Feedback from years of nationwide use has resulted in a 3rd Edition of this unique, systematic, and objective guide to considering and implementing academic acceleration. Developed and tested by the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, the ias ensures that acceleration decisions are systematic, thoughtful, well reasoned, and defensible. The ias continues to be used in all 50 states, Australia, and Canada. Featured in the 3rd Edition are: (1) Overall refined material based on experience and research; (2) Revised list of required ability and aptitude tests; (3) Revised test list includes CogAT; (4) Clearer format to make it easier to use; (5) Clarification of item scores; and (6) Updated research on acceleration.

Feedback from four years of nationwide use has resulted in a 2nd Edition of this research-based, systematic, and objective guide for considering and implementing academic acceleration. Developed and tested by the Belin-Blank Center at the University of Iowa, the IAS ensures that grade-skipping decisions are thoughtful, well reasoned, and defensible. A study team composed of educators and parents considers data from a series of questions, which are weighted to provide a score leading to acceleration recommendations. Features Include: ?Appropriate tests more clearly specified ?Better descriptions of achievement and ability tests ?Aptitude tests now included ?Scoring clarified and enhanced ?New case examples of student acceleration ?Updated references regarding acceleration research studies

Practical guidance in key areas of concern for parents, such as peer relations, siblings, motivation and underachievement, discipline, intensity and stress, depression, education planning, and finding professional help.

This new report, A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America's Brightest Students builds on the momentum of the 2004 report, A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students. A Nation Deceived initiated a critical dialogue about academic acceleration, an under-used intervention. A Nation Deceived exposed to the nation the inconsistencies between research and practice and brought acceleration to prominence in the field. Volume 1 and 2 of A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America's Brightest Students equips students, families, and educators with facts to refute biased excuses. A Nation Empowered shifts the impetus from conversation to action. Empowerement galvanizes determination with evidence. Volume 1 portrays the determination of students, educators, and parents to strive for excellence. Volume 2 reveals the evidence that trumps the excuses that hold bright students back.

The field of gifted education is characterized by a confusing array of perspectives concerning such fundamental issues as definition, philosophy, curriculum, social and emotional development, and underserved populations. The mission of this book is to provide a coherent framework that instructors and service providers can use in planning effective programs, providing appropriate counseling services, and evaluating programs for the gifted. Most sections are organized around fundamental issues confronting the field and follow a common structure: an introductory chapter that provides historical and theoretical background and organizing questions followed by several point-of-view chapters written by experts that provide varied perspectives on the topic at hand. Distinguishing Features Comprehensive Coverage - The book's forty-five manageable-length chapters cover the full range of topics that must be considered in planning programs and services for gifted students both within and outside of school. Coherent Structure - Section introductions provide background information and organizing questions to guide chapter authors who provide varying views of the issue at hand. The emphasis is not on the "right way" or the "wrong way" (except when clearly documented bad practice is discussed), but on how best practice stems from well-informed and logical decision-making. Decision Making Focus - The book's introductory chapter addresses the need for a clearly developed and consistently applied set of values to guide decision making. Likewise, each section introduction includes a decision making framework regarding some aspect of educating, counseling, or parenting gifted students. This book is appropriate for introductory level courses in gifted education or courses in program development and planning. It is also suitable for school personnel responsible for making program planning decisions in the area of gifted education and for academic libraries with holdings in this area.

The Social and Emotional Development of Gifted Children remains the only book that provides a comprehensive summary of the empirical research on the social and emotional development of gifted children by leading authorities in the field. It includes several features that make it the leading text on what we know about the social and emotional development of gifted children. For example, it summarizes the most significant findings from the empirical research on the topic. It also includes noteworthy variations that have been observed across cultural groups or global contexts. Each chapter also provides a short description of the practical applications that can be made from the research. This second edition includes an entirely new section on the psychosocial aspects of talent development, as well as addresses the burgeoning interest and research base regarding gifted performance. The text also includes several new topics that have emerged from the research in the past decade, such as the neuroscience of talent development and motivation for talent development. This book is a service publication of the National Association for Gifted Children.