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Gifted and Talented Education

There are currently an estimated three million children with gifts and talents in the United States whose unique educational needs go largely unaddressed. By neglecting the educational needs of these students, we put our country at a disadvantage to effectively compete in the global marketplace and deprive them of an appropriate, challenging education.

Dubbed the “quiet crisis” by former Secretary of Education Richard Riley in 1993, the availability of gifted education still varies dramatically between and within states, leaving many of our nation’s schools under-prepared to meet the learning needs of these students. Unfortunately, the federal government has done little to properly address the educational needs of students with gifts and talents.

Currently, only one small federal program is dedicated to identifying and serving students with gifts and talents, the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act. With less than three cents out of every $100 of the federal K-12 education budget being devoted to our nation’s gifted and talented students in 2007, the Javits program has been chronically under-funded at levels too low to fully achieve the nationwide goal of improving gifted education in America.

CEC believes that every student should have access to a challenging education.

Resources

• Expanding the Federal Role in Gifted and Talented Education April 2012
• U.S. is Leaving Talent on the Table, Education Experts Say October 2011
  On Oct. 4, CEC co-hosted a briefing for Capitol Hill staff that focused on sagging performance of top students, achievement gaps between disadvantaged/advantaged students, and the newly introduced gifted legislation, the TALENT Act.
• The TALENT Act: Research and Resources October 2011
  This research compilation provides compelling evidence that our national education policies are inadequately addressing the needs of students with gifts and talents.
• CEC and NAGC Release Summary of the Proposed TALENT Act April 2011
  CEC has collaborated with the National Association for Gifted Children to craft a summary in support of the To Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation’s Teachers Act. This CEC-endorsed legislation would expand the nation’s focus on gifted, high-ability students, particularly those from low-income or minority backgrounds, who have been overshadowed in the U.S. education system.
• "Preparing Future Teachers to Challenge the Brightest Students": CEC Posting Published in The Hill’s “Congress Blog”
• CEC’s Gifted and Talented Legislative Update and Recommendations June 2008
• Members of Congress Voice Support for Javits Program
• CEC Urges Department of Ed Not to Ignore Needs of Students with Gifts and Talents