deeply problematic, too.


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