Volume 21 ✤ Number 2 ✤ Winter 2010 ✤ pp. 180–203

Guidelines forDeveloping an
Academic Acceleration
PolicyNational Work Group on Acceleration
Nicholas Colangelo, Chair
Susan G. Assouline
Maureen A. Marron
Representing the Belin-Blank Center Institute for
Research and Policy on Acceleration (IRPA)

Jaime A. Castellano
Pamela R. Clinkenbeard
Karen Rogers
Representing the National Association for Gifted ChildrenhEric Calvert
Rosanne Malek
Donnajo Smith

Representing the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted

High-ability students have unique academic, cognitive, and social
needs. Many bright students need more academic challenge
than they are receiving in their education, and they need more
opportunities to develop their talent. Yet many states and school
districts have no formal policies that address the desirability ofacceleration or specify the procedures to be followed in making decisions about acceleration for particular students. Absenceof a formal policy might invite inconsistent practices that could180

Copyright © 2010 Prufrock Press, P.o. Box 8813, Waco, TX 76714

As an educational intervention, academic acceleration is decidedly
effective for high-ability students. The research support for accelerationthat has accumulated over many decades is robust and consistent andallows us to confidently state that carefully planned acceleration decisions are successful. Both grade-based and content-based acceleration
are effective interventions in academic and social-emotional domains forhigh-ability students. Grade-accelerated students generally outperformtheir chronologically older classmates academically, and both groups
show approximately equal levels of social and emotional adjustment.

grade peers, at a high level that is generally comparable to their performance in the previous grade. Such students are typically among the top
10% in a class, and they should be expected to remain in the top 10%
throughout their academic careers. To be clear, there is no evidence that
acceleration has a negative effect on a student’s social-emotional development. Each school district should have a written acceleration policy
stating that acceleration is an appropriate and effective intervention for
select highly able students who have demonstrated high performancein one or more academic areas. The policy should be characterized
by accessibility, equity, and openness. It should provide guidelines forthe implementation of acceleration, including administrative matters, toensure fair and systematic use of accelerative opportunities and recognition for participation in those accelerative opportunities. Finally, the policy
should provide guidelines for preventing nonacademic barriers to the useof acceleration as an educational intervention and include features thatprevent unintended consequences of acceleration.
Colangelo, N., Assouline, S. G., Marron, M. A., Castellano, J. A., Clinkenbeard, P. R.,
Rogers, K., . . . Smith, D. (2010). Guidelines for developing an academic acceleration
policy. Journal of Advanced Academics, 21, 180–203.

summary

Accelerated students should be expected to achieve, relative to their new

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even discourage acceleration, as is the case when early entrance
to kindergarten, early high school graduation, or whole-grade
acceleration are explicitly prohibited. The existence of an acceleration policy helps to ensure that students have their academic
needs addressed.
Acceleration is “progress through an educational program at
rates faster or at ages younger than conventional” (Pressey, 1949,
p. 2). In a position paper, the National Association for GiftedChildren (NAGC, 2004) added nuances to the definition ofacceleration: “allowing a student to move through traditional
educational organizations more rapidly, based on readiness andmotivation” (p. 1).
Academic acceleration is an empirically validated educational
intervention for high-ability students (Colangelo, Assouline, &Gross, 2004). The research consistently demonstrates the academic benefits to students and allows the conclusion that students are not negatively affected in the social-emotional domains.
An acceleration policy is a means to guide individual districts in implementing acceleration practices. A policy must promote awareness and adoption of sound accelerative practices. The
research-based guidelines for developing an academic acceleration policy proposed here can serve as a concrete tool to guidepolicy makers, school administrators, and educators to create or
modify policies at the state and/or school district levels.
Many schools have policies relating to gifted education thatspecify how to identify and serve gifted students and how to evaluate gifted education programs. However, gifted education policies don’t necessarily specify how to identify and serve students
for acceleration; in fact, some policies inadvertently endorse anenrichment approach to serving gifted students and thus acceleration is not presented as an option. An acceleration policy andrecommendations for acceleration are not intended to take theplace of enrichment opportunities. Some students will be served
best by enrichment, some by acceleration, and some by a mix ofthe two (Neihart, 2007; Rogers, 2002; Schiever & Maker, 2003).
The policy should complement existing gifted and talented programming and services. Acceleration is not a replacement for
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gifted education services or programs. Rather, acceleration (andan acceleration policy) contributes to a broad, comprehensive
gifted and talented program.
Whether the acceleration policy stands alone or is incorporated into the gifted education policy, it should clearly statethat participation in a school’s gifted education program is nota prerequisite for consideration of acceleration as an educational
intervention. Some schools may not have a gifted and talented
program. It is also possible that a student might not qualify fora school’s gifted and talented program because he or she did not
obtain a qualifying composite score. Students with an uneven
profile of achievement scores (significantly advanced in one area
but not others) are not likely to obtain a qualifying score but may
be served well by content acceleration in their area(s) of strength.

Categories, Forms, andTypes of Acceleration
Acceleration is a broad term that encompasses many accelerative options. To help organize these options and encourage acommon vocabulary for discussing them, we have classified theaccelerative options into categories, forms, and types.
Categories are the broadest and most encompassing levelof classification. The two broad categories of acceleration arecontent-based and grade-based (Colangelo et al., 2004; Rogers,
2004). The primary distinguishing feature between content-based
acceleration and grade-based acceleration is whether the accelerative intervention shortens the number of years that a student
spends in the K–12 system.
The categories of acceleration have specific forms, or waysof varying the level, pace, and complexity of the curriculum.
For example, single-subject acceleration, dual enrollment, andAdvanced Placement coursework are all forms of content-based
acceleration. Whole-grade acceleration and early entrance toschool are forms of grade-based acceleration.

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Some forms of acceleration have an additional level of specification, which is the type. Types are specific variations of practicing a particular form of acceleration. For example, single-subject
acceleration (form) can be implemented by providing advanced
content to an elementary student in a middle school or highschool classroom (types).

Framework for Acceleration Options
Content-based acceleration. These strategies provide students with advanced content, skills, or understandings before theexpected age or grade level (Southern & Jones, 2004b). Students
typically remain with peers of the same age and grade for mostof the school day but receive higher grade-level instruction inan advanced grade. Content-based acceleration can also refer toallowing a student to work on higher grade-level instruction in
his regular classroom in lieu of grade-level instruction.
Examples of the forms (and types) of content-based acceleration. The forms of content-based acceleration include single-subject acceleration, curriculum compacting, dual enrollment, credit
by examination or prior experience, Advanced Placement andInternational Baccalaureate programs, and talent search programs.
Single-subject acceleration. Single-subject acceleration includes
many types, which include:• A third-grade student performing above grade level in reading and math goes to a fourth-grade teacher every morningfor instruction in these subjects and returns to the thirdgrade classroom for instruction in other subject areas.
• A musically gifted sixth-grade student is enrolled in a highschool instrumental music course and returns to the sixthgrade classroom for instruction in other subject areas.
• A group of fifth-grade students performing above gradelevel in math is transported to a junior high building
every morning for a seventh-grade pre-algebra class. The
students are transported back to the elementary schoolbuilding for instruction with their fifth-grade classmates
for the remainder of the day.
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A high school math teacher travels to a middle school toprovide instruction to a group of middle school students
who perform above grade level in math. The students
remain with their classmates for the rest of the day, andthe teacher returns to the high school building.

Curriculum compacting. A student is preassessed to determine
whether grade-level proficiency in a specific academic area has
been achieved. The student then engages in advanced content andskills development in that “compacted” or another area, typicallywhile remaining in the regular classroom.
Dual enrollment. The school system allows advanced students
to enroll in higher level coursework when proficiency at gradelevel has been demonstrated. For example, the middle school
student takes a high school math course, or the advanced highschool history student takes a university history course during
the school day.
Credit by examination or prior experience. A student’s instruction entails reduced amounts of introductory activities, drill, andpractice, based on preassessment of the student’s mastery of theintended curricular standards. The school allows an advanced student to demonstrate proficiency in a course or year of curriculum in an academic area based on an end-of-unit or end-of-year
test or by reviewing the student’s portfolio of work in the academic area. The student is then allowed to pursue more advanced
coursework in that area.
Advanced Placement (AP). The AP program offers collegelevel coursework for students as early as middle school. AP exams
allow students to earn university credit and/or advanced university standing based on the examination score.
International Baccalaureate (IB). Advanced students may participate in the IB program, taking the corresponding universitylevel curricula. At the end of high school, the students complete
an international examination, receiving advanced standing andcourse credits upon matriculation to university.
Grade-based acceleration. These strategies typically shorten
the number of years a student spends in the K–12 system. In prac-

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tice, a student is placed in a higher grade level than is typical given
the student’s age on a full-time basis for the purpose of providing
access to appropriately challenging learning opportunities. Gradebased acceleration is commonly known as “grade skipping,” butit can include other means to shorten the number of years a student remains in the K–12 school system (Rogers, 2004; Southern& Jones, 2004b). The exception is early entrance to kindergarten,which does not shorten the number of years the student spends inthe K–12 system but shortens the wait time to start school.
Examples of the forms (and types) of grade-based acceleration.
The forms of grade-based acceleration include early entrance toschool, whole-grade acceleration (“grade skipping”), grade telescoping, and early entrance to college.
Early entrance to school. The main type of early entrance toschool is early entrance to kindergarten. However, in some districts, it is possible for students to skip kindergarten and enter first
grade at a younger than typical age. An example is a child who canread independently and is socially similar to typical 5-year-olds isadmitted to kindergarten, even though the child’s fifth birthday
won’t be until the end of the school year. This intervention shortens the waiting time for a student to start school, and in this regard
is a similar form of acceleration to early entrance to college.
Whole-grade acceleration. One type of whole-grade acceleration occurs when a first grader, who has completed first grade,is placed in a third-grade classroom (rather than a second gradeclassroom) on a full-time basis at the beginning of the next school
year. Another type occurs when a fifth-grade student completes
the fall semester and is placed in the sixth grade at the start ofthe second semester of the same school year.
Grade telescoping. A group of advanced students is accelerated through more than one year’s curriculum in one year in allacademic areas, such that 3 years’ curriculum are completed in 2
years’ time, or if at high school, 4 years are completed in 3 years’
time. Students fulfill credit requirements and graduate early.
Early entrance to college. There are multiple ways that students
can be admitted to college early. These types of early entrance tocollege include, but are not limited to:
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An advanced student is granted a diploma after spending
only five semesters in high school by accumulating credits on an accelerated basis through dual credit coursework taken while in middle school and by satisfying
some high school graduation requirements by completing “educational options” rather than traditional courses.
The student then enrolls in college as a full-time student.
An advanced student leaves high school without the traditional diploma and enters a full-time university degree
program.
The student can participate in an early entrance to college program.

Research Support for Acceleration
As an educational intervention, acceleration is decidedly
effective for high-ability students. The research support for
acceleration that has accumulated over many decades is robust
and consistent and allows us to state confidently that carefullyplanned acceleration decisions are successful.
Both grade-based and content-based acceleration are effective interventions in academic and social-emotional domains
for high-ability students. Grade-accelerated students generally
out-perform their chronologically older classmates academically,and both groups show approximately equal levels of social andemotional adjustment (Assouline et al., 2003; Colangelo et al.,
2004; Kulik, 2004; Kulik & Kulik, 1992; Lipscomb, 2003; Sayler& Brookshire, 1993; Southern & Jones, 1991). To be clear, there
is no evidence that acceleration has a negative effect on a student’ssocial-emotional development.
Some educators are reluctant to accelerate a student because
they are concerned about long-term outcomes. However, longitudinal research has demonstrated that accelerants attain advanced
degrees, produce scholarly works, and contribute professionallyat rates well above societal baselines (Lubinski, Benbow, Webb,& Bleske-Rechek, 2006; Lubinski, Webb, Morelock, & Benbow,
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2001). In follow-up interviews, the students indicated they wishedthey would have had more acceleration opportunities while in the
K–12 setting (Lubinski et al., 2006; Lubinski et al., 2001).
The review of acceleration research presented in A Nation
Deceived (Colangelo et al., 2004) provides the necessary supporting evidence for our recommendations for developing an acceleration policy.

Recommended Elements ofan Acceleration Policy
Each school district should have a written acceleration policy
stating that acceleration is an appropriate and effective intervention for select highly able students who have demonstrated highperformance in one or more academic areas. In this section, we
recommend 17 elements in five key areas that can help schools
develop a comprehensive, consistent, and research-based policy.
The National Work Group on Acceleration recognizes thatinconsistencies may exist between the guidelines we offer for
acceleration policy development and existing state or local policies. One salient example is early entrance to kindergarten. The
National Work Group on Acceleration suggests that highly able
young children be considered for referral for early admission tokindergarten. Yet 13 states (and many local districts) have policies
that do not permit this form of acceleration. We recommend thatthese discrepancies be addressed in conversations between therelevant stakeholders, keeping in mind the best interests of thechild and the research evidence. Education policies are malleable,and policy makers should be open to the dynamic evolution ofpolicies to best serve students.

Elements of an Acceleration Policy
This section provides guidelines in five key areas for components of an acceleration policy.

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The policy is characterized by accessibility, equity, andopenness. Specific recommended elements of a policy to meet
accessibility, equity, and openness criteria include the following:• Access to referral for consideration of acceleration is open to
all students. A policy should not limit access to referralfor consideration of accelerative curricular modification
based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability status, socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, or schoolbuilding attended. The policy shall be applied equitably
and systematically to students referred for acceleration.
• All student populations are served. The acceleration policy
should be comprehensive in addressing acceleration for all
grades, K–12, and all students who demonstrate advanced
academic ability in one or more content areas, including
students who are English language learners (ELL),1 atrisk, of low socioeconomic status, profoundly gifted, and/or twice-exceptional. Profoundly gifted students are those
whose ability scores place them at the highest percentiles.
Because these students are so rare, they require special
attention when discussing appropriate educational interventions. Twice-exceptional students are those who are
gifted and who have a cognitive, social, or behavioral disability; they, too, require special attention.
• Student evaluation is fair, objective, and systematic. A fair,
objective, and systematic evaluation of the student should
be conducted using the appropriate instruments for theform of acceleration being considered. When evaluating English language learners, appropriate instruments
should include those in the student’s heritage language.2• Parents or guardian(s) are allowed open communication
about the policy and procedures. Written consent is required
from parents or legal guardian(s) in order to evaluate thereferred student for possible acceleration placement. All
students who have been referred, and for whom consent
has been obtained, should receive an evaluation fromprofessionals in the district. Parents or legal guardian(s)should be informed of the evaluation results in a timely

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manner (we recommend within 10 days). A comprehensive written plan for the acceleration of recommended
students should be developed, a copy of which should be
provided to the student’s parents or legal guardian(s).
The community has ready access to the policy document andprocedure guidelines. Community access includes making
the policy available in the language(s) served by the school.
The acceleration policy and procedures must be easily accessible to the community. The acceleration policy
and referral forms should be available upon request in
the language(s) served by the school. Parents should
receive this information in writing and in their heritage
language. The administration and school staff should be
instructed on an annual basis to assist the parents andstudents with the referral process.

The policy provides guidelines for the implementation ofacceleration. Specific recommended elements of a policy thatprovides guidelines for the practice of acceleration include:• The categories, forms, and types (where appropriate) of acceleration
are specified. The two categories of acceleration, grade-basedand content-based, their specific forms (e.g., telescoping, curriculum compacting), and types (where appropriate) shouldbe part of a school’s acceleration policy.3• The entire process to obtain acceleration services is detailed
in the policy. The process of implementing acceleration
includes referral and screening, assessment and decision
making, and planning.
• Acceleration decisions should be made by child study teams, notindividuals. An acceleration policy should be informed byresearch-based best practices, not personal opinions oranecdotal evidence. A common impediment to acceleration occurs when acceleration decisions are made by one
person, a gatekeeper, who may harbor negative personalviews about acceleration (Southern & Jones, 2004a). A
child study team, which should include experts in giftededucation, should consider individual acceleration cases,
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and with the use of valid and reliable instruments to guidethe discussion, decide on the form of acceleration needed.
The child study team creates a “Written Acceleration Plan.” Thechild study team should appoint a staff member of the school
to oversee and aid in the implementation of the “Written
Acceleration Plan.” The district should retain a copy of thestudent’s plan to help assure that future opportunities specified in the plan are provided and that the student does not
run into obstacles in subsequent years of school (such as
when a student who is accelerated by continuous progress
requires curriculum from two different schools).
The policy specifies that the acceleration process include a monitored transition period within which decisions can be reversed.
If a student is recommended for accelerated placement,
the child study team should establish an appropriate transition period. We recommend that the student’s transition
be evaluated no later than 30 days after the placement,
and sooner if there are concerns about the placement. A
staff member of the school should monitor the student’s
adjustment during the transition period.
Within the time specified for the transition period,
the parent or legal guardian may request in writing analternative placement. The administrator should bringsuch proposals before the decision-making team, whowill be responsible for issuing a decision within a specified number of days (we recommend a decision within
10 days) of receiving the request. If the acceleration planis modified, the “Written Acceleration Plan” should be
updated. During this time, the parent or legal guardian(s)may request, in writing, the discontinuation of the acceleration program without any repercussions.

The policy provides guidelines on administrative matters toensure fair and systematic use of accelerative opportunities andrecognition for participation in those accelerative opportunities. Specific recommended elements of a policy that provides
guidelines on administrative matters include the following:

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•

•

•

192

Short-term needs are addressed. An acceleration policy
should provide guidance for issues in the short term,
which include, but are not limited to:o specifying which grade level state achievement
test the student should take, ando allowing for flexible transportation arrangements
should a student need to travel between buildings.
Long-term needs are addressed. An acceleration policy
should provide guidance for issues in the long term,
which include, but are not limited to:o providing guidance throughout K–12 to makesure that students will be allowed to maintaintheir accelerated standing,o working with the district to discuss distance learning options,o indicating accelerated coursework on a student’s
transcript, ando determining the student’s class rank.
The process of awarding credit to students is specified. There
are multiple considerations when specifying how students
will be awarded credit, including:o whether a middle school student receives middle
school credit for courses taken at the high school(or college level),o whether a high school student receives high school
credit for courses taken at the college level, ando whether a student receives credit for demonstration of subject-area competency outside of or in
combination with completing hours of classroom
instruction. Alternative credit pathways may
include, but are not limited to:a. “Testing out” of a course or part of a course byattaining an established minimum score on an
approved assessment instrument;b. Demonstrating prior mastery through thepresentation of a portfolio of relevant student
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National Work Group on Accelerationc. Successfully completing a program of independent study based on an approved learning
contract; andd. Successfully completing a flexibly paced distance learning program addressing content
comparable to the traditional course.
The policy provides guidelines for preventing nonacademic
barriers to the use of acceleration as an educational intervention. Specific recommended elements of a policy that provides
guidelines for preventing nonacademic barriers to the use ofacceleration include the following:• Extracurricular opportunities, especially interscholastic sports
opportunities, should not be withheld or denied to students who
are accelerated. For example, a middle school student who
receives high school credit should not have any reductionof sports eligibility. We recommend that a conversation
be initiated between gifted education experts in the areaof acceleration and the governing board for interscholastic activities to review the impact of the current rules andpolicies on students participating in content acceleration.
• Use of acceleration should not negatively affect school funding. The appropriate agency should review school funding formulae to identify benefits and disincentives toappropriate use of academic acceleration.
The policy includes features that prevent unintended consequences. Specific desirable elements of a policy that proactively
works to prevent unintended consequences include the following:• An appeals process should be specified for decisions made atany step during the process. An appeals process, including
procedures for appealing decisions and the time limitations on starting an appeal, should be specified. We recommend that the appeals process is specified in writing
and accessible.
• The acceleration policy should be regularly evaluated on its effectiveness. The acceleration policy should include recommen-

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dations for how to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy
itself and its effectiveness in successfully accelerating students. The policy should provide recommendations for the
point at which the policy’s effectiveness is evaluated (e.g., acommittee should be convened once a year to review success of the policy as well as unintentional barriers to theuse of acceleration; see the Appendix for a checklist of therecommended elements of an academic acceleration policy).

Implementing Acceleration
The National Work Group on Acceleration recommends
that an acceleration policy provides guidance on implementing
acceleration and supports the use of objective and comprehensive
decision-making instruments. We provide guidelines for implementing acceleration from the Iowa Acceleration Scale (3rd ed.;IAS-3; Assouline Colangelo, Lupkowski-Shoplik, Lipscomb,& Forstadt, 2009), a guide for making decisions about gradebased acceleration. The suggestions we offer for implementing
acceleration come from or are largely influenced by the IAS-3
Manual. The recommended elements of an acceleration policy
can be broken down into three broad areas: referral and screening,assessment and decision making, and planning. Implementation
procedures shall not disproportionally limit access to accelerative
curricular modification based on gender, race, ethnicity, disability status (including twice-exceptionality), socioeconomic status,
English language proficiency, or school building attended.

Referral and Screening
Referral for acceleration is a separate process from referral to aschool’s gifted program. Students who are referred for acceleration
will not necessarily be part of a school’s gifted and talented program because the school may not have a gifted and talented program, or the student may not qualify for the program if the school
uses composite test scores for acceptance into the gifted program.
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Students who should be considered for evaluation for academic acceleration can be referred to a school administrator by any
source, including but not limited to the student, teachers, administrators, school psychologists, school counselors, parents, and otherstudents. Referral should be open to many sources so that one person does not serve as the gatekeeper for referral recommendations.
Students scoring at or above predetermined levels (e.g., the95th percentile) on regularly administered state norm-referenced
tests should be automatically referred for consideration for acceleration. The student’s score profile, rather than the composite
score, should be considered, so as not to bias the procedure against
students who have an uneven pattern of scores and who are likely
candidates for subject-matter acceleration.
The screening procedure should be applied equitably and systematically to all referred students. If, after a clear explanationof the advantages and disadvantages of acceleration, the student
expresses that he or she is not interested in acceleration, then theprocess should not proceed further. The possibility of consideration for referral for acceleration should be possible at a later date.
Candidates for early entrance to kindergarten are typicallywithin one year of the cut-off age recommended by state policy(Colangelo, Assouline, & Lupkowski-Shoplik, 2004). Brightyoung children who are ready for more academic challenge but
are not necessarily ready for success in a school system might
consider alternative or nontraditional school settings. A preschool
teacher well-informed about gifted education issues might beable to meet the needs of such a student. An assessment by apsychologist may provide useful strategies for the student andfamily (although not all schools accept results from assessments
by independent psychologists).
Ideally, a student will be assessed for acceleration in thespring, and, if recommended, participate in appropriate transition
activities prior to placement in the advanced grade or content at
the beginning of the next school year. The needs of the student
should dictate when acceleration decisions are considered. Local
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the school year or second semester an acceleration referral andevaluation should be made.

Assessment and Decision Making
School districts are expected to conduct a fair, objective,
and systematic assessment of the student using the appropriate
instruments for the type of acceleration being considered for the
student. When assessing English language learners, appropriate
instruments may include those in the student’s heritage language.
The district should take care to ensure that assessment instruments are valid and reliable, and that the instruments measure thefactors related to success with acceleration. Inability to pay for
any tests related to the evaluation, such as ability tests conductedby an independent psychologist, should not exclude families or
students from consideration. Indeed, it is precisely because somestudents are at risk of exclusion for consideration of accelerationthat an objective policy should be implemented.
A child study team should consider cases of whole-grade
acceleration and use valid and reliable instruments to guide thediscussion and decide on placement. In an ideal child study team,at least one person is familiar with the research and best practices of gifted education and acceleration. A representative withexpertise in language acquisition should be a team member toguide placement decisions when the student is an ELL. A representative with expertise in twice-exceptionality should be a teammember to guide placement decisions when the student is twiceexceptional. The issue of assembling a child study team should not
become a burden, nor should acceleration decisions be delayed
if a team is unable to have all recommended members present,
although a process for obtaining input from team members who
cannot be present should be in place.
The school administrator should convene the team comprisedof the following people, if possible, to discuss whole grade acceleration for a student:• administrator,• parents or guardians,
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

current teacher,receiving teacher(s) (the teacher(s) from the next grade),talented and gifted teacher,school psychologist,
school counselor,a representative with expertise in language acquisition
when the student is an English language learner,a representative with expertise in twice-exceptionality
when the student is twice-exceptional, andany other parties who may have knowledge beneficial tothe decision-making process.

As part of the information gathering stage, the student being
considered for acceleration can be consulted, depending on thestudent’s age and willingness to participate. (The student should
not participate in the child study team’s discussion of the student.)
A child study team also should be assembled to consider casesof content-based acceleration. Because content-based acceleration does not involve a student’s full-time placement with older
classmates, there may be fewer concerns about social and emotional development. Because of the less extreme nature of content
acceleration, the child study team need not be made up of as
many members as the team assembled for discussions of wholegrade acceleration. Members of a child study team for content
acceleration should include the current content-area teacher, thereceiving teacher for the content area, the parent, the student, andpossibly other teachers and/or a school counselor to assist withinitial adjustment issues.

Planning
A comprehensive written plan for the decision should be
developed and provided to the parent or legal guardian of thestudent. The child study team should appoint a staff member ofthe school to oversee and aid in the implementation of the written acceleration plan and the transition process.

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The child study team should establish an appropriate transition period for the accelerated placement. We recommend thatthe student’s transition be evaluated no later than 30 days after
the placement, and sooner if necessary.
During this time, the parent or legal guardian may request, inwriting, the discontinuation of the acceleration program without
any repercussions. Within the time specified for the transition
period, the parent or legal guardian may request an alternative
placement in writing. The administrator should bring such proposals before the decision-making team, which will be responsible for issuing a decision within a specified number of days (werecommend 10 days) of receiving the request. If the acceleration
plan is modified, the written plan should be modified accordingly
and a new transition period determined.
The accelerated placement of the student should become permanent at the end of the transition period. Once the plan becomespermanent it should be entered into the student’s permanent record.

Policy Evaluation Factors
One factor in the evaluation of the policy might include anassessment of the accelerated student’s academic performance.
Research demonstrates that whole-grade accelerated students
typically score above the mean, and often score well above themean, in the accelerated grade level, meaning that the accelerated student is outperforming older peers (Assouline et al., 2003;
Wells, Lohman, & Marron, 2009).
The expectation for the student’s long-term academic successis discussed by Assouline et al. (2009):
Accelerated students should be expected to achieve, relative to their new grade peers, at a high level that is generally comparable to their performance in the previous
grade. Such students are typically among the top 10% in
a class, and they should be expected to remain in the top
10% throughout their academic careers. The difference,
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following acceleration, is that these students will likely
find it more of a challenge to attain a similar level of
excellence. (p. 5)
A second factor in the evaluation should include the student’ssocial and behavioral adjustment. Acceleration may attenuatesocial and behavioral issues for some students, but acceleration is
not a panacea. Acceleration should either have a positive impact
on social and behavioral adjustment or maintain the student’s
same level of (appropriate) social and behavioral adjustment.
Acceleration should not negatively impact social and behavioral
adjustment. Receiving teachers should help identify likely peers
for the incoming student, and counselors should provide support
in study skills and social coping when necessary.
A third factor to consider is the dosage of acceleration: Does
the accelerated setting provide enough academic challenge forstudents? A few students may need an additional year of acceleration. Some students will need content acceleration to provide
curriculum beyond what is offered in the accelerated setting.
Therefore, if the level of acceleration is not sufficient, the policy
needs to allow for the consideration of additional acceleration.

Concluding Comments
The members of the National Work Group on Acceleration
developed this document to assist schools in writing and modifying an acceleration policy that adheres to research-based bestpractices and is suited to local needs. These guidelines for policy
development should encourage the systematic adoption and practice of acceleration in schools across the nation.
There are many barriers to acceleration, some of which wehave reviewed in this document. For example, some states andlocal education agencies have absolute age requirements forentering school. Others have curriculum requirements tied to
specific grade levels or prerequisites for certain courses/programs that are so specific in policy that they tie educators’ hands.
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Additionally, colleges and universities may present barriers byarbitrarily limiting participation of accelerated students in dual
enrollment programs. In some states, students aren’t allowed totake a state graduation test until the spring of the sophomore
year. In these states, colleges and universities require students
to have passed the graduation test before enrolling in their dual
enrollment programs. In effect, this locks students out of collegelevel courses until their junior year. When these barriers can beremoved, students are in a better position to receive the educational opportunities and experiences necessary for their personal
and academic growth.

References
Assouline, S. G., Colangelo, N., Ihrig, D., Forstadt, L., Lipscomb, J., &Lupkowski-Shoplik, A. E. (2003, November). The Iowa Acceleration
Scale: Two validation studies. Paper presented at the National
Association for Gifted Children Convention, Indianapolis, IN.
Assouline, S. G., Colangelo, N., Lupkowski-Shoplik, A. E., Lipscomb,
J., & Forstadt, L. (2009). The Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual (3rded.). Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.
Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Gross, M. U. M. (2004). A nation
deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vols. 1-2).
Iowa City: University of Iowa, The Connie Belin and Jacqueline
N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development.
Colangelo, N., Assouline, S., & Lupkowski-Shoplik, A. E. (2004).
Whole-grade acceleration. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. U.
M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s
brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 77–86). Iowa City: University of Iowa,
The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development.
Flannery, M. E. (2009, January/February). Born in the U.S.A. and otherthings you might not know about today’s English language learners. NEA Today, 24–29.
Kulik, J. A. (2004). Meta-analytic studies of acceleration. In N.
Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. U. M. Gross (Eds.), A nation
deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2,
pp. 13–22). Iowa City: University of Iowa, The Connie Belin &200

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Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education
and Talent Development.
Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C. C. (1992). Meta-analytic findings on grouping
programs. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 73–77.
Lipscomb, J. M. (2003). A validity study of the Iowa Acceleration Scale(Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Iowa, Iowa City,
IA.
Lubinski, D., Benbow, C. P., Webb, R. M., & Bleske-Rechek, A. (2006).
Tracking exceptional human capital over two decades. Psychological
Science, 17, 194–199.
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.
National Association for Gifted Children. (2004). Acceleration [Position
paper]. Washington, DC: Author.
Neihart, M. (2007). The socioaffective impact of acceleration and ability grouping: Recommendations for best practice. Gifted Child
Quarterly, 51, 330–341.
Pressey, S. L. (1949). Educational acceleration: Appraisals and basic problems (Ohio State University Studies, Bureau of Educational Research
Monograph No. 31). Columbus: Ohio State University Press.
Rogers, K. B. (2002). Re-forming gifted education: Matching the program
to the child. Scottsdale, AZ: Great Potential Press.
Rogers, K. B. (2004). The academic effects of acceleration. In N.
Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. U. M. Gross (Eds.), A nation
deceived: How schools hold back America’s brightest students (Vol. 2,
pp. 47–57). Iowa City: University of Iowa, The Connie Belin &Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education
and Talent Development.
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.
Schiever, S. W., & Maker, C. J. (2003). New directions in enrichment
and acceleration. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbookof gifted education (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Southern, W. T., & Jones, E. D. (Eds.). (1991). The academic accelerationof gifted children. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Southern, W. T., & Jones, E. (2004a). Acceleration in Ohio: A summaryof findings from a statewide study of district policies and practices.
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ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=964&Conten
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Southern, W. T., & Jones, E. D. (2004b). Types of acceleration:
Dimensions and issues. In N. Colangelo, S. Assouline, & M. U.
M. Gross (Eds.), A nation deceived: How schools hold back America’s
brightest students (Vol. 2, pp. 5–12). Iowa City: University of Iowa,
The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
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Wells, R., Lohman, D. F., & Marron, M. A. (2009). What factors areassociated with grade acceleration? An analysis and comparisonof two U.S. databases. Journal of Advanced Academics, 20, 248–273.

Endnotes
ELL enrollment in the United States has grown by 57%
over the past 13 years, compared with less than 4% for all otherstudent populations (Flannery, 2009). ELLs account for 10% of
the total student population, representing more than 5 million
students. There are students within this linguistically and culturally diverse group who have advanced academic achievement
and cognitive abilities that exceed those of grade and age peers.
Academic acceleration should be a highly valued program option
for the schools these students attend.
2
Some districts use a student evaluation model known as
Response to Intervention (RtI), which was developed in the late1970s as an alternative system for identifying students with learning
difficulties. RtI is based upon the premise that all students should
be screened to determine whether more intensive interventions arenecessary, and is being promoted in some districts as a means to
identify students for gifted and talented services such as acceleration.
3
The omission of guidelines for content-based accelerationin elementary and middle schools is notable. Many states haveguidelines relating to Advanced Placement (AP), dual enrollment, or other forms of acceleration at the secondary level, butthese guidelines often lack uniformity and consistency in theopportunities offered to students and ignores the concept of curriculum articulation (i.e., the necessary prerequisite coursework to
1

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enroll in AP courses). Some guidelines have unreasonable age or
grade requirements (such as not allowing students in 10th grade
or below to enroll in AP courses).

Appendix
Checklist for Developing an Academic Acceleration Policy
An ideal acceleration policy will have a “yes” answer to each question.

Is your acceleration policy characterized by accessibility, equity, and openness?

Is access to referral for consideration of acceleration open to all students regardless of gender, race,
ethnicity, disability status, socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, and school building
attended?
Are all student populations served, including ELL, at-risk, low socioeconomic status, profoundly gifted, andtwice exceptional?
Is the process of student evaluation fair, objective, and systematic?
Do parents or legal guardians have open communication with school officials about the policy document?
Does the community have access to the policy document in the languages served by the school?

Yes

No

Not sure

Yes

No

Not sure

Yes

No

Not sure

Yes

No

Not sure

Yes

No

Not sure

Are both categories of acceleration (grade-based and content-based) specified?

Yes

No

Not sure

Are the forms of acceleration (e.g., early admission to school, telescoping, AP) and types (whereappropriate) specified?
Is the process of obtaining acceleration services detailed (including referral & screening, assessment &decision making, and planning)?
Does the policy specify that child study teams, not individuals, consider acceleration cases?

Yes

No

Not sure

Yes

No

Not sure

Yes

No

Not sure

Does the policy specify the creation of a “Written Acceleration Plan”?

Yes

No

Not sure

Does the policy specify a monitored transition period?

Yes

No

Not sure

Not sure

Does your acceleration policy provide guidelines for implementing acceleration?

Does your acceleration policy provide guidelines on administrative matters?

Does the policy address short-term needs, such as…

Yes

No

•

specifying which grade-level achievement test the student should take?

Yes

No

Not sure•

clarifying transportation issues for students who need to travel between buildings?

Yes

No

Not sure•

determining the student’s class rank?

Yes

No

Not sure

Does the policy address long-term needs, such as…

Yes

No

Not sure•maintaining accelerated standing?

Yes

No

Not sure•

assigning appropriate credit for accelerated coursework?

Yes

No

Not sure•

indicating acceleration coursework on a transcript?

Yes

No

Not sure

Does the policy specify the process of awarding course credit to students?

Yes

No

Not sure

Are procedures in place to ensure participation in extracurricular activities, including sports?

Yes

No

Not sure

Have funding formulae been reviewed to prevent unintended disincentives?

Yes

No

Not sure

Is an appeals process detailed?

Yes

No

Not sure

Will the policy be regularly evaluated for its effectiveness?

Yes

No

Not sure

Does your acceleration policy provide guidelines for preventing non-academic barriers?

Does your acceleration policy include features that prevent unintended consequences?

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