Reply to Another reason why labeling students as being gifted is counterproductive

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Reply to "Another reason why labeling students as being gifted is counterproductive"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

To the degree "giftedness" exists, I'm not sure what public schools should be doing with it other than placing the gifteds in their appropriate classes, along with all of the other kids performing at various levels.[/quote]

That's what the whole issue is about.  Whether and how schools should be allowed to do this.  You do understand that many oppose even this, right?[/quote]

I think the word "gifted" gets in the way of the practical discussion, due to the conceptual baggage that is extraneous to in-grade ability.  If, instead, the discussion centered around placing students in classes appropriate for their level of performance, I don't see why anyone should have a problem with it, other than cost of doing it.

Those of you who like to discuss the word, "gifted," are probably hung up on the "baggage" I refer to in the sentence above, imo.[/quote]

I disagree.  It is the act of sorting by ability that many object to, particularly when it involves separate classes, whatever the words used to describe that process are.  [/quote]

I may be wrong, but my understanding of "gifted" testing is that it attempts to measure ability that is different than a high level of subject matter competency.  If I am correct about that, then it's the test that rubs a lot of people the wrong way.  I'll bet if students were placed in classes based on their subject matter performance, most folks would not have a problem with it.

IQ tests are a good comparable to our problem: Let's say someone scored a 140 on an IQ test and gets an "A" grade in AP History, while someone who scored a 110 on the IQ test could achieve the same "A" grade as the 140 in an the AP History class.  From the perspective of the educator, both students should be in the History class, but if a barrier to entry was "giftedness," the 110 IQ would not be in the class.  That disconnect strikes a lot of people as unfair, and hence they question the appropriateness of the "giftedness" discussion in public education.[/quote]

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