Articles are listed in descending order by year (most recent first), and then by first author's last name.
Bernstein, B. O., Lubinksi, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2021). Academic acceleration in gifted youth and fruitless concerns regarding psychological well-being: A 35-year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(4), 830–845.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000500
Academic acceleration of intellectually precocious youth is believed to harm overall psychological well-being even though short-term studies do not support this belief. Here we examine the long-term effects. Study 1 involves three cohorts identified before age 13, then longitudinally tracked for over 35 years: Cohort 1 gifted (top 1% in ability, identified 1972–1974, N = 1,020), Cohort 2 highly gifted (top 0.5% in ability, identified 1976 –1979, N = 396), and Cohort 3 profoundly gifted (top 0.01% in ability, identified 1980 –1983, N = 220). Two forms of educational acceleration were examined: (a) age at high school graduation and (b) quantity of advanced learning opportunities pursued prior to high school graduation. Participants were evaluated at age 50 on several well-known indicators of psychological well-being. Amount of acceleration did not covary with psychological well-being. Study 2, a constructive replication of Study 1, used a different high-potential sample—elite science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate students (N = 478) identified in 1992. Their educational histories were assessed at age 25 and they were followed up at age 50 using the same psychological assessments. Again, the amount of educational acceleration did not covary with psychological well-being. Further, the psychological well-being of participants in both studies was above the average of national probability samples. Concerns about long-term social/emotional effects of acceleration for high-potential students appear to be unwarranted, as has been demonstrated for short-term effects.
Mammadov, S., Hertzog, N. B., & Munm R. U. (2018). An examination of self-determination within alumni of an early college entrance program. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 41(3), 273–291.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353118781745
This article describes outcomes from a subpopulation of a larger study (The Alumni Study) of early college entrance alumni through the lens of self-determination theory. The Alumni Study used mixed methods, was implemented in two sequential phases, and included alumni from two different early college entrance programs (Early Entrance Program and UW Academy). The focus of this article is on the qualitative interviews of 26 UW Academy early entrants who fully matriculated into college as Honors Students after 10th grade. Results indicated that early college entrance (a) provided a more challenging and autonomous environment than high school, (b) provided higher personal control over academic and social choices, and (c) met students’ strong need for relatedness as well as for autonomy and competence. The early entrance to college program gave students a cohort where they could interact with same-age peers who had demonstrated similar academic competence and interests to achieve. However, some participants reported that being younger than their college peers may have inhibited the development of relationships with older college students.
McClarty, K. L. (2015). Life in the fast lane: Effects of early grade acceleration on high school and college outcomes. Gifted Child Quarterly, 59(1), 3–13.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986214559595
Research has repeatedly demonstrated the positive effects of acceleration for gifted and talented students. This study expands the literature by not only evaluating the impact of early grade skipping on high school and college outcomes but also examining the role of postacceleration opportunities on subsequent performance. Using a representative national sample, accelerated students were compared with older grade-level peers who had similar academic and demographic backgrounds. Results suggest that, on average, accelerated students consistently and significantly outperformed their nonaccelerated peers, both in high school and in college. Furthermore, postacceleration educational opportunities provided additional benefit; students who skipped a grade and also participated in challenging academic programs (e.g., Advanced Placement, high-ability instructional groups) demonstrated particularly high achievement. Results suggest that gifted learners profit most when acceleration is coupled with additional opportunities for advanced study.
Park, G., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2013). When less is more: Effects of grade skipping on adult STEM productivity among mathematically precocious adolescents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(1), 176–198.
Using data from a 40-year longitudinal study, the authors examined 3 related hypotheses about the effects of grade skipping on future educational and occupational outcomes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). From a combined sample of 3,467 mathematically precocious students (top 1%), a combination of exact and propensity score matching was used to create balanced comparison groups of 363 grade skippers and 657 matched controls. Results suggest that grade skippers (a) were more likely to pursue advanced degrees in STEM and author peer-reviewed publications in STEM, (b) earned their degrees and authored their 1st publication earlier, and (c) accrued more total citations and highly cited publications by age 50 years. These patterns were consistent among male participants but less so among female participants (who had a greater tendency to pursue advanced degrees in medicine or law). Findings suggest that grade skipping may enhance STEM accomplishments among the mathematically talented.
Perrone, K. M., Wright, S. L., Ksiazak, T. M., Crane, A. L., & Vannatter, A. (2010). Looking back on lessons learned: Gifted adults reflect on their experiences in advanced classes. Roeper Review, 32(2), 127-139.
The purpose of this study was to learn about gifted adults' experiences in advanced classes and attitudes about advanced classes or gifted programs for their children. Participants were 88 adults (33 men and 55 women) who have been participating in a longitudinal study of academically talented individuals since their high school graduation in 1988. Participants responded to open-ended questions via mailed surveys. Eighty-five percent of participants described their academic experiences in advanced classes as positive, whereas slightly fewer participants (59%) described their interpersonal experiences in advanced classes as positive. 75% or participants with children described signs of giftedness in their children, and 88% of participants indicated that they would support advanced placements for their children if it were recommended by the school. Implications of the findings were discussed and directions for future research were provided.
Wells, R., Lohman, D., & Marron, M. (2009). What factors are associated with grade acceleration?: An analysis and comparison of two U.S. databases. Journal of Advanced Academics, 20(2), 248-273.
Which children are grade accelerated in K–7 education? Have factors associated with grade acceleration changed over time? We examined personal, family, and school factors associated with three forms of grade acceleration (early entrance to kindergarten, early entrance to first grade, and grade skipping) using the NELS and ELS datasets. Other things being equal, females, Asian Americans, and students living on the U.S. east or west coast were more likely to be grade accelerated. When accelerated students were compared to older classmates of similar achievement who were not accelerated, accelerated students showed greater gains in achievement than nonaccelerated classmates during high school. You can read the full article here.
Hany, E., & Grosch, C. (2007). Long-term effects of enrichment summer courses on the academic performance of gifted adolescents. Educational Research and Evaluation, 13(6), 521-537.
This study explored the long-term effects of a summer enrichment course on 794 students’ (401 female, 393 male; 546 participants, 248 nonparticipants) educational achievement, research productivity, and life achievement. The summer course was offered through the German School Student Academy, a 16-day course for which students must be nominated. The non-participant group was comprised of those who had been recommended for the summer program, but had been rejected due to overbooking and other reasons.To explore the differences between participants and non-participants, researchers administered a survey online, including questions on grade point average, whether they had started an advanced study program at university, whether they had published their research, and how satisfied they were with their occupational status.The results did not support the hypothesis that there would be long-term differences between students who had attended the summer enrichment program and those who had not. Specifically, the researchers found that there was not a significant long-term effect of enrichment on students’ education, research productivity, and life achievement. This finding contradicts anecdotal information on the impact of enrichment programs, as well as data from other areas showing that short-term interventions can have long-term effects on development.The authors suggest that their contradictory findings may be a result of methodological constraints, including a biased response rate, the extremely large number of out-of-enrichment opportunities that impacted participants’ development, and the possibility that some of these intellectually gifted individuals may have already been provided with enriched environments that could not have been further improved.
Gross, M. U. M. (2006). Exceptionally gifted children: Long-term outcomes of academic acceleration and nonacceleration. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 29(4), 404–429.
A 20-year longitudinal study has traced the academic, social, and emotional development of 60 young Australians with iQs of 160 and above. Significant differences have been noted in the young people’s educational status and direction, life satisfaction, social relationships, and self-esteem as a function of the degree of academic acceleration their schools permitted them in childhood and adolescence. the considerable majority of young people who have been radically accelerated, or who accelerated by 2 years, report high degrees of life satisfaction, have taken research degrees at leading universities, have professional careers, and report facilitative social and love relationships. Young people of equal abilities who accelerated by only 1 year or who have not been permitted acceleration have tended to enter less academically rigorous college courses, report lower levels of life satisfaction, and in many cases, experience significant difficulties with socialization. Several did not graduate from college or high school. Without exception, these young people possess multiple talents; however, for some, the extent and direction of talent development has been dictated by their schools’ academic priorities or their teachers’ willingness or unwillingness to assist in the development of particular talent areas.
Adelman, C. (2006). The toolbox revisited: Paths to degree completion from high school through college. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
This report, published by the U.S. Department of Education, is a follow up to the original Toolbox report, published in 1988. Adelman uses results from a national longitudinal study of a grade-cohort of students conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. This study followed a national sample of 8th graders who were scheduled to graduate from high school in 1992. The subjects of the study were followed through 2000.
The report details factors that predict whether high school graduates will attend and graduate from a college, university, or community college. Among the report’s findings are that completion of Algebra 2 increases the likelihood of earning a bachelor’s degree, particularly among minority students. The types of classes students took in high school better predicted whether students completed a four-year degree than did GPA or class rank.
Two tables included in this report describe the methodology used in the experiment (Table 1) and the demographic variables of the subjects in the study (Table 2).
Gross, M. U. M. (2006). Exceptionally gifted children: Long-term outcomes of academic acceleration and nonacceleration. Journal for the Education of the Gifted. 29(4), 404-429.
In this article, Miraca Gross discusses the long-term outcomes of grade acceleration versus nonacceleration. The current 20-year longitudinal study considers 60 young Australians with IQs of 160+, the majority of whom spent their entire school career in the general education classroom.
Hertberg-Davis, H. L., & Brighton, C. M. (2006). Support and sabotage: Principals' influence on middle school teachers' responses to differentiation. The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 17(2), 90-102.
This study sought to understand the relationship between principals’ attitudes toward differentiation and middle school teachers’ willingness and ability to differentiate. Differentiation allows teachers to systematically address the needs of all learners, including gifted students, in diverse classrooms. The principals and faculty at three schools were interviewed and observed over the course of three years (1997-2000) as a subset of a larger study. Since the primary interests of this study were teacher-principal interactions, the meanings each group assigned to the process of adapting differentiated strategies, and teacher and principal perceptions of their own roles in the change process, the study was based on theories of interpretive sociology and incorporated several different qualitative data collection methods. A principal’s attitude toward differentiation, level of support for the teachers, belief in and desire for change, and amount of focus on differentiation in particular played key roles in teachers’ willingness and ability to differentiate curriculum, instruction, and assessment in this study. The results suggest that successful implementation of differentiation is more likely when principals understand the importance of differentiation and provide the resources and emotional support faculty need to successfully integrate differentiation into their classrooms.In the course of reviewing the literature relevant to this study, the authors note that the typical public school classroom contains 27 children whose academic performance levels typically span more than five grade levels. Despite recommendations for differentiated instruction, the most common techniques in middle school classrooms are still traditional lecture, drill-and-practice, heterogeneous cooperative learning groups, and direct instruction. As a result, understanding the factors behind implementing differentiation in classrooms is more important than ever. The authors make suggestions for a successful transition to differentiation strategies, as well as ideas for further research, including the impact of No Child Left Behind on attempts to implement differentiation.Readers should note that although the authors took measures to increase the reliability of their data, only three schools were studied, each of which differed greatly from the others (teacher-principal relationships, socioeconomic status, geography, etc.), so more studies are needed to fully understand the effect of teacher-principal relationships on the effectiveness of implementation of differentiation in classrooms.
Ma, X. (2005). A longitudinal assessment of early acceleration of students in mathematics on growth in mathematics achievement. Developmental Review, 25(1), 104–131.
Early acceleration of students in mathematics (in the form of early access to formal abstract algebra) has been a controversial educational issue. The current study examined the rate of growth in mathematics achievement of accelerated gifted, honors, and regular students across the entire secondary years (Grades 7–12), in comparison to their non-accelerated counterparts.Using data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth, hierarchical linear models showed that early acceleration had little advantage among gifted students, small advantage among honors students, but large advantage among regular students. Equity issues, especially gender, racial, and socioeconomic equities, are not a concern once regular students were accelerated, but there are serious concerns about racial gaps among honors students and both gender and racial gaps among gifted students once they were accelerated. Schools played an important role in early acceleration, with school context rather than school climate affecting accelerated students. Students, particularly regular students, having high achievement and attending schools with high average achievement were advantageous in early acceleration.
Brewer, E. W., & Landers, J. M. (2005). A longitudinal study of the Talent Search Program. Journal of Career Development, 31(3), 195-208.
This longitudinal study examined the impact of participation in the federally funded Talent Search program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Talent Search program provides career exploration and counseling services to low-income students with the potential to be first-generation college graduates. The results have implications for career development services provided to low-income, potential first-generation college graduates.
Brody, L. E. (2005). The study of exceptional talent. High Ability Studies, 16(1), 87-96.
The Study of Exceptional Talent (SET) identifies students who exhibit extremely advanced mathematical and/or verbal reasoning abilities and helps them find the challenging educational programs they need to achieve their full potential. Specifically, students who score 700-800 on the mathematical or verbal portion of SAT I before the age of 13 are invited to take advantage of SET's counseling and mentoring opportunities. An ongoing longitudinal study tracks the progress of these students, and their achievements to date have been exceptional. SET students, as a group, participate in a variety of accelerated programs, attend highly selective colleges and universities and earn advanced degrees in large numbers. Those who have embarked on their careers appear to be excelling in their chosen fields as well.
Wai, J., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2005). Creativity and occupational accomplishments among intellectually precocious youth: An age 13 to age 33 longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97(3), 484-492.
This study tracks intellectually precocious youths (top 1%) over 20 years. Phase 1 (N 1,243 boys, 732 girls) examines the significance of age 13 ability differences within the top 1% for predicting doctorates, income, patents, and tenure at U.S. universities ranked within the top 50. Phase 2 (N 323 men, 188 women) evaluates the robustness of discriminant functions developed earlier, based on age-13 ability and preference assessments and calibrated with age-23 educational criteria but extended here to predict occupational group membership at age 33. Positive findings on above-level assessment with the Scholastic Aptitude Test and conventional preference inventories in educational settings generalize to occupational settings. Precocious manifestations of abilities foreshadow the emergence of exceptional achievement and creativity in the world of work; when paired with preferences, they also predict the qualitative nature of these accomplishments.
Bleske-Rechek, A., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2004). Meeting the educational needs of special populations: Advanced Placement's role in developing exceptional human capital. Psychological Science, 15(4), 217-224.
An evaluation of the Advanced Placement (AP) program from the point of view of intellectually precocious youth and their subsequent educational-vocational outcomes, analyzing normative and idiographic longitudinal data collected over the past three decades from 3,700 participants. Most took AP courses in high school, and those who did frequently nominated an AP course as their favorite. Students who took AP courses, compared to their intellectual peers who did not, appeared more satisfied with the intellectual caliber of their high school experience and, ultimately, achieved more. Overall, this special population placed a premium on intellectual challenge in high school, and found the lack of such challenge distressing. These findings can inform contemporary educational policy debates regarding the AP program; they also have general implications for designing and evaluating educational interventions for students.
Cross, T .L., Adams, C., Dixon, F., & Holland, J. (2004). Psychological characteristics of academically gifted adolescents attending a residential academy: A longitudinal study. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 28(2), 159-181.
Students attending a state-supported residential academy for academically gifted adolescents (N=139) completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for Adolescents (MMPI-A) upon entrance to document their psychological characteristics. The same students completed a postadministration of the MMPI-A at the end of their second year at the school. Results indicated that the gifted students were quite similar to the normative group of adolescents on the MMPI-A. While several statistically significant changes were observed over time, the effect-size calculations accounted for only a modest percentage of the variance in all cases. Scores on the 2nd administration of the MMPI-A declined among the majority of students who manifested elevated scores on the initial administration.
Lubinski, D., Perrson, C. P., Shea, D. L., Eftenkhari-Sanjani, H., & Halvorson, M. B. J. (2001). Men and women at promise for scientific excellence: Similarity not dissimilarity. Psychological Science, 12(4), 309-317.
U.S. math-science graduate students possessing world-class talent (368 males, 346 females) were assessed on psychological attributes and personal experiences to examine how their talents emerged and developed. Comparisons were made with mathematically talented students (528 males, 228 females) identified around age 13 and tracked into adulthood by the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY). Well before college, both samples were academically distinguished; however the graduate students could be identified during adolescence as a subset of mathematically talented youths based on their nonintellectual attributes. Their profiles corresponded to what earlier psychological studies found to characterize distinguished (and exclusively male) scientists: exceptional quantitative reasoning abilities, relatively stronger quantitative than verbal reasoning ability, salient scientific interests and values, and persistence in seeking out opportunities to study scientific topics and develop scientific skills. On these attributes, sex differences were minimal for the graduate students (but not for the SMPY comparison groups). Developing exceptional scientific expertise apparently requires special educational experiences, but these necessary experiences are similar for the two sexes.
Lubinski, D., Webb, R. M., Morelock, M. J., & Benbow, C. P. (2001). Top 1 in 10,000: A 10-year follow-up of the profoundly gifted. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(4), 718-729.
Adolescents identified before the age of 13 (N = 320) as having exceptional mathematical or verbal reasoning abilities (top 1 in 10,000) were tracked over 10 years. They pursued doctoral degrees at rates over 50 times base-rate expectations, with several participants having created noteworthy literary, scientific, or technical products by their early 20s. Early observed distinctions in intellectual strength (viz., quantitative reasoning ability over verbal reasoning ability, and vice versa) predicted sharp differences in their developmental trajectories and occupational pursuits. This special population strongly preferred educational opportunities tailored to their precocious rate of learning (i.e., appropriate developmental placement), with 95% using some form of acceleration to individualize their education.
Shea, D. L., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2001). Importance of assessing spatial ability in intellectually talented young adolescents: A 20-year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(3), 604-614.
At age 13, 393 boys and 170 girls scoring at the top 0.5% in general intelligence completed the Scholastic Assessment Test Mathematics (SAT-M) and Verbal (SAT-V) subtests and the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) Space Relations (SR) and Mechanical Reasoning (MR) subtests. Longitudinal data were collected through follow up questionnaires completed at ages 18, 23, and 33. Multivariate statistical methods were employed using the SAT-M, SAT-V, and a DAT (SR+MR) composite to predict a series of developmentally sequenced educational-volitional outcomes: (a) favorite and least favorite high school class, (b) undergraduate degree field, (c) graduate degree field, and (d) occupation at age 33. Spatial ability added incremental validity to SAT-M and SAT-V assessments in predicting educational-volitional outcomes over these successive time frames. It appears that spatial ability assessments can complement contemporary talent search procedures. The amount of lost potential for artistic, scientific, and technical disciplines that results from neglecting this critical dimension of nonverbal ideation is discussed.
McCluskey, K. W., Baker, P. A., & Massey, K. J. (1996). A twenty-four year longitudinal look at early entrance to kindergarten. Gifted and Talented International, 11(2), 72–75.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15332276.1996.11672848
For twenty-four years, the Lord Selkirk School Divison (Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada) has had a policy whereby some students are accepted for early entrance into kindergarten. A longitudinal study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of these early entrance students over the years. Educators’ratings indicated that 41% fared exceptionally well in school, 39% performed solidly, and 20% did poorly.
Proctor, T. B., Black, K. N., & Feldhusen, J. F. (1986). Early admission of selected children to elementary school: A review of the research literature. The Journal of Educational Research, 80(2), 70–76.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.1986.10885726
Twenty-one studies reporting on early admission of selected children to elementary school are reviewed and discussed in terms of methodological design and findings. Two major kinds of designs were found. Comparisons of early entrants with their unselected classmates found, in general, no negative effects. Comparisons of early entrants with matched samples suggested that early admission may be preferable. Additional research is needed to formulate an ideal policy concerning early admission.
