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The Beginning of Gifted
A small amount of mandatory schooling laws were enacted but were definitely not made a priority in education as a whole. The next 100 years in gifted education were "sparse and uneven" (VanTessel-Baska). Policies dealing with advanced coursework or acceleration were instituted, but were not enforced. -
Large Cities Attempt Gifted Education
San Diego, Chicago, and New York City made an effort to educated gifted children. According to the article "The History of Urban Gifted Education" these three cities strived to make advances and a large impact with gifted children with a variety of programs. Their programs reached different lengths of communtities within their cities. Many studies were conducted within each city's program. These studies evaluated all aspects of gifted children including socio-economic status and race. -
Up, up, and away!
After the launch of Sputnik, America began to embrace the idea of identifying and challenging its most capable students, according to "American Policy in Gifted Education." Schools began to see the value of offering higher, more advanced options of learning. A variety of subjects were also integrated. -
Legislation Begins
Legislation starts with California in 1963, next came Illinois in 1965, slowly followed by other states that began implementing gifted education. Later, when those states lost funding, many other states began developing their gifted education programs (VanTassel-Baska). -
The Catalyst
Sidney Marland documents his assessments and recommendations for high-ability learners. His document served as a catalyst for bringing to light gifted education. In the 1980s Chicago gifted schools led the way as a positive force for gifted education (The History of Urban Gifted Education). -
Let them fly
Seven states have policies specifically permitting early entrance to kindergarten, while 29 states specifically permit gifted students to be dually or concurrenlty enrolled in high school and college. Looking to the past is imperative to how gifted programs continue forward in the future. Appropriately identifying gifted children and offering multiple opportunities for gifted children to soar to success will enhance our country's advancement in many areas of expertise.
