Acceleration, a potential form of differentiation, can come in a variety of
different forms for your child. Some gifted children may accelerate an entire
grade level, others may accelerate in just certain subjects, and others may
have a compacted curriculum or classes such as Advanced Placement.
A Nation Deceived is a great resource for all of the dimensions of acceleration, from
types of acceleration to social and emotional affects of acceleration. This resource talks
about some important considerations for assessing if your child should accelerate and how.
• Access- What options does your school district have? This would be a great place to consult with your
• Pacing- Certain types of acceleration, such as a compacted curriculum, would change the pace at which
your child is presented with content.
• Salience- Is my child’s acceleration in the spotlight for others to see? How could this affect the
social and emotional well-being of my child?
• Peers- As talked about later in Chapter 6: Peers and Mentors, peers have an incredible influence on
the social and emotional well-being of your child. This would be a great place to consult with your
child. Do they want to be accelerated? What would their peers be like? Would it be better?
• Timing- When would be the best time for your child to accelerate? At different ages there are
different sets of parameters and developmental stages.
Click here for the full version of A Nation Deceived.