![]() The use of nonverbal tests can help better identify gifted English language learners. Universal screening, which involves assessing every student in a given grade or class for giftedness, can also help eliminate the issue of referral bias. By ending teacher and parent nominations, for example, districts and schools can remove referral bias as a factor that currently drives black and Hispanic student underrepresentation. Schools and districts should take proactive steps to increase access to gifted programs for black and Hispanic students. New research has shown that traditional referral systems for identifying gifted children tend to overlook significant numbers of talented students of color. ![]() These programs start tracking children as early as kindergarten and can set students’ academic trajectory for their entire schooling. Improve access to selective and academically rigorous programsīlack and Hispanic students are dramatically underrepresented in gifted programs, regardless of their age or socioeconomic status. Schools and districts should implement the following policy solutions to support, challenge, and value high-achieving and high-potential students of color. public education system, how can policymakers and educators ensure that all kids-including students of color-receive the tools, support, and encouragement they need? Proactive, progressive policies must be put in place to ensure that the growing numbers of students of color have the opportunity to thrive and live up to their full potential. Given the history of inequity that underlies the U.S. Gifted programs should not become the new centers of racial segregation in America. Since 2014, students of color have made up the majority of students entering public schools, and these demographic trends will only continue. This underrepresentation will become a more pressing issue as the share of students of color in American schools continues to grow. Furthermore, while Native American and Pacific Islander students represent a much smaller portion of the total student population, they are also underrepresented in selective academic programs. Black students are similarly underrepresented: About 16 percent of the nation’s public school students are black, compared with only 9 percent of students enrolled in gifted and talented programs. For instance, although Hispanic students make up 24 percent of the total student population, they only comprise 17 percent of those enrolled in gifted and talented programs. This means that some high-achieving and high-potential students of color are being left out of what can be a pipeline to the most desirable higher education and career opportunities. schools, African American and Latino students are dramatically underrepresented in academically rigorous programs. A hidden contributor to these critical issues is a shortage of challenging and rigorous elementary and secondary instruction for talented students of color. Students of color even graduate from college at lower rates than their white peers. Deep and stubborn racial achievement gaps persist. Schools are now more segregated than ever. Board of Education, the nation’s public school system has yet to fulfill its promise of equal educational opportunity for all. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Brown v. See also: Race and Beyond: Where Are the Gifted and Talented Black Students? by Naomi Kellog
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