The following is a statement from Marilyn Friend, President of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), on the release of Do High Flyers Maintain Their Altitude? Performance Trends of Top Students report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
On behalf of the three million identified students who are gifted—and the countless more who fall between the cracks of an educational system not designed to meet their needs—the Council for Exceptional Children applauds the Fordham Institute for initiating a study that follows the performance of high-achieving students over much of their educational career.
Unfortunately, this report confirms other research findings and what many of us have suspected for some time: Our nation is squandering the talent of its brightest students. Not only is this a disservice to our youth, it threatens our country’s ability to remain globally competitive.
While the report indicates that nearly three in five students identified as high-achieving in the initial year of the study remained high-achieving in the final year, it rightly points out that two in five students—or 40 percent of students who started as high achievers—slipped in their academic performance.
Current national education policy— Elementary Secondary Education Act (ESEA)/No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—has ignored the high-achieving student population and this report demonstrates the impact this neglect has had in classrooms.
The reauthorization of ESEA/NCLB is an opportunity for policymakers to correct this course by passing legislation that embraces excellence in education for every student and rejects myths that high-achieving students will succeed on their own.
The To Aid Gifted and High Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation’s Teachers Act (TALENT Act S. 857/H.R. 1674)—legislation endorsed by CEC and introduced last spring by Senators Grassley (R-Iowa) and Casey (D-Pa.) and Representatives Gallegly (R-Calif.) and Payne (D-N.J.)—confronts flaws in our current system in order to ensure that high-ability students are supported in our nation’s education policy.
Policymakers must take heed of this report and those that preceded it. Developing our talent needs to be a high priority for our country.
Click here to visit CEC’s Legislative Action Center to take action on the TALENT Act!
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