The positive effects of the cluster grouping practice may be evened out over several years by rotating the cluster teacher assignment among teachers who have had gifted education training and by rotating the other students so all students eventually have a chance to be in the same class with a cluster group. If there is to be one cluster, its highly capable students are those who are consistently able to make connections between ideas that are not really obvious to others, and who display an ability for abstract thinking that is more advanced than their age peers. If there is to be more than one cluster, those highly capable in math or reading might be grouped together in separate clusters. Exceptionally gifted students should always be grouped together, since there will rarely be more than two such students in any grade level. Identification should be done each spring with the support of a teacher of the gifted or gifted program coordinator.
Cluster grouping provides an affective compliment to any gifted education program.
Gifted students need time to be together when they can just be themselves. The services of a resource teacher may be used to provide assistance to all classroom teachers in their attempts to differentiate the curriculum for gifted students. Cluster grouping may be used at all grade levels and in all subject areas. Gifted students may be clustered in one section of any class with other students of mixed ability, especially when there are not enough students to form any advanced section for a particular subject. Cluster grouping is also a welcome option in rural settings, or whenever a small number of gifted students make programming difficult.