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Acceleration An Overview. Dr. Denise M. Pupillo Coordinator – Gifted Education Parkway School District. What is Acceleration?. Acceleration is an educational intervention that moves students through an educational program at a faster than usual rate or younger than typical age. IT IS NOT:
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AccelerationAn Overview Dr. Denise M. Pupillo Coordinator – Gifted Education Parkway School District
What is Acceleration? Acceleration is an educational intervention that moves students through an educational program at a faster than usual rate or younger than typical age. IT IS NOT: Pushing a child or forcing a child to learn advanced material or socialize with older children before he or she is ready
Acceleration … • Includes single subject acceleration, whole grade skipping, early entrance to school and Advance Placement courses. • Means matching the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the student. • Is really about letting students soar and respecting their individual differences.
What can educators do? • Recognize gifted children • Provide new challenges • Implement and inform parents regarding acceleration • Minimize teaching students what they already know • Make school a positive experience for all students…even the brightest
Reasons why Acceleration Isn’t Often Accepted • Educators lack familiarity with acceleration • Confidence about acceleration isn’t running high • Acceleration runs counter to personal beliefs • Age trumps everything else • Safe is better than sorry • Acceleration is not taught in the college of education • It’s bad to push kids • New friends are hard to make • Individual kids are less important than opportunity for all • It will upset other kids • There will be gaps in the child’s knowledge • Disasters are memorable
Types of Acceleration • Early Admission to Kindergarten • Early Admission to First Grade • Grade-Skipping • Continuous Progress • Self-Paced Instruction • Subject Matter Acceleration/ Partial Acceleration • Combined Classes • Curriculum Compacting • Telescoping Curriculum • Mentoring • Extracurricular Programs • Correspondence Courses • Early Graduation • Concurrent/Dual Enrollment • Advanced Placement • Credit by Examination • Acceleration in College • Early Entrance into Middle School, High School, or College
Research on Acceleration Shows… • Schools routinely avoid academic acceleration, the easiest and most effective way to help highly capable students • Students who are moved ahead tend to be more ambitious, and they earn graduate degrees at higher rates than other students • An overwhelming majority of accelerated students say that acceleration was an excellent experience for them • Accelerated students feel academically challenged and socially accepted
“Acceleration is one of the most curious phenomena in the field of education. I can think of no other issue in which there is such a gulf between what research has revealed and what most practitioners believe. The research on acceleration is so uniformly positive, the benefits of appropriate acceleration so unequivocal, that it is difficult to see how an educator could oppose it.” James H. Borland, Teachers College Columbia University