Why separate classes for gifted students boost all kids

Separate classes for gifted students help elementary students across the board grow academically, Purdue University research has found.

“When the high-achieving students are clustered together in one class, students in the other classes grow academically — gaining confidence, receiving more teacher attention and participating more frequently in class,” Marcia Gentry, professor of educational studies and director of Purdue’s Gifted Education Resource Institute, said in a news release.

The result: More students from underrepresented populations — such as students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, or students from low-income families — may be identified as gifted, Gentry’s research says.

Her “clustering” concept, known as Total School Cluster Grouping, allows for more differentiated learning experiences. When gifted students are separated from regular classrooms, teachers have more time to attend to individual needs. They take strategies usually only used in gifted programs and are trained to apply them to all students.

That helps develop talent in underrepresented students, the news release said.

Gentry’s team has received a $2.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program to expand her research nationally.

An experimental study will be conducted, likely looking at schools in Indiana, Arizona, Minnesota, Texas, Wisconsin and South Carolina, including urban and rural schools and Native American reservations. It will focus on students from low-income families and be tested only at sites where at least 40 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, the news release said.

Call Star reporter Stephanie Wang at (317) 444-6184. Follow her on Twitter: @stephaniewang.