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Partnerships between educational researchers and school-based administrators and educators is imperative to successfully identifying evidence-based practices to improve pedagogy, curriculum, and student outcomes. In this paper, we recognize how being approached by educational researchers can be overwhelming for administrators and educators. We offer a perspective that may help school-based personnel understand the motivation behind research requests and how administrators can frame their response to these requests using a critical lens to ensure these partnerships are beneficial to their school community.

Differentiation is an instructional practice teachers employ to modify their classroom content, process, and products based on student readiness, interest, and learning profile. Many school districts recognize the benefits of differentiated instruction and thus mandate allotted classroom time for its implementation. In this article, we investigate how teachers in one such district resolved differentiation policy to practice in a high-stakes testing environment. We found, during the designated time for differentiation, teachers regularly remediated small groups but did not similarly address the academic needs of advanced students, thus not enacting the disciplinary standard for differentiation. We suggest teachers are recoupling practice and policy but misaligning it to the disciplinary definition of differentiation, which we contend has broader implications for instructional policymaking.

The importance of alignment between identification processes and program design is widely noted in gifted and talented education literature. We analyzed publicly available district gifted program plans (Grades 3-5) from two states to examine the extent to which district identification practices matched intervention strategies. Our team developed a coding scheme matrix with 133 items for State 1 (n = 115) and State 2 (n = 178). The results of this study indicated that, at least in terms of planning, districts in the two states we examined appeared to be aligning identification and programming practices to meet the needs of gifted students identified in mathematics and/or reading/English language arts. In State 1, at least 60% of the districts reported the following intervention strategies in mathematics and reading/English language arts: faster pace of coverage, regular grade-level standards, in-depth coverage, preassessment, above grade-level standards, and expanded grade-level standards. In contrast, State 2 districts reported faster pace of coverage; however, with less commonly utilized interventions, subject-matter identification significantly influenced their usage. Differentiation was the primary learning environment strategy utilized by districts in both states.

The underrepresentation of English learners (ELs) in gifted and talented programs is a societal and research problem that merits investigation. Three state departments of education and their state directors of gifted programs supported our access to 16 schools across nine districts. In these three states with gifted identification and programming mandates, ELs were proportionally represented in gifted and talented programs in the 16 schools we visited. Interview data from 225 participants revealed four themes: adopting universal screening procedures, creating alternative pathways to identification, establishing a web of communication, and using professional learning as a lever for change.

Although the number of English learners (ELs) in the United States continues to increase, this population remains underserved by gifted and talented (GT) education programs across the nation. This underrepresentation represents a societal and research dilemma for reasons we address in this systematic review of the most effective practices documented to identify and serve ELs for GT programs. We examine 50 theoretical and empirical articles according to four major themes: nomination, screening/assessment, services, and identification models. We discuss identification recommendations, including outreach and professional learning to foster stakeholder recognition of GT potential in all ELs, an equitable referral process based on a multiple-lens approach, and observation of students completing problem-solving tasks. Finally, we address perceived best practices in serving GT ELs, including making accommodations for ELs in GT programs.

English learners (ELs) are the fastest growing population of students in the United States and currently represent nearly 10% of public school enrollment; however, they also constitute less than 3% of gifted program enrollment in these schools. Although an increasing number of studies explore this underrepresentation, research that specifically examines the role of language proficiency in gifted identification is limited. This study explored the role of several factors on ELs' time to reclassification (the point at which students are considered to have reached language proficiency and are no longer classified as ELs) and, in turn, being identified for gifted services. The findings suggested notable demographic and socioeconomic influences on the time to reclassification of ELs. Students who were reclassified earlier tended to be enrolled in schools with more gifted students and had a greater probability of being identified as gifted.

This article aims to share five practical approaches for how teachers can identify, adapt, and create their own writing prompts they assign to students: (1) Promote Students' Solution Paths; (2) Go beyond Asking Students to Simply "Explain"; (3) Prompt Students to Share Their Reasoning; (4) Have Students Consider the Validity of a Given Solution; and (5) Have Students Debate the Validity of Two Given Solutions. The authors present the purposes of the approaches, provide examples and nonexamples of each approach across grade levels, share samples of student work, and discuss how student writing can augment teachers' formative assessment process to realize the depth of their students' thinking more comprehensively. Before doing so, the authors define "mathematical thinking" to reflect the kind of responses they have sought to elicit from students through written prompts and inform decisions teachers can make when applying the five approaches to their contexts.

Although the relationships between family income and student identification for gifted programming are well documented, less is known about how school and district wealth are related to student identification. To examine the effects of institutional and individual poverty on student identification, we conducted a series of three-level regression models. Students of poverty are generally less likely to be identified for gifted services, even after controlling for prior math and reading achievement. Furthermore, school poverty predicts the percentage of gifted students identified in a school. Within districts, even after controlling for reading and math scores, the poorer schools in a district have lower identification rates. Whereas students of poverty are generally less likely to be identified for gifted services, poor students in poor schools are even less likely to be identified as gifted.

Gifted students' learning gains result from complex, advanced, and meaningful content provided by a knowledgeable teacher through high-quality curriculum and instruction at an appropriate pace with scaffolding and feedback. These elements exert influence that increases with dosage and within structures that facilitate student engagement in rigorous experiences, including interactions with one another. Talent development is a two-part process. First, educators and parents must provide opportunities for talent to surface, and then they must recognize the talent and provide educational opportunities that engage the emerging talent and move it to exceptional levels. Unfortunately, a variety of barriers exist that limit underserved students' participation in this process. We discuss these barriers within a proposed model of talent development. [This paper was published in "Journal for the Education of the Gifted," v39 n2 p103-131 Jun 2016 (EJ1101173).]

Grounded in the Achievement Orientation Model, this qualitative case study examines participation in enrichment and environmental perceptions of gifted secondary school students. Participants included 10 gifted secondary school students, their parents, and their classroom teacher. Data included student, parent, and teacher responses in semistructured interviews, short answer surveys, and student work. Findings indicated a relationship between participation in enrichment and environmental perceptions. Student participants benefited from a teacher trained in gifted education who nurtured both affective and cognitive development, homogeneous grouping with like-minded peers, involved parents, and relationships with project mentors. These findings have implications for designing learning environments that effectively support the special needs of gifted secondary school learners.

The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. This special issue of the Journal for the Education of the Gifted highlights a few of the research studies conducted from 1995-2000. These selected studies have a common thread as they all address teaching and learning from the perspective of changing behaviors, strategies, and practices. Each study is also responsive to our commitment to quantitative and qualitative studies that are problem based, practice relevant, and consumer oriented. More information about our research studies is available from http://www.gifted.uconn.edu. (Contains 1 figure.)

Grounded in the Enrichment Triad and Achievement Orientation Models, this qualitative case study builds understanding of the relationship between participation in Type III Enrichment and the achievement orientation attitude of goal valuation in gifted secondary school students. Participants included 10 gifted secondary school students, their parents, and their classroom teacher. Data included student, parent, and teacher responses in semistructured interviews, short-answer surveys, and student work. Findings indicate a relationship between participation in enrichment and goal valuation. Students engaged in Type III Enrichment perceived their projects as interesting, beneficial, and/or as related to perceptions of identity. In addition, factors of goal valuation were related to students' continued interest and perceptions of enjoyment after completion of the enrichment projects. These findings have implications for structuring gifted education programs that meet the special needs of gifted secondary school learners.

Gifted students' learning gains result from complex, advanced, and meaningful content provided by a knowledgeable teacher through high-quality curriculum and instruction at an appropriate pace with scaffolding and feedback. These elements exert influence that increases with dosage and within structures that facilitate student engagement in rigorous experiences, including interactions with one another. Talent development is a two-part process. First, educators and parents must provide opportunities for talent to surface, and then they must recognize the talent and provide educational opportunities that engage the emerging talent and move it to exceptional levels. Unfortunately, a variety of barriers exist that limit underserved students' participation in this process. We discuss these barriers within a proposed model of talent development.

Modern classrooms are often comprised of a heterogeneous student population with varying abilities. To address this variance, third-grade teachers implemented researcher-designed, pre-differentiated, and enriched math curricula in algebra, geometry and measurement, and graphing and data analysis. The goal of the curricula was to provide academic rigor for all students, including students with high abilities. These units prompted educators to recognize learning differences in their classrooms and provide appropriate lessons for each group. Qualitative analyses revealed the treatment teachers' successful use of preassessments and grouping practices to accommodate students in their academically diverse classrooms. This study demonstrated the value of pre-differentiated and enriched curricula and professional development. Treatment teachers discussed how important it was that the curricula provided preassessments for each unit, and most lessons provided tiered activities directly connected to students' preassessment performance. Providing teachers with more meaningful and cohesive tiered activities will support teachers' efforts in academically challenging students of all levels.

Teacher nominations of students are commonly used in gifted and talented identification systems to supplement psychometric measures of reasoning ability. In this study, second grade teachers were requested to nominate approximately one fourth of their students as having high learning potential in the year prior to the students' participation in a randomized control trial of an advanced mathematics curriculum intervention. Treatment students completed researcher-developed unit pretests and posttests intended to measure higher order conceptual mathematical problem solving. Results from multilevel analyses indicate that third grade treatment students who were nominated during second grade significantly outperformed their un-nominated peers on these posttest measures, after controlling for students' composite reasoning scores and pretest scores. This finding supports the view that teachers perceive student qualities beyond cognitive factors that facilitate student success with atypically challenging mathematics content, reinforcing prior recommendations to include teacher nominations as one component of gifted and talented identification systems.

One component of the Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act was provision for research on a national scale. In response, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) was created to design and implement a research portfolio. Based on emphasis in the Javits Act on underrepresented populations, on issues of identification and programming, and on priorities of an initial NRC/GT needs assessment, we elected to concentrate on summarizing the NRC/GT research reflecting identification practices, the status of current curricular and instructional strategies and practices, the development of challenging curricula, and the effectiveness of various professional development strategies as potential catalysts for change. The history underlying the development of the Javits Act and the organization and operation of the NRC/GT are described in the article titled "Laying the Base for the Future: One Cornerstone of the Javits Act" in this special issue of the "Journal of Advanced Academics" (JOAA).

The passage of the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act in 1988 was truly a watershed moment in the field of gifted education. The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT) represented one part of the overall agenda of research and services supported by the Javits Act. How the Javits Act came to be and the rationale and decisions that formed the underlying framework for Javits are the foci of the first part of this article. The second part of this article provides a brief overview of the NRC/GT organization and mission. Multiple research teams associated with the NRC/GT implemented quantitative and qualitative research studies, invited outstanding scholars in the field to contribute to our research series, and carried out leadership duties assigned to the Center, which have been complementary additions to many contributions made by the other Javits projects over the past several decades.

Despite the potential of differentiated curricula to enhance learning, limited research exists that documents their impact on Grade 3 students of all ability levels. To determine if there was a difference in achievement between students involved in 16 weeks of predifferentiated, enriched mathematics curricula and students using their district's curricula, we conducted a multisite cluster-randomized control trial with 43 schools in 12 states. A series of three-level models, using pre- and postachievement test data, failed to show a main effect for treatment, but the results suggested a treatment by achievement-level interaction that was moderated by the achievement level of the school. As a result, the highest achieving students in the lower achieving schools seemed to receive the greatest benefit from the treatment curricula. An analysis of researcher-developed unit tests revealed that treatment students successfully learned and applied the curricula's challenging mathematics. Thus, using the predifferentiated and enriched mathematics curricula with heterogeneous ability students appeared to "do no harm"-students who completed the treatment curricula did as well as their control counterparts, on average. Evidence of its achievement-related benefits is more ambiguous; however, the findings do suggest some benefits for the highest achieving students in lower achieving schools.

The present qualitative study was conducted in response to federal initiatives aimed at increasing the number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) schools in the United States; and to better understand STEM high school administrators', teachers', and students' perceptions of the characteristics of the curricular and instructional strategies and practices representative of their schools. Six STEM high schools with diverse organizational models were purposively selected to represent varied geographical regions, socioeconomic and ethnic groups, and levels of entrance criteria. During 2-day site visits at each school, administrators, teachers, and students were interviewed. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: (a) a common vision of a challenging and engaging learning environment, (b) a focus on applying curricular and instructional strategies and practices to real-world problems, and (c) an appreciation for academic and affective support in the challenging learning environment. Interested stakeholders might discover strategies and practices to support their respective missions.