Acceleration

Acceleration is an academic intervention that matches the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the learner.  It involves mastering knowledge and skills at a rate faster or at an age earlier than the norm. A learner does not have to be identified gifted and talented in order to accelerate.  

Area of Giftedness

The specific ability or content area in which a learner performs or shows potential to perform at a remarkably high level of accomplishment.

Complexity

Content can be considered “complex” when it is studied in a single discipline or between and across disciplines utilizing a theme, problem, or issue; actively searching for relationships between and among ideas; examining the relationships between content areas and disciplines across time and from multiple points of view.

Depth

Content exploration can be considered “deep” when the content has been analyzed from the concrete to the abstract, and the underlying generalizations, theories, and law has been examined.  The details, patterns, trends, unanswered questions, and/or ethical considerations within a discipline should be investigated.

Flexible Pacing

Flexible pacing is when learners begin to explore content at their instructional level and then allowing them to move through additional skills and curriculum content as they demonstrate mastery.  

General Intellectual Ability 

The expression of high levels of accomplishment over several disciplines or fields of study.

Gifted/Talented Services

Gifted/Talented Services are instructional supports that go beyond the foundational curriculum that is offered in most classrooms.  Gifted/Talented Services are designed to develop the academic knowledge and skills and social emotional capabilities of learners who achieve at a high level or show the potential for achieving at a high level when compared to their grade level or age peers.  Gifted/Talented Services can require the accommodation or modification of the general classroom curriculum.

Qualitative Measures

Measures that cannot be quantified.  These are data points that require observation, interviews, checklists, etc.  Qualitative measures can be standardized to remove potential bias.

Quantitative Measures

These are measures that can be expressed in a numerical format such as percentile rankings, stanines, and scores on achievement or aptitude assessments.