Digging into Disparities in Gifted Education

The Washington Post reports today that the Virginia Department of Education will study minority participation in gifted education programs in the state. As the press release notes,

Data reported by school divisions to VDOE show that while African-Americans make up 26 percent of the statewide student population, only 12 percent of students identified as gifted are black. Hispanics make up nine percent of the student population and five percent of students identified as gifted.

Racial disparities in gifted vs. regular education classes seemed obvious enough to me when I attended public schools in Virginia. One can only hope that this study will put some momentum behind addressing those disparities.

And if the Virgina DOE isn’t already planning to take a look at the state’s magnet schools, I’d recommend special attention to them in the study. While these schools provide an excellent public school option for many families, there isn’t much information right now on whether they are a realistic choice for low-income or minority students–or if they just provide another nice option for the state’s middle- and upper-income families.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Digging into Disparities in Gifted Education”

Kris Amundson says:

December 1, 2009 at 2:30 pm

Maggie Walker Governor’s School enrolls an incredibly diverse population. Thomas Jefferson, another Governor’s school, has struggled to ensure that its student body is not just affluent white kids.
Crimson Wife says:

November 23, 2009 at 1:49 pm

But aren’t the poor-but-bright students the ones most in need of decent public GATE programs? Affluent parents are typically in a position to put their kids in private schools or do supplemental education afterschool (either themselves or by tutors). Low income families are much more reliant on the public schools to provide intellectual stimulation for their kids. They can’t afford pricey private school tuition or tutoring fees and often are not able to supplement on their own either (due to lack of time and/or their own poor academic preparation).