Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Gifted Child Quarterly
This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Neihart, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

The Socioaffective Impact of Acceleration and Ability Grouping

Recommendations for Best Practice

Maureen Neihart

National Institute of Education, Singapore, maureenneihart{at}gmail.com

Although the academic gains associated with acceleration and peer ability grouping are well documented, resistance to their use for gifted students continues because of concerns that such practices will cause social or emotional harm to students. Results from the broad research indicate that grade skipping, early school entrance, and early admission to college have socioaffective benefits for gifted students who are selected on the basis of demonstrated academic, social, and emotional maturity, but may be harmful to unselected students who are arbitrarily accelerated on the basis of IQ, achievement, or social maturity. There is little research on the socioaffective effects of peer ability grouping. The limited evidence indicates strong benefits for highly gifted students and possibly for some minority or disadvantaged gifted students. Robust evidence does not exist to support the idea that heterogeneous classroom grouping per se significantly increases the risk for adjustment problems among moderately gifted students. Recommendations for best practice based on the available evidence are presented.

Key Words: peer ability grouping • social • emotional • acceleration

References

  • Adams-Byers, J., Whitsell, S.S., & Moon, S.M. (2004). Gifted students' perceptions of the academic and social/emotional effects of homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping . Gifted Child Quarterly, 48, 7-20 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Assouline, S., Colangelo, N., Lupkowski-Shoplik, A., & Lipscomb, J. (2003). Iowa Acceleration Scale: A guide for whole grade acceleration (2nd ed.). Scottsdale, AZ: Gifted Psychology Press .
  • Baker, J.A., Bridger, R., & Evans, K. (1999). Models of underachievement among gifted preadolescents: The role of personal, family, and school factors . Gifted Child Quarterly, 42, 5-15 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Bower, B. (1990). Academic acceleration gets social lift . Science News, 138(4), 212-222 .
  • Brody, L.E. (1988). Early entrance to college: A study of academic and social adjustment during the freshman year . College and University, 63, 347-359 .[Web of Science]
  • Brody, L.E., & Benbow, C.P. (1987). Accelerative strategies: How effective are they for the gifted? Gifted Child Quarterly, 31, 105-110 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Brody, L.E., Lupkowski, A.E., & Stanley, J.C. (1988). Early entrance to college: A study of academic and social adjustment during the freshman year . College and University, 63, 347-359 .[Web of Science]
  • Brody, L.E., Muratori, M.C., & Stanley, J.C. (2004). Early entrance to college: Academic, social and emotional considerations. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students (pp. 97-107). Iowa City, IA: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development.
  • Brody, L.E., & Stanley, J.C. (1991). Young college students: Assessing factors that contribute to success. In W. T. Southern & E. D. Jones (Eds.), The academic acceleration of gifted children (pp. 102-132). New York: Teachers College Press .
  • Caplan, S.M., Henderson, C.E., Henderson, J., & Fleming, D.L. (2002). Socioemotional factors contributing to adjustment among early-entrance college students . Gifted Child Quarterly, 46, 124-134 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Charlton, J.C., Marolf, D.M., & Stanley, J.C. (1994). Follow-up insights on rapid educational acceleration . Roeper Review, 17, 123-130 .
  • Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Gross, M. (Eds.). (2004). A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students. Iowa City, Iowa: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development .
  • Cornell, D.G., Callahan, C.M., Bassin, L.E., & Ramsay, S.G. (1991). Affective development in accelerated students. In W. T. Southern & E. D. Jones (Eds.), The academic acceleration of gifted children (pp. 74-101). New York: Teachers College Press .
  • Dai, D.Y. (2004). How universal is the big-fish-little-pond-effect? American Psychologist, 59, 267-268 .[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Dauber, S. (1996). Tracking and transitions through the middle grades . Sociology in Education, 69, 290-307 .[CrossRef]
  • Diaz, E.I. (1998). Perceived factors influencing the academic underachievement of talented students of Puerto Rican descent . Gifted Child Quarterly, 42, 105-122 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Dunning, D., Johnson, K., Ehrlinger, J., & Kruger, J. (2003). Why people fail to recognize their own incompetence . Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 83-87 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Farmer, T.W., & Farmer, E. (1996). Social relationships of students with exceptionalities in mainstream classrooms: Social networks and homophily . Exceptional Children, 62, 431-449 .[Web of Science]
  • Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J.U. (1986). Black students, school success: Coping with the burden of acting white . The Urban Review, 18, 176-206 .[CrossRef]
  • Gagné, F., & Gagnier, N. (2004). The socio-affective and academic impact of early entrance to school . Roeper Review, 26, 128-139 .
  • Gamoran, A., & Berends, M. (1987). The effects of stratification in secondary schools: Synthesis of survey and ethnographic research . Review of Educational Research, 57, 415-435 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Gamoran, A., & Mare, R.D. (1989). Secondary school tracking and educational inequality: Compensation, reinforcement, or neutrality? American Journal of Sociology, 94, 1146-1183 .[CrossRef]
  • Gross, M.U.M. (1989). The pursuit of excellence or the search for intimacy? The forced-choice dilemma of gifted youth . Roeper Review, 11, 189-194 .
  • Gross, M.U.M. (1993). Exceptionally gifted children. London: Routledge .
  • Gross, M.U.M. (2003). Exceptionally gifted children (2nd ed.). London: Routledge .
  • Gross, M.U.M. (2004). Radical acceleration. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students (pp. 87-96). Iowa City, IA: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development.
  • Gross, M.U.M., & van Vliet, H.E. (2005). Radical acceleration and early entrance to college: A review of the research . Gifted Child Quarterly, 49, 154-171 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Hebert, T. (1996), Portraits of resilience: The urban life experiences of gifted Latino young men . Roeper Review, 19, 82-90 .
  • Hebert, T. (2001). " If I had a new notebook, I know things would change": Bright underachieving young men in urban classrooms . Gifted Child Quarterly, 45, 195-204 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Heinbokel, A. (1997). Acceleration through grade-skipping in Germany . High Ability Studies, 8(1), 61-77 .[CrossRef]
  • Hobson, J.R. (1963). High school performance of underage pupils initially admitted to kindergarten on the basis of physical and psychological examinations . Educational and Psychological Measurement, 23, 159-170 .[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Hochschild, J.L., & Scovronick, N. (2003). The American dream and the public schools. New York: Oxford University Press .
  • Hoffer, T.B. (1992). Middle school ability grouping and student achievement in science and mathematics . Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 14, 205-227 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Isaacs, M.L., & Duffus, L.R. (1995). Scholars' club: A culture of achievement among minority students . The School Counselor, 42, 204-210 .
  • Ingersoll, K.S., & Cornell, D.G. (1995). Social adjustment of early college entrants in a residential program . Journal of the Education of the Gifted, 19, 45-62 .
  • Janos, P.M., & Robinson, N.M. (1985). The performance of students in a program of radical acceleration at the university level . Gifted Child Quarterly, 29, 175-179 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Janos, P.M., Robinson, N.M., Carter, C., Chapel, A., Cufley, R., Curland, M., et al. (1988). Social relations of students who enter college early . Gifted Child Quarterly, 32, 210-215 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Janos, P.M., Robinson, N.M., & Lunneborg, C.E. (1989). Markedly early entrance to college: A multi-year comparative study of academic performance and psychological adjustment . Journal of Higher Education, 60, 496-518 .
  • Janos, P.M., Sanfilippo, S.M., Robinson, N.M. (1986). Underachievement among markedly accelerated college students . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 15, 303-311 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Jones, S.J. (2003). Complex subjectivities: Class, ethnicity, and race in women's narratives of upward mobility . Journal of Social Issues, 59, 803-820 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Kolitch, E.R., & Brody, L.E. (1992). Mathematics acceleration of highly talented students: An evaluation . Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 78-86 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kolloff, P. (1989, October). A comparison of self-contained and pull-out models . Paper presented at National Association for Gifted Children Annual Convention, Cincinnati, OH.
  • Kulik, C.L.C., & Kulik, J.A. (1982). Effects of ability grouping on secondary school students: A meta-analysis of evaluation findings . American Educational Research Journal, 19, 415-428 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kulik, C.L.C., & Kulik, J.A. (1990). Effectiveness of mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis . Review of Educational Research, 60, 265-299 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kulik, J.A., & Kulik, C.L.C. (1984). Effects of accelerated instruction on students . Review of Educational Research, 54, 409-425 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kulik, J.A., & Kulik, C.L.C. (1987). Effects of ability grouping student achievement . Equity and Excellence, 23, 22-23 .[CrossRef]
  • Kulik, J.A., & Kulik, C.L.C. (1992). Meta-analytic findings on grouping programs . Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 73-77 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Kuriloff, P., & Reichert, M.C. (2003). Boys of Color: Negotiating the academic and social geography of an elite independent school . Journal of Social Issues, 59, 751-770 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Lou, Y., Abrami, P.C., Spence, J.C., Poulsen, C., Chambers, B., & d'Apollonia, S. (1996). Within-class grouping: A meta-analysis . Review of Educational Research, 66, 423-458 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Lubinski, D. (2004). Long-term effects of educational acceleration. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students (pp. 23-37). Iowa City, IA: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development.
  • Lubinski, D., Webb, R.M., Morelock, M.J., & Benbow, C.P. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-year follow-up of the profoundly gifted . Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 718-729 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Lupowski, A.E., Whitmore, M., & Ramsay, A. (1992). The impact of early entrance to college on self-esteem: A preliminary study . Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 87-90 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Maddux, C.D., Scheicher, L., & Bass, J. (1982). Self-concept and social distance in gifted children . Gifted Child Quarterly, 26, 77-81 .[Free Full Text]
  • Marsh, H.W., Chessor, D., Craven, R., & Roche, L. (1995). The effects of gifted and talented programs on academic self-concept: The big fish strikes again . American Educational Research Journal, 32, 285-319 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Marsh, H.W., & Hau, K.T. (2003). Big-fish-little-pond effect on academic self-concept: A cross-cultural (26-country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools . American Psychologist, 58, 364-376 .[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • McQuilkin, G.E. (1981). A comparison of personal and social concepts of gifted elementary students in different school programs . Dissertation Abstracts, 8100704.
  • Moon, S., & Reis, S. (2004). Acceleration and twice-exceptional students. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students (pp. 109-119). Iowa City, IA: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development.
  • Moon, S.M., Swift, M., & Shallenberger, A. (2002). Perceptions of a self-contained class for fourth- and fifth-grade students with high to extreme levels of intellectual giftedness . Gifted Child Quarterly, 46, 64-79 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Muratori, M., Colangelo, N., & Assouline, S. (2003). Early-entrance students: Impressions of their first semester of college . Gifted Child Quarterly, 47, 219-238 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Natriello, G., Pallas, A., & Alexander, K. (1989). On the right track? Curriculum and academic achievement . Sociology of Education, 62, 109-118 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Noble, K.D., Arndt, T., Nicholson, T., Sletten, T., & Zamora, A. (1999). Different strokes: Perceptions of social and emotional development among early college entrants . Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 10, 77-84 .
  • Noble, K.D., & Drummond, J.E. (1992). But what about the prom? Students' perceptions of early college entrants. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 36, 106-111 .
  • Noble, K.D., Robinson, N.M., & Gunderson, S. (1993). All rivers lead to the sea: A follow-up study of young adults . Roeper Review, 15, 124-129 .
  • Noble, L.D., & Smyth, R.K. (1995). Keeping their talents alive: Young women's assessment of radical, post-secondary acceleration . Roeper Review, 18, 49-55 .
  • Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press .
  • Oakes, J. (1989). What educational indicators? The case for assessing the school context . Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11, 181-199 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Olenchak, R. (1995). Effects of enrichment on gifted/learning disabled . Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 18, 385-399 .[Web of Science]
  • Olszewski-Kubilius, P. (1995). A summary of research regarding early entry to college . Roeper Review, 18, 121-125 .
  • Olszewski-Kubilius, P., & Grant, B. (1996). Academically talented women and mathematics: The role of special programs and support from others in acceleration, achievement, and aspiration. In K. D. Noble & R. F. Subotnik (Eds.), Remarkable women: Perspectives on female talent development (pp. 281-294). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton .
  • Plucker, J.A., Robinson, N.M., Greenspon, T.S., Feldhusen, J.F., McCoach, B., & Subotnik, R.R. (2004). It's not how the pond makes you feel, but rather how high you can jump . American Psychologist, 59, 268-269 .[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Plucker, J.A., & Taylor, J.W.V. (1998). Too much too soon? The non-radical advanced grade placement and the self-concept of gifted students . Gifted Education International, 13, 121-135 .
  • Pollins, L.D. (1983). The effects of acceleration on the social and emotional development of gifted students. In C. P. Benbow & J. C. Stanley (Eds.), Academic precocity: Aspects of its development (pp. 160-178). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press .
  • Pool, H., & Page, J.A. (1995). Beyond tracking. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation .
  • Prado, T.M., & Scheibel, W. (1995). Grade skipping: Some German experiences . European Journal of High Ability, 6(1), 60-72 .[CrossRef]
  • Proctor, T.B., Black, K.N., & Feldhusen, J.F. (1986). Early admission of selected children to elementary school: A review of the research literature . Journal of Educational Research, 80, 70-76 .[Web of Science]
  • Richardson, T.M., & Benbow, C.P. (1990). Long-term effects of acceleration on the social-emotional adjustment of mathematically precocious youths . Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 464-470 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Robinson, N.M. (2004). Effects of academic acceleration on the social-emotional status of gifted students . In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students (pp. 59-67 ). Iowa City, IA: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development .
  • Robinson, N.M., & Janos, P.M. (1986). Psychological adjustment in a college-level program of marked academic acceleration . Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 15, 51-60 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Rogers, K. (1992). A best-evidence synthesis of research on acceleration options for gifted students . In N. Colangelo, S. G. Assouline, & D. L. Ambroson (Eds.), Talent development: Proceedings of the 1991 Henry B. and Jocelyn Wallace National Research Symposium on Talent Development (pp. 406-409). Unionville, NY: Trillium Press.
  • Rogers, K. (1993). Grouping the gifted and talented: Questions and answers . Roeper Review, 16, 8-12 .
  • Rogers, K. (2004). The academic effects of acceleration. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students (pp. 47-57). Iowa City, IA: The Belin Blank Center Gifted Education and Talent Development.
  • Rosenbaum, J.E. (1980). Social implications of educational grouping . Review of Research in Education, 8, 361-401 .[Free Full Text]
  • Sayler, M.F., & Brookshire, W.K. (1993). Social, emotional, and behavioral adjustment of accelerated students, students in gifted classes, and regular students in eighth grade . Gifted Child Quarterly, 37, 150-154 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Shields, C.M. (1995). A comparison study of student attitudes and perceptions in homogenous and heterogenous classrooms . Roeper Review, 17, 234-238 .
  • Slavin, R.E. (1986). Best evidence synthesis: An alternative to meta-analytical and traditional reviews . Educational Researcher, 9(15), 5-11 .
  • Slavin, R.E. (1987). Ability grouping: A best-evidence synthesis . Review of Educational Research, 57, 293-336 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Slavin, R.E. (1990). Achievement effects of ability grouping in secondary schools: A best-evidence synthesis . Review of Educational Research, 60, 471-499 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Southern, W. T., & Jones, E. D. (Eds.). (1991). The academic acceleration of gifted children. New York: Teachers College Press .
  • Southern, W.T., Jones, E.D., & Fiscus, E.D. (1989). Practitioner objections to the academic acceleration of gifted children . Gifted Child Quarterly, 33, 29-35 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Stanley, J.C., Slotnik, A., & Cargain, M.J. (1996). Educational trajectories: Radical accelerates provide insights. Gifted Child Today, 19, 205-209 .
  • Starko, A.J. (1988). Effects of the Revolving Door Identification Model on creative productivity and self-efficacy . Gifted Child Quarterly, 32, 291-297 .[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  • Sternberg, R. (1999). The theory of successful intelligence. Review of General Psychology, 3, 292-316 .
  • Swiatek, M.A. (1993). A decade of longitudinal research on academic acceleration through the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth . Roeper Review, 15, 120-124 .
  • Swiatek, M.A., & Benbow, C.P. (1991). Ten-year longitudinal follow-up of ability-matched accelerated and unaccelerated gifted students . Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 528-538 .[CrossRef][Web of Science]
  • Thomas, T.A. (1987). CSU's academic talent search follow-up report: After the first four years . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington, D.C. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 287 253).
  • Thomas, T.A. (1993). The achievement and social adjustment of accelerated students: The impact of academic talent search after seven years. Sacramento, CA: California State University .
  • Vaughn, V.L., Feldhusen, J.F., & Asher, J.W. (1991). Meta-analyses and review of research on pull-out programs in gifted education . Gifted Child Quarterly, 35, 91-98 .
  • Worcester, D.A. (1956). The education of children of above-average mentality. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press .
  • Zeidner, M., & Schleyer, E.J. (1999). The big-fish-little-pond effect for academic self-concept, test anxiety, and school grades in gifted children . Contemporary Educational Psychology, 24, 305-329 .[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
  • Zentall, S.S., Moon, S.M., Hall, A.M., & Grskovic, J.A. (2001). Learning and motivational characteristics of boys with AD/HD and/or giftedness. A multiple case study . Exceptional Children, 67, 499-519 .[Web of Science]

Gifted Child Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4, 330-341 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0016986207306319
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?



This Article
Right arrow Abstract Freely available
Right arrow Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Neihart, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?