A troubling aspect of the increasing reliance on state educational assessment standards is that they do not give adequate attention to gifted students. These standards establish a floor; they do not try to push up the ceiling.
The gifted and talented programs currently offered in public schools are simply not sufficient to meet demand. Many gifted students live in districts where there are no programs available or the programs available are still not advanced enough to meet the needs of these exceptionally bright students. Since wealthy students have the ability to pay for enrichment opportunities, it is the lower-income gifted student who is forced to lower the expectation of what he or she can achieve.
Many people unfairly assume that gifted students come from privileged backgrounds and will naturally succeed regardless of their educational circumstance. Giftedness, however, is not confined to any one class of people and can be found in the harshest of circumstances. It is an extreme disservice to these young scholars and to the state to passively hope that they will develop on their own. Like any student, gifted students require support and nurture to cultivate their talents. This is not provided by shortsightedly limiting their formal education to “age-level material.” They need a proper educational environment that includes trained instructors and material to challenge their intellect. It was a wise Sir Isaac Newton who commented, “If I have seen farther than other men, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.”