Final research paper

Ability Grouping. Ability grouping is a modification strategy where the assignment of students by classroom or group is based on student performance in order to encourage intellectual growth (Catsambis & Buttaro, 2012).

Accelerated Learning. Accelerated learning is the process of moving through an educational program at an advanced rate that matches the cognitive ability and motivation of the student (Missett, Brunner, Callahan, Moon, & Azano, 2014; Siegle, Wilson, & Little, 2013).

Accountability Era. The accountability era is the current time in education where much emphasis is focused on achievement scores and test accountability for students, teachers, schools and districts. The accountability era began with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Mosley, Boscardin, & Wells, 2014).

Aptitude. Aptitude is defined as “an inclination to excel in the performance of a certain skill” (National Association for Gifted Children, 2010, p. 1).

Asynchrony. Asynchrony is the term used to describe the advanced rates of growth which gifted students often show in the areas of intellect and emotion (National Association for Gifted Children, 2010).

Bubble Kids. The term “bubble kids” refers to students who are just below the proficiency score or just above the proficiency score on accountability exams. Teachers tend to focus on bubble kids to either move them to the proficient level or keep them above the proficient level for the purpose of accountability measures (Gonzalez & Firestone, 2013).

Cluster Grouping. The grouping of gifted students in a heterogeneous classroom based on their educational characteristics is referred to as cluster grouping (Thompson, 2011).

Differentiation of Instruction. Differentiation of instruction occurs when an instructor modifies the lesson or curriculum in order to meet the needs of a student. Sometimes the accommodation made to the educational content is done in order to lessen the rigor and sometimes accommodations are made to strengthen the rigor (Kamarulzaman, Azman, & Zahidi, 2015; Mason, 2011; Resch, 2014).

ESSA. Every Student Succeeds Act. The Every Student Succeeds Act was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015 in order to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Act. This is the federal law that ensures education for all children in the United States (U. S. Department of Education, 2015).

G/T. Gifted and Talented Education. Gifted and Talented Education as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is “students who give evidence of high achievement capability in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, and who need services and activities not ordinarily provided by the school in order to fully develop those capabilities” (Kentucky Department of Education, 2011). A student may be formally identified in the 4th grade. Once a student is identified as gifted the student remains a gifted identified student until they graduate from high school. Evidence from three assessment materials must be provided for a student to be identified as gifted with at least one of the evidence pieces being a score in the 9th stanine of a NRT assessment. The National Association of Gifted Children estimates that there are currently three to five million academically gifted children in the United States (National Association for Gifted Children, 2010, p. 1).

KAGE. Kentucky Association for Gifted Education. The Kentucky Association for Gifted Education is the advocacy organization for gifted studies in the Commonwealth of Kentucky (KAGE, 2015).

NAEP. National Assessment of Educational Progress. The National Assessment of Educational Progress is viewed by many as a report card for education in the United States. This organization published information about students’ performance in general and also by subject area (Summers, 2014).

National Association for Gifted Children. The National Association for Gifted Children is the advocacy organization for gifted children in the United States (National Association for Gifted Children, 2015).

National Association for Gifted Children Pre-K--Grade 12 Gifted Program Standards. The gifted program standards recommended by the National Association for Gifted Children include six standards: learning and development, assessment, curriculum planning & instruction, learning environments, programming, and professional development. The 2010 programming standards were developed with input from a variety of stakeholders. An increased focus on diversity and collaboration is present in the document (National Association for Gifted Children, 2015). 

No Child Left Behind. In 2001, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was amended by Congress to be the No Child Left Behind Act otherwise known as Public Law 107-110. This law is often referred to as NCLB, pronounced ‘nicklebee’ (Husband & Hunt, 2015).

No Child Left Behind Flexibility Waiver. In 2013, President Obama allowed NCLB waivers more formally recognized as Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility. This flexibility plan, commonly referred to as the NCLB Waiver, allowed schools to be excused from the requirements of NCLB but only if the states’ waiver standards encouraged rigorous standards such as college and career readiness for all students (Derthick & Rotherham, 2012).

Rate of Acquisition. The rate of acquisition in education is an indication of how quickly a student can demonstrate that he understands the new learning (VanTassel-Baska (A), 2013).