Does Gifted Program Participation Improve Achievement and Nonachievement Outcomes?

• In Event: On the Road to Equity: Studies of the Impact and Influences of Education Policy

Abstract

Growing concerns about inequitable access have made public investment in gifted programs controversial in many school districts, yet advocates maintain that gifted services provide necessary enrichment for exceptional students to succeed at school. We test whether gifted program participation indeed benefits elementary students’ achievement and nonachievement outcomes using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 2010-2011 kindergarten cohort. Leveraging within-school and within-student comparisons, we find that participating in a school’s gifted program improves reading and math achievement for the average student, though effects are small. We find no effects of participation on student absences, reported engagement with school, or student mobility. Black and low-income students do not see the academic gains that their peers experience from gifted services.

Authors

• Christopher Redding, University of Florida

• Jason A. Grissom, Vanderbilt University