Gifted and Talented Program

How It Works

Approximately 3.7 million students in the United States, about 7% of the K-12 population, participate in gifted and talented programs, though identification rates vary enormously by state, district, race, and socioeconomic status. There is no federal mandate requiring gifted education, so services vary widely. Some states mandate gifted identification and services, while others leave it entirely to local districts. Gifted programs typically take one of several forms: self-contained gifted classrooms (where identified students spend the entire day together), pullout programs (students leave their regular classroom for enrichment activities several hours per week), cluster grouping (gifted students are grouped within a regular classroom), or acceleration (grade skipping, subject-based acceleration, or early entrance). Identification is one of the most contentious aspects of gifted education. Traditional identification relies heavily on IQ and achievement tests, which consistently over-identify white and Asian students and under-identify Black, Hispanic, and low-income students. Some districts have moved to universal screening and local norms to improve equity in gifted identification. On OpenSchoolData, gifted program availability is noted in school profiles when reported in NCES data. Schools that offer gifted services provide additional academic opportunities for high-performing students, which enriches the school's overall academic environment.

Related Terms

• Advanced Placement (AP), College-level courses offered in high schools through the College Board, allowing students to earn college credit by passing a standardized AP exam scored on a 1-5 scale.
• Magnet School, A public school with a specialized curriculum or theme, such as STEM, performing arts, or International Baccalaureate, designed to attract students from across a district or region regardless of neighborhood attendance zones.
• Achievement Gap, Persistent differences in academic performance between student groups defined by race, ethnicity, income, disability status, or English proficiency, one of the most studied problems in American education.
• College Readiness, The level of academic preparation a student needs to succeed in credit-bearing college coursework without remediation, typically measured by SAT/ACT scores, AP participation, and course rigor.