California's gifted program leads to higher achievement, but it has unconsidered downsides for all students, including those on the outside.
Students in Nicholas Cordova's 7th grade history class at Sycamore Junior High School in Anaheim on May 22, 2023. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMattersa commentary forum aiming to broaden our understanding of the state and spotlight Californians directly impacted by policy or its absence. Learn moreAcademic success is as much dependent on how students feel about themselves as the letter grades that fill their transcripts. In fact, the two might be more correlated than they appear.
After passing a test, I was admitted into the school. My family was so excited. I had gained access to take strategically accelerated courses taught by specially trained teachers.But now as a rising sophomore in college, I think about the consequences of applying a “gifted” label to California children. I eventually realized that students in the program rarely got the chance to interact with those outside of it.
After years of gifted classes, I began to question just what this system was. A conversation with my high school principal later revealed that my high school didn’t actually feature any gifted courses.
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