Too Much Too Soon? Non-radical Advanced Grade Placement and the Self-concept of Gifted Students

Abstract

Acceleration is a frequently recommended programming option for academically advanced students that enjoys considerable research support. Yet practitioners often object to acceleration on the grounds that it has negative effects upon students' social and emotional development. Research on affective outcomes of techniques such as grade advancement are mixed, containing reports of positive, negative, and neutral outcomes, and the role of gender and ethnicity is seldom explored. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between advanced grade placement and the self-concept of gifted students. Over 600 gifted adolescents completed the Self-Description Questionnaire-II (SDQII) and provided demographic information. Nearly 25% of the students were grade advanced, with Caucasian students being grade advanced significantly more often than Hispanic or African American students. No difference was found in any facet of self-concept between grade advanced and non-advanced students (and interactions of advanced status and gender and/or grade level). Readers are cautioned that the study was causal/comparative and not experimental in nature.