Annotated Bibliography

Academic acceleration, which enhances challenges for academically gifted students, can be subject-based or whole-grade. Limited research has explored its application in the twice-exceptional population, where students possess notable cognitive strengths and challenges due to psychological diagnoses. Our clinical study investigates the likelihood of subject or whole-grade acceleration, considering IQ, age, and achievement differences across diagnosis types and demographics. The clinical sample of 1,189 subjects was used to explore the research questions. Subject-based acceleration is more likely for students with diagnoses of depression or anxiety, gifted program participation, or medium socioeconomic status. Males with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are less likely to be subject-based accelerated. Whole-grade acceleration was likelier for students diagnosed with anxiety. At the same time, those with medium or low socioeconomic status, and ADHD, ASD, or SLD diagnoses, were less likely to be whole-grade accelerated. 

Skipping a grade, one specific form of acceleration, is an intervention used for gifted students. Quantitative research has shown acceleration to be a highly successful intervention regarding academic achievement, but less is known about the social–emotional outcomes of grade-skipping. In the present study, the authors used the grounded theory approach to examine the experiences of seven gifted students aged 8 to 16 years who skipped a grade. The interviewees perceived their “feeling of being in the wrong place” before the grade-skipping as strongly influenced by their teachers, who generally did not respond adequately to their needs. We observed a close interrelationship between the gifted students’ intellectual fit and their social situation in class. Findings showed that the grade-skipping in most of the cases bettered the situation in school intellectually as well as socially, but soon further interventions, for instance, a specialized and demanding class- or subject-specific acceleration were added to provide sufficiently challenging learning opportunities.

Whole-grade acceleration moves a student up one or more grades in response to that student's academic needs. Although grade-skipping is supported by decades of research, this type of acceleration is not often used. Acceleration policies make whole-grade acceleration available to more students who would benefit, encourage more educators to use the intervention, and result in more equitable access of acceleration to qualified students. Whole-grade acceleration policies detail the entire process of obtaining accelerated placement and services–from the referral of the student through the transition to acceleration. A child-study team (not an individual) makes the decision, addresses academic gaps, and monitors the student's transition to acceleration. Acceleration policies help ensure this intervention is implemented consistently. Utilizing excellent acceleration policies can result in students achieving the developmental goal of competence and engagement in learning.

The research aims, through a comparative analytical study, to unveil whether there is an actual whole-grade acceleration policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) if compared with that applied at Massachusetts, USA. Adopting such a policy secures the right of the gifted student to grow academically in proportion with his peculiar potentials. The research adopts the comparative analytical method (qualitative) using two tools: document analysis and semi-structured interview. The sample of the study comprised two education supervisors in charge of the acceleration system in the department of the gifted in KSA and school principals applying the system in the state of Massachusetts. The foremost result, which the study came up to, was that the Saudi educational system has a comprehensive written acceleration policy based on scientific frameworks, while Massachusetts doesn’t have a specific document for applying a comprehensive acceleration policy. The research concluded with some recommendations among which are: The comprehensive acceleration policy in KSA still needs to develop, especially in the following areas: Classes and study levels on which the acceleration system and guidance services are applied, and The need to review acceleration procedures as they are among the obstacles that hinder an active application of the policy at the present time.

This study used a case study research design to investigate the knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs of elementary principals regarding whole-grade acceleration for gifted students. The research literature is overwhelmingly positive on student outcomes---academically, socially, and emotionally. However, little research exists on the impact of principal leadership and the use of acceleration as an academic option. The study explored principals' prior training, personal and professional experiences with whole-grade acceleration. In addition, the research questions aimed to understand what participants considered to be both benefits and challenges with acceleration. The theoretical framework for this study was human capital theory that is frequently used in both educational policymaking and educational research. The theory posits that investing in education and job training programs, among others, yields positive outcomes over time for both students and society. Findings from this study revealed that elementary principals are cautious about using this option regardless of the robust research that supports acceleration. In addition, the study revealed a dearth of knowledge and experiences among participants with whole-grade acceleration. A discussion of implications for practice and policy is included. The study highlights a need for substantive policy, specific planning to provide research best practice guidelines and processes for school districts, as well as strong leadership. Recommendations for future study are addressed that could add to the body of literature.

Both for boys and girls skipping a grade had no effect on school satisfaction.•Skipping a grade did not result in the occurrence of a big-fish-little-pond effect.Yet, relative to boys, girls were disadvantaged on some motivational outcomes.Both male and female students reported less positive peer relations after skipping. Whereas studies that have analyzed factors that affect academic achievement have predominantly revealed positive effects of skipping a grade, controversial results have been found for students’ social-emotional and motivational development. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of skipping a whole grade on students’ school satisfaction, peer relations, school anxiety, and academic self-concept. Moreover, we conducted moderation analyses to investigate whether skipping a grade affects boys and girls differently. Data were obtained from N = 4926 German students who were repeatedly surveyed once a year in Grades 4, 5, and 6. A total of N = 96 students from this sample had skipped a grade in elementary school. We applied full matching separately for male and female students in order to minimize selection bias. When analyzing motivational variables, we added class-mean achievement scores as covariates within the matching process. Equally for boys and girls, the results showed no significant effect of skipping on school satisfaction, yet we found a negative effect on peer relations that persisted across the 3 years of measurement. However, after skipping a grade girls were significantly disadvantaged compared to boys on some motivational dimensions.

The benefits of whole-grade acceleration for the highest achieving students in K-12 education are widely acknowledged. However, much less is known about which personal, family, and school factors are correlated with student acceleration. Which children are grade accelerated in K-7 education? Have factors associated with grade acceleration changed over time? We analyze data from the NELS (students from 1988-1992) and the ELS (students from 2002-2004) nationally representative and longitudinal databases to answer these questions. Other things being equal, females, Asian Americans, and students living on the U.S. east or west coast were more likely to be grade accelerated. For example, females had odds of being accelerated that were 1.3 times higher than the odds of males being accelerated. Students from the northeastern region of the U.S. had odds of acceleration that were nearly twice (1.9 times) as high as Midwest students’ odds of acceleration. When accelerated students were compared to older classmates of similar achievement who were not accelerated, the accelerated students showed greater gains in achievement than nonaccelerated classmates in and throughout high school. In other words, accelerated students do not just keep up with their older classmates, they actually perform better.