2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education: Policy and Practice Data
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
2014-2015 STATE of THE STATES in GIFTED EDUCATION POLICY AND PRACTICE DATA November, 2015 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN and THE COUNCIL OF STATE DIRECTORS OF PROGRAMS FOR THE GIFTED For more information: National Association for Gifted Children, Washington, DC. www.nagc.org 2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education 1 CONTENTS FOREWORD FROM THE COUNCIL OF STATE DIRECTORS OF PROGRAMS FOR THE GIFTED 4 FOREWORD FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 INTRODUCTION 8 ABOUT THE REPORT 9 OVERVIEW 11 METHODOLOGY 17 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 18 I. State Education Agencies 18 II. Funding for Gifted and Talented Education 21 III. Mandates to Identify and Serve Gifted Students 23 IV. Accountability 25 V. Definition of Giftedness 27 VI. Identification of Gifted and Talented Students 28 VII. Programs and Services for Gifted Students 32 VIII. Staffing and Personnel Preparation 37 IX. Related Policies and Practices 41 X. New Developments, Concerns, and Future Directions 44 STATE EDUCATION AGENCY GIFTED & TALENTED CONTACTS 50 STATE GIFTED & TALENTED ASSOCIATION CONTACTS 55 QUESTIONNAIRE: 2014-2015 STATE OF THE STATES 58 APPENDIX 83 TABLE 1: STATE EDUCATION AGENCIES ................................................................................................................ 84 TABLE 2: STATE EDUCATION AGENCIES (CONTINUED) ...................................................................................... 89 TABLE 3: STATE REPORTING ................................................................................................................................... 96 TABLE 4: IMPACT OF FORCES ON DELIVERY OF GIFTED EDUCATION SERVICES (PART 1) ........................ 100 TABLE 5: IMPACT OF FORCES ON DELIVERY OF GIFTED EDUCATION SERVICES (PART 2) ........................ 103 TABLE 6: IMPACT OF FORCES ON DELIVERY OF GIFTED EDUCATION SERVICES (PART 3) ........................ 106 TABLE 7: IMPACT OF FORCES ON DELIVERY OF GIFTED EDUCATION SERVICES (PART 4) ........................ 109 TABLE 8: AREAS NEEDING ATTENTION IN GIFTED EDUCATION (PART 1).................................................. 114 TABLE 9: AREAS NEEDING ATTENTION IN GIFTED EDUCATION (PART 2) .................................................. 117 TABLE 10: AREAS NEEDING ATTENTION IN GIFTED EDUCATION (PART 3) ................................................ 120 TABLE 11: STATE GIFTED EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEES ................................................................... 124 TABLE 12: DEFINITION OF GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS ..................................................................... 131 TABLE 13: MANDATES FOR IDENTIFICATION AND GIFTED AND TALENTED SERVICES .............................. 140 2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education 2 TABLE 14: REQUIREMENTS FOR IDENTIFICATION ............................................................................................ 149 TABLE 15: REQUIREMENTS FOR IDENTIFICATION (CONTINUED) .................................................................. 155 TABLE 16: IDENTIFICATION FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED SERVICES ............................................................ 164 TABLE 17: IDENTIFICATION FOR GIFTED AND TALENTED SERVICES—DEMOGRAPHICS........................... 168 TABLE 18: GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAMMING AND SERVICES ............................................................. 177 TABLE 19: GIFTED AND TALENTED SERVICES BY GRADE ................................................................................ 181 TABLE 20: REPORTING AND ACCOUNTABILITY ................................................................................................. 185 TABLE 21: GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION PLANS .................................................................................. 193 TABLE 22: GIFTED EDUCATION ADMINISTRATORS .......................................................................................... 198 TABLE 23: GIFTED AND TALENTED DELIVERY MODELS BY GRADE .............................................................. 201 TABLE 24: ACCELERATION POLICIES AND PRACTICES ..................................................................................... 209 TABLE 25: DUAL ENROLLMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES ............................................................................ 214 TABLE 26: DUAL ENROLLMENT POLICIES AND PRACTICES (CONTINUED) ................................................... 219 TABLE 27: PROFICIENCY-BASED PROMOTION POLICIES AND PRACTICES .................................................... 222 TABLE 28: COMPONENTS OF GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAMS AND SERVICES ..................................... 227 TABLE 29: OTHER POLICIES AND PRACTICES .................................................................................................... 231 TABLE 30: PERSONNEL PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT (PART 1) ........................................................ 234 TABLE 31: PERSONNEL PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT (PART 2) ........................................................ 238 TABLE 32: PERSONNEL PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT (PART 3) ........................................................ 242 TABLE 33: PERSONNEL PREPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT (PART 4) ........................................................ 250 TABLE 34: STATE FUNDING .................................................................................................................................. 256 TABLE 35: STATE FUNDING (CONTINUED) ........................................................................................................ 263 TABLE 36: IMPACT OF FEDERAL EDUCATION LAW .......................................................................................... 268 TABLE 37: CHANGES IN STATE RULES AND REGULATIONS ............................................................................. 274 TABLE 38: COMMON CORE AND NAGC GIFTED PROGRAM STANDARDS ...................................................... 281 TABLE 39: CLARIFICATIONS .................................................................................................................................. 284 2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education 3 FOREWORD FROM THE COUNCIL OF STATE DIRECTORS OF PROGRAMS FOR THE GIFTED The Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted (CSDPG) is pleased to partner with the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) on the 2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education Survey and Report. The biennial effort is a unique collaboration among practitioners, advocates, and researchers that provides data on state funding, staffing, policies, and practices for gifted education. CSDPG thanks NAGC staff for dedicating time, expertise, and resources to this initiative. Forty-one states and the District of Columbia responded to the 2014-2015 State of the States Survey. The data was compiled into the State of States Report which provides insights into upward trends in gifted education, draws attention to areas for continued improvement, and identifies innovative and promising practices. Several themes emerged from the report: • States are diverse and their approach to gifted education reflects this diversity. • The majority of states requires identification of and services for high ability/high potential students. • The majority of states provide some type of funding for gifted education and this funding increased in many states in 2014-2015. • Data collection for gifted education and its use for accountability and school improvement varies across states. • Most states indicate identifying and serving students from historically underrepresented populations as an area in need of attention. • States also identify training educators in the nature of advanced learners and meeting their needs to effectively support student growth as an area in need of attention. • States indicate a federal policy for gifted education could benefit high ability/high potential learners, their families, and educators in many ways. Information from this report can be used to inform: state statute and rule; state and local staffing, budgets, policy, and practice; data collection; educator licensing and professional development; research questions; and advocacy. Ultimately, the success of these efforts is measured by positive student outcomes, which is outside the scope of the State of the States Survey. For this, educators, researchers, and advocates will need to turn to evidence at the state and local levels. We value the partnership with NAGC to produce the State of the States in Gifted Education Report and encourage readers to collaborate to continue to improve opportunities for high ability/high potential students. Chrystyna Mursky President 2013-2015 2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education 4 FOREWORD FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) in collaboration with the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted is pleased to present the 2014-2015 State of the States in Gifted Education. The biennial State of the States is the only comprehensive, longitudinal study of state data on gifted education in the U.S. This unique report provides a detailed look at the funding, identification, range of services, and policies that support gifted and talented education. This year’s report shows that a majority of states in the U.S. report a mandate related to gifted and talented education for identification, services, or both. We are heartened by this data, but our nation must offer more consistency to