Reference Manual for Implementing GE in School:
Acceleration
Programmes
Acknowledgement
Consultation on the reference manual has been conducted through school visits, briefing sessions, focus group discussions, meetings of Curriculum Development Council Committee on Gifted Education conducted in 2006-2008. Heartfelt appreciation is extended from the Ad Hoc Committee of Curriculum Development Council Committee (Gifted Education) on Implementing GE in School: Acceleration Programmes [Reference Manual] to the various school stakeholders including university professors, school heads, teachers, parents, students, school social workers and educational psychologists for their valuable opinion contributed to this reference manual for schools’ reference.
1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background
1.2 Purpose of the manual
1.3 Major components of the manual 1.4 Principles to guided action
1.5 Assessment tool
2 Understanding acceleration 5
2.1 Definition of acceleration 2.2 Options of acceleration
2.3 Major roles of school stakeholders in acceleration 2.4 Suggested mechanism for acceleration
2.5 Potential pros and cons of acceleration
3 Views of local schools on acceleration 17
3.1 Survey and interviews 3.2 Major findings
3.3 Implications for practices
4. Implementation of acceleration programmes: grade-skipping, subject skipping,
curriculum compacting 19
4.1 Identification of appropriate students for acceleration programmes 4.2 Development of acceleration programmes
4.3 Evaluation of acceleration practice
5 School cases 40
6 Appendices (I -IV) 50
Reference 62
Membership of the Ad Hoc Committee of Curriculum Development Council
Committee (Gifted Education) on the Implementing GE in School: Acceleration Programmes 63
Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Since its establishment in 2003, the Curriculum Development Council Committee on Gifted Education has been making every effort to co-ordinate and plan gifted education curriculum development and advise on policies and measures related to gifted education. In past years, various ad hoc committees have been formed under the Curriculum Development Council Committee on Gifted Education to advise on the development of resources and curriculum materials such as Guidelines on School-based Gifted Development Programmes, Parent Pamphlet and Gifted Education Information Folder.
In order to guide schools on the planning and development of appropriate provision for the high ability students who advance in their learning at a pace faster than their age peers, an ad hoc committee of Curriculum Development Council Committee (Gifted Education) was formed in August 2006 to discuss and develop the Implementing GE in School: Acceleration Programmes [Reference Manual].
The outstanding achievement of Hong Kong students in various domains, especially Mathematics and Science, has been recognised by international comparisons, research and contests such as PISA, TIMSS and the various Olympiads. To challenge and nurture the students with extraordinary talents who outperform their peers, it is expected or hoped that schools will provide more flexible and developmental programmes.
The demand on HK schools for meeting the needs of diverse learners has drawn even more awareness among education practitioners since the introduction of NSS and the early admission of younger-age high ability students to universities in recent years.
However, acceleration, being the most controversial curriculum intervention in gifted education, often brings about myths and debates on its impact on the development of high ability students. Thus a manual for understanding acceleration and suggesting
schools, teachers and parents on their choice of appropriate acceleration options to avoid holding back high ability students while to further improve the quality of school learning and teaching for all is timely.
1.2 Purpose of developing the Reference Manual
This Reference Manual is intended to be used by school personnel in conjunction with other curriculum guides produced by the Curriculum Development Institute. While the Curriculum Development Council Basic Education Curriculum Guide (BECG) sets the scene for Gifted Education as part of the Hong Kong curriculum, the Guidelines on School-based Gifted Development Programmes, developed in 2003, provides a comprehensive picture about the meaning of gifted education, the essentials of learning and teaching of the high ability students and some suggestions in curriculum design. This Manual would form an integral part of the ‘School-based Gifted Education Guideline’ (which is an updated version of the Guidelines issued in 2003 and is under preparation) and to complement the BECG. It aims at making recommendations to Hong Kong schools in providing accelerated learning opportunities for the high ability students and facilitating schools in catering for their more acute needs to meet learner diversities in the NSS curricula.
To prepare a manual that is contextualised in the experiences of Hong Kong schools to enhance its practical value, interviews and surveys were firstly conducted in local schools to collect information about the needs and experiences of schools in planning and administering acceleration. The assessment instrument suggested in the manual was also piloted so as to gather feedback for compiling a Checklist for Assessing Suitability of Grade-skipping for schools’ reference.
It is hoped that the manual will help school administrators and teachers formulate clear policy as an integrated part of the whole-school curriculum policy;
deploy appropriately the internal expertise and manpower; develop an effective
selection mechanism; offer appropriate acceleration programmes; manage these acceleration programmes more effectively and facilitate the all-round development of target students with a view of developing the potential of the high-ability students accordingly.
1.3 Major components of the Reference Manual
In order to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the needs of the high ability students can be grasped by school personnel so that appropriate acceleration provisions are to be planned, the Manual will include the following components:
A review on the significances of acceleration.
Major principles in the selection of suitable candidates and methods for acceleration.
Suggestions on and the pros and cons of the three modes of acceleration programmes, 1) grade-skipping, 2) subject-skipping and 3) curriculum compacting.
Contextual analysis of the acceleration approaches currently being adopted by some Hong Kong schools.
1.4 Principles to Guided Action
To ensure effectiveness, the design and implementation of progressive acceleration programmes should vary among schools and involve adaptations based on individual school circumstances. Schools should be aware that whether an acceleration programme for high ability students should be in place will mostly be subject to the readiness of the school to plan for school-based curriculum development and to implement the curriculum as well as addressing the learning needs of high-ability students. Schools are thus advised to consider the following when adopting acceleration as the gifted programme option:
Develop an adequate understanding and commitment in addressing the diverse learning needs of students with exceptional abilities.
Form a team responsible for coordinating acceleration provisions in school. Apart from the administrators of the acceleration policy, members of the team should also include stakeholders who have thorough understanding of personality and needs of the potential accelerant, such as parents or guardians.
Equip administrators and teachers responsible for acceleration with appropriate training.
Build up a clear policy and mechanism for identification and selection.
Adopt a whole school approach in providing learning support to the accelerated students.
Provide appropriate and immediate emotional and pastoral/counselling support for the accelerated students.
Establish good communication with parents on their acceleration policy.
Examine and review periodically the effectiveness of the progressive acceleration programmes and the learning performance and achievement of the accelerated students.
1.5 Assessment tool
An assessment checklist (Appendix I) for local use has been designed to provide schools with a comprehensive and systematic guide as the primary instrument in making objective decisions on grade-skipping. Assessment criteria are formulated in this tool to facilitate the school team’s discussion and deliberation on the readiness of nominated students for joining the acceleration programmes.
2. Understanding acceleration
"All the participants in the decisions seem to have reservations about acceleration. Like surgery, it is viewed as a treatment of last resort."
- Southern & Jones, 1992
This is not an uncommon quote in the literature of acceleration that vividly describes how much hesitation education practitioners hold on such practice or simply, persistent unconventionality it projects against our long established school system. A clear understanding of the meaning and types of acceleration is thus a crucial prerequisite to considering it a possible education provision for high ability students in our school setting.
2.1 Definition of acceleration
There are three main categories of strategies for differentiating instruction1 for high ability students: enrichment, extension and acceleration. As far as their most distinctive characteristics are concerned, enrichment refers to the presentation of curriculum content with more breadth, extension refers to the presentation of curriculum content with more depth, complexity and abstractness than the regular curriculum. Acceleration refers to the practice of presenting curriculum content earlier or at a faster pace.
Acceleration is to acknowledge the diversity of learners’ abilities and the fact that this difference merits educational flexibility. This is an act of intervention to move high-ability students through an educational programme at faster pace or at a younger-than-usual age. It provides study objectives which match the level, complexity,
and pace of the curriculum to the readiness, needs, competencies and motivation of the high-ability students.
2.2 Options of acceleration
From literature, there is a wide range of strategies for acceleration (Appendix II:
Types of acceleration options); among these options, three types are considered of significance and practical use in Hong Kong schools, given their resources and management:
Grade-skipping
Subject-skipping
Curriculum compacting
Grade-skipping
Grade-skipping means one or more level(s) placement ahead of one’s age-peers. It
can take place at any time during the school year, but it is most often done at the beginning of the school year/between semesters.
It can expose a more able student to a more appropriate curriculum that matches closely to the student’s advanced ability.
Student with a wide range of interests or abilities and, student who is capable of performing at one or more levels beyond the current level would most benefit from grade-skipping. Student identified for grade-skipping should demonstrate himself/herself to be self-regulated, independent learners and reasonably socially mature.
Subject-skipping
Subject-skipping allows a student who excels in a particular academic subject to work with other students in that area of expertise at a rate that best suits his/her ability or current level of performance. A student who is arranged with subject-skipping should have clear advanced knowledge, skills and intense interest in that particular academic subject.
Case 1
Name: Wing Chung
Age: 7-year-old (Primary 2) Background:
Has always been a “straight A” student
Can read fluently with expression and write with creative detail
Often complained about the low level of difficulty and lack of challenge in the learning tasks, but eager for advanced thinking activities
Is found to be emotionally and intellectually closer to older peers than to her age-mates
Has strong family support in academic and socio-emotional development
Participated in IQ test administered by registered educational psychologist and the IQ score shown in the report is 140.
Suggestion:
In view of the advanced academic ability and reasonable socio-emotional maturity level of Wing Chung, it is suggested that grade-skipping is a possible option.
Subject-skipping can be accomplished by the student either physically moving to a higher class for instruction, or working on the advanced material in his/her current classroom.
Case 2
Name: Pok Man
Age: 12-year-old (Secondary 1) Background:
Shows apparent strengths and interest in Mathematics
Profoundly ahead of his peers in his math understanding and perform in the above 90% range in a Secondary 3 test
His subject teachers comment on their limited proficiency in
curriculum differentiation to challenge him sufficiently in Mathematics
Enjoys doing mathematics at home on his own accord and playing around with mechanical objects in his spare time
His parents support his interest in Mathematics
His records in other subjects are above average
Suggestion:
In view of Po Man’s outstanding subject performance and intense interest in Mathematics, it is suggested that subject skipping is an appropriate educational alternative.
Curriculum Compacting
Curriculum compacting2 enables high-ability students to learn at a faster pace and with less repetition of material they already know.
The areas the highly able student has already mastered are replaced by curricula that are more appropriate to the student’s learning needs and interests.
It is appropriate for a student who is confident of his/her knowledge in the subject
area; who is motivated to learn and who has a high level of interest in the subject area being compacted.
Case 3
Name: Chin Choi
Age: 9-year-old (Primary 4) Background:
Masters most of the scientific investigation skills that were to be introduced in his grade level
Lack of motivation to engage in the drilling of unchallenging and basic-level skill areas and needs for faster pace in science learning
Has specific interest and a passion for astronomy which is not included in regular curriculum
Suggestion:
In view of Chin Choi’s academic attainment and his mastery of learning skill, it is suggested that curriculum compacting is an appropriate educational alternative for him so that he can buy time for more challenging study in the area he is interested in.
2.3 Major roles of school stakeholders in acceleration
High ability students will have the best opportunities to stretch their potential to the full if school heads, teachers, parents and educational psychologists/school counsellors work together to provide the most suitable programmes and services to them.
School heads’ role
leading the school to respond appropriately to high ability students’ needs with the option of acceleration by:
setting up assessment mechanism for target students, guidelines on programme design and implementation, and mechanism of resources deployment;
assisting teachers to get prepared for implementing acceleration
programmes and supporting accelerated students by accessing relevant professional development;
ensuring provision of other differentiating instructions for high ability students who are not suitable for acceleration;
establishing collaborative partnership that involves students, parents, teachers and educational psychologists/school counsellors to provide supports to accelerated students.
Questions to Ponder:
Who should and should not be accelerated?
What are some indicators that a student should be considered for acceleration?
What does acceleration offer that enrichment / extension cannot?
Who determines whether a student should be accelerated?
How can schools determine whether acceleration is appropriate?
What can school administrators do to support accelerated students?
Teachers’ role
identifying students who possess advanced ability for acceleration;
communicating with parents on target students’ learning needs;
joining up efforts of specialist support staff such as educational psychologist/
school counselor and curriculum coordinator to:
assess suitability of target students for acceleration;
plan, implement and evaluate accelerated provision in meeting the needs of accelerants;
provide cognitive and socio-emotional support for accelerants throughout the acceleration process.
Undertaking professional training to enhance knowledge and skills in carrying out effective acceleration practice.
Parents’ role
understanding characteristics of high ability child who can benefit from acceleration;
liaising with school to identify the child’s strength and working in collaboration with school to ensure that the child has appropriate educational opportunities;
providing a stimulating, supporting and caring learning environment at home.
2.4 Suggested Assessment Procedure for Target Student before Acceleration3
The success of any acceleration option will depend upon a fair and thorough assessment prior to adopting the option. The diagram below illustrates the crucial criteria schools should consider to decide whether acceleration is appropriate for a target student
3 Adapted from Acceleration Progression. State of NSW. Department of Education and Training. (2004). Policy and implementation strategies for the education of gifted talented students(Revised 2004) New South Wales:The Department.
4,5
4,5 Please refer to Guidelines on School-based Gifted Development Programmes for details.
+
YES
NO NO
Potential impacts: (especially
for grade-skippers)
+
Any student in the school demonstrated levels of skills that are far beyond average of the class equivalent to his/her age?
School forms an Acceleration Assessment Team (AAT)
Members:
School head
Acceleration Team coordinator
School counsellor / Educational Psychologist/ Social worker
Curriculum coordinator
Former class teacher and subject teachers
Current and receiving teachers
Parents
The team will collaboratively decide if acceleration is a possible option.
Is acceleration a possible option?
Teacher or parent nomination
Nominate a student with supporting evidence, such as school reports and samples of student work.
Consultation with parents, teachers and the nominated student
Are they positive to the idea of acceleration?
Explore other options4 to cater for the
student’s specific needs
YES
Student enters new tailor made acceleration programme provisionally with appropriate support.
(For appropriate kind of programme provision, please refer to 4.1of this Manual )
Explore other options5 to cater for the
student’s specific needs
YES
Follow-on monitoring and review
NO Academic readiness:
Is the student academically ready for acceleration?
Is the student socio-emotionally ready for acceleration?
Is the student him/herself eager for acceleration with acknowledgement of potential impacts?
Evaluation by the Acceleration Assessment Team Socio-emotional readiness:
has achieved all the own age level basic knowledge and skills
possesses exceptional abilities and intense interest in specific academic area(s)
is able to master new skills and knowledge at an exceptionally rapid pace
is a self-directed learner with independent thought
has perseverance to cope with challenges
is socially mature and accepting of others
has high motivation and commitment to learn in advanced level
Relative advantages: meeting peers with similar ability level, having more opportunities to engage in advanced knowledge
Needs and implications:
leaving friends, doing more works, being presented with a greater challenge
Potential drawbacks: falling behind at the beginning
The above procedure demonstrates a comprehensive examination of different factors for school personnel to take into account when considering acceleration provision.
It aids all concerned parties to draw in comments and evidence from various stakeholders before deciding on the proper intervention. In order that each suggested step can be properly pursued, schools should note the followings in administering the mechanism:
In handling cases of grade-skipping, Checklist for Assessing Suitability of Grade-skipping could be a guiding tool for the AAT in its early stage of discussion.
This checklist helps the Team come up with important and comprehensive criteria to consider in a case conference for a potential grade-skipper. In response to the assessment criteria, the AAT should come up with a group consensus that leads to an objective and reliable decision.
It is crucial to consult the target student. Student should be explained the advantages and potential drawbacks to acceleration. Besides, student’s own concern should be deliberated carefully in the decision making process. For potential grade-skipper who find it difficult or do not willing to express his/her inner voice on acceleration, a trustful teacher or a significant other being a mentor of the student would be a great help to provide guidance for the student to determine whether to accept the option.
Parents’ opinion, even if nil or varied, should be considered seriously in the discussion by the AAT.
Placing the potential grade-skipper in a new setting with older peers for a trial period allowing pre-acceleration transitional adjustment could be a way to further assess the student’s ability to function in an accelerated environment.
Performance and adjustment of the target student in the accelerated situation could be taken into account in the final decision on grade-skipping by the AAT and the target student him/herself.
If acceleration is found not a suitable option in school, the school should address the learning needs of high ability students by other options such as enrichment, individualised education programmes (IEP), independent projects, wider range of subject choices and mentoring.
2.5 Potential pros and cons of acceleration
Teachers, parents and the target students should be well aware of both the pros and cons of acceleration before considering it as an option for catering for the learning needs of the high ability students.
Learning process
Pros Cons
Increased learning efficiency:
Students who have already mastered curricula at earlier levels will learn better and more efficiently
Increased learning effectiveness:
Students engaged in learning at the level they are prepared for and for which they have mastered the prerequisite skills are more likely to learn effectively
Over focus on academic development: Expectation of
students’ academic performance might be so high that they would have to concentrate on academic development and the opportunities to develop other talented areas would be limited
Frustrated with pressure and demand: Constant push to perform would induce undue stress and lower students’ learning motivation
Reduced co-curricular
opportunities: Accelerants would be pushed to excel academically and would choose to sacrifice their
participation in co-curricular activities Academic outcomes and development
Pros Cons
Increased options for academic exploration: Accelerants could have more opportunities to engage in
Lack of prerequisite skills: The
“leap” over of the curriculum would obstruct students from having
advanced education in areas outside their major interest.
Increased time for career planning:
Allow accelerants to have more time to incubate their pursuit of future career development, to attain scholarly productivity and self-achievement earlier.
systematic instruction and assessment of skills, thus hinder their learning.
Setbacks in academic performance:
Accelerants would find it difficult to measure up to higher expectation, fall behind their new peers, and possibly become mediocre.
Early commitment to career decision: Accelerants tend to be expected to make decision for their career acceleration much earlier or confused by overwhelming advice, thus result in regrets in adult life Social and emotional adjustment
Pros Cons
Enhanced self-confidence: The achieving high ability students recognised by acceleration would increase their self confidence and self-efficacy
Maturity matched: For many bright students who tend to be socially and emotionally more mature than their age-mates, acceleration provides a better personal maturity match with classmates that enhances personal development
Exposure to a new peer group:
Accelerants could be able to enjoy more intellectual stimulus from peers with similar level of ability and learning drive. Sharing of advanced knowledge with peers further encourages their commitment in serving the society
Defeated self-confidence:
Accelerants would fail to rate the top among their peers and suffer from poor self-concept
Negative labeling effect:
Accelerants would have unrealistic superiority complex over the others through their faster- than -normal learning progress
Problem due to socio-emotional immaturity: Accelerants, though academically qualified, would be too socio-emotionally immature to communicate with older students
Deprived of childhood:
Fewer opportunities to form childhood and adolescent friendships will
become isolated or aggression towards/withdrawal from others
Towards Society and Family
Pros Cons
Increased productivity: Young professionals often make notable contributions to society. It is beneficial to expose students to advanced study if they show early talent
Economical advantage: Acceleration reduces schools’ extra need for special and additional resources to cater for the high achievers and enables more flexible and effective utilization of community resources
Tension in parent-child relationship: Parents’
over-expectation of accelerated children would be burden and source of worry to accelerants
Problems associated with acceleration often stem primarily from incomplete or poor planning and insufficient follow-up support. Unsuccessful experience however serves as powerful reminders to education practitioners that appropriate measures such as the following are needed to support acceleration:
clear procedures and criteria for identification,
careful selection of accelerants,
carefully planned, differentiated and monitored course content,
adequate understanding of the accelerants’ needs,
adequate follow-up monitoring in the early stage of acceleration,
well balanced support for the intellectual and socio-emotional growth of accelerants and
good cooperation between parents and schools
All these attribute to successful implementation of acceleration.
3. Views of Local Schools on Acceleration
This Reference Manual is expected to offer practical advice to Hong Kong schools in considering acceleration for nurturing high ability students, thus the understanding of the experience about and perception of acceleration in Hong Kong schools will enable this Reference Manual to address directly the specific concerns and needs thus assuring its practicality in the territory.
3.1 Survey and Interview
86 primary schools and 61 secondary schools responded to a questionnaire survey carried out by the Gifted Education Section of the Education Bureau (former Education and Manpower Bureau) in July 2007. The schools were selected through stratified random sampling and their responses were considered as school’s general opinion on acceleration. Five case schools were interviewed through focus group meetings and their experience in planning and launching acceleration programmes was considered. Participants in the interviews included school heads, teachers, parents and students. Furthermore, pilot trials of the Checklist for Assessing Suitability of Grade-skipping (Appendix I) have been conducted in 6 schools, which either had experience in or intended to carry out grade-skipping, so as to validate the local applicability of the instrument. The findings of the survey and interviews were finally categorised into five dimensions as shown in the following section.
3.2 Major Findings
Findings of the survey and interviews suggest positive school perception and understanding on the expected impact of acceleration on students’ learning and related arrangements. The points presented in the findings (Appendix III) are agreed by most of the schools responded to the questionnaire and interviews.
3.3 Implications for Practice
The survey and interviews have collected useful information about the current practice of acceleration in some local schools. This information is believed to be of significant implications for effective practice of acceleration and will steer the recommendations and advice given to the following aspects:
Principles of acceleration
Major types of acceleration programmes
School-based support for accelerated students
Local school cases with the highlights of their rationale, implementation, impact and specific features of acceleration practices
Suggested criteria for assessment of nominated students
The survey also identifies areas in which further support to schools and teachers is needed. Chapters 4 and 5 that follow will present a detailed elaboration of the above aspects and relevant school cases will be cited to enhance better understanding of the advice given.
4. Implementation of acceleration programmes
This chapter addresses the major principles in curriculum design for acceleration and the common pros and cons of the three acceleration options, i.e. grade-skipping, subject-skipping and curriculum compacting.
Questions to Ponder:
Is acceleration equivalent to “grade skipping?”
What other methods of acceleration are available?
How do we identify the individual high ability students for different types of acceleration programmes?
4.1 Identification of appropriate students for different acceleration options
The flow chart that follows suggests the possible way of identifying students for different acceleration options. It helps school personnel consider different aspects of evidence for cases to be acceleration.
錯誤!
6 Please refer to Guidelines on School-based Gifted Development Programmes for suggestions.
1. Has the student demonstrated comprehensive achievement well in advance of the current curriculum stage?
2. What level of advanced achievement is the student demonstrating? Is the level of achievement significant?
This student may be an appropriate candidate for acceleration.
YES
This student is probably not an appropriate candidate for acceleration but check whether there are other concerns such as an underachiever with high academic potential.
NO
YES
The student may be appropriate for acceleration by one or more years.
3. Has such comprehensive
achievement been demonstrated in one subject only?
This student may be appropriate for a minimal amount of acceleration such as challenging enrichment activities6. Other factors mentioned in stages 4 and 5 will also need to be considered.
In more than one subject, but not in all subjects?
NO
In all subjects?
NO
The student may be
appropriate for SUBJECT- SKIPPING /
CURRICULUM
COMPACTING in these subjects only.
YES
The student may be appropriate for GRADE
-SKIPPING.
The student may be
appropriate for SUBJECT- SKIPPING /
CURRICULUM COMPACTING in this subject only.
YES
NO
YES
Adapted from “Flow Chart: Selection of Appropriate Students for Accelerated Progression”, Guidelines for Accelerated Progression, Board of Studies, New South Wales, Australia.
7,8
Please refer to Guidelines on School-based Gifted Development Programmes for suggestions.
4. Has the student demonstrated a sufficient level of socio-emotional readiness to adjust to, and benefit from the acceleration proposed?
Will the acceleration proposed be socio-emotionally advantageous to the student?
Acceleration would suit the student concerned.
YES
5. Are the student, the student’s parents, and the school in agreement that acceleration is the most appropriate strategy for this student?
Will the parents and school be able to support the acceleration positively?
NO
Other programme options7 and strategies may need to be considered as
acceleration would not appear to be appropriate.
NO
Rethinking, or further
counseling and/or preparation, may be necessary. Other programme options8 and strategies may be more appropriate.
Arrange acceleration programme for the student.
YES
Recommended measures used to assess student capacity for acceleration:
Assessment checklist
academic records
class performance
evaluation report from educational psychologist, e.g. IQ test score
evaluation report from school counsellor
evaluation reports from former teachers
school-based tests
off-level tests
student’s works
behavioural checklists
class ranks
academic prizes or awards the student achieved
co-curricular and off-site activities records of the student
observation of interactions with peers over a reasonable time period
interview with the student
interview with the student’s parents
4.2 Development of acceleration programmes
In developing school-based acceleration programmes, schools should decide the most appropriate programme option in accordance with target students’ learning needs, teachers’ readiness and school supports. Suggestions on development of acceleration provision on programme basis are set below.
4.2.1 Grade-skipping
A. Major procedural principles9
Comprehensive assessment. There should be some comprehensive assessment of the student’s intellectual functioning, academic skill levels and socio-emotional adjustment. Making critical and accurate assessment of target student’s status is a crucial component for the success of grade-skipping. Any doubts arising in the assessment process should be clarified carefully to avoid mistaken decision.
All-round academic achievements. Academically, the student should demonstrate skill levels above the average of the class he/she is going to enter.
Appropriate level of socio-emotional maturity. Student should have a socio-emotional maturity level to be free of any serious adjustment problems.
Student’s eagerness to advance. Successful grade-skipping requires the student’s agreement. The student needs to be included in the discussion about acceleration, and be reminded the possible advantages and disadvantages of grade-skipping. While, during discussion, student’s concerns such as not preferring to stand out or not willing to separate with peers should be addressed properly to help him/her decide whether to advance.
9 Adapted from: Feldhusen, JF, Proctor, TB & Black, KN (1986): Guidelines for Grade Advancement of Precocious Children. Roeper Review, 9(1), 25-27.
Minimising skill and knowledge gaps. The skill and knowledge gaps should be identified and diagnosed so that the student can be assisted in acquiring any missing basic skills and knowledge.
Supportive significant others. Parents and the receiving teacher(s) should be agreeable to the acceleration and be willing to help the child adjust to the new situation. They could help student by closely monitoring the student’s adjustment and provide support in
accordance.
Avoiding excessive expectations. Realistic expectations are the key to success. The student should not be pressured or made to feel as if e/she is a failure if the grade-skipping does not work out well. Effective communication between school and parents on student’s needs would help both parties derive a reasonable level of expectation on
grade-skipping.
Careful consideration on current class level of siblings. It is
important to consider whether there are older siblings in the class level which a student might be grade-skipped. To avoid jealousy and
competition for adult time and attention arisen at home, it is strongly recommended that some other means be found to meet the student needs if s/he is being considered for a grade-skip into the classes of an older sibling.
Trustful school/parent partnership. Parents should be involved in the discussion of grade-skipping by contributing accurate information to the assessment process. Schools could offer support and guidance to parents by encouraging them to share information about the student’s performance in the acceleration process.
Favourable timing of advancement. Ideally, grade-skipping should occur at natural transition points such as the beginning of the school year. However, mid-term could also be a good time to arrange
grade-skipping for accelerants. Students who are not able to cope with new challenges after grade-skipping in the second term of a school year could stay in the same class level for one more year which should be the class level appropriate with his/her chronological age. For example, a student skips to the 2nd term of Primary 4 after he/she completed the 1st term of Primary 3. If his/her academic performance and/or social
emotional adjustment in Primary 4 are not satisfactory, he/she should be allowed to stay in Primary 4 in the next year. Such a practice could be an effective way to keep the feeling of ‘failed’ to minimum if an untenable student is arranged to return to the original year of study.
B. Common pros and cons of grade-skipping
Pros Cons
For school/teachers:
Easy to implement
No specific additional teaching resources required
For grade-skipper:
Less likely to be bored but more motivated to learn
Less likely to trigger behaviour
problems by unchallenging curriculum
For school/teachers:
Specific arrangement in
monitoring and counseling the grade-skipper is needed For grade-skipper:
Have fewer opportunities to mingle with age peers
Additional work to bridge the skills and knowledge gap could be a burden
C. Curriculum design and special support for grade-skipping Objective To provide an appropriate academic and
personal match, while shortening the schooling, to meet high ability students’ learning needs.
Learning experience
The curriculum must continue to be challenging for grade-skipper.
Additional components of enrichment,
counselling, flexible grouping, and
individualisation could help grade-skipper develop good adaptation to changes.
Teacher should be aware of the learning
needs of grade-skipper and provide appropriate levels of instruction in accordance.
Teacher should ensure sufficient exposure of
the grade-skipper to advanced content Evaluation on the
learning outcomes
Examining class rank, school-based test and examination scores and teachers’ observation on learning attitude to evaluate academic outcomes
Using teacher observation, school attendance rate, leadership behaviour, number and
patterns of friendships, attitudes toward school and participation in co-curricular activities to evaluate socio-emotional adjustment
Evaluation on the learning outcomes (cont’)
Distributing questionnaires to the
grade-skipper to assess social or personal problems, conformity to school regulations, reading habits, non-assigned study time, time spent watching television, time spent with hobbies, as well as perception of the grade-skipping
Special support for grade-skippers
Role of parents
Allowing their children to develop a sense of direction without pressuring them to succeed
Providing emotional support during the initial transition of grade-skipping
Providing tutoring at home to help the student
“catch up” on critical content that may have been skipped in the acceleration process
Facilitating off-site learning opportunities for additional enrichment and social development
Role of school
Cultivating an open and accepting
atmosphere with avoidance of unnecessary labeling or conspicuous attention
Providing some remedial work to fill the gaps in the student’s skills and knowledge
Special support for grade-skippers (cont’)
Providing differentiated instruction even in the accelerated setting
Offering necessary curriculum adjustment in subjects which are designed according to students’ developmental needs. For example, a student in P3 moving into P5 might
encounter difficulties in joining collective games or competition in PE classes due to the physical limitation in his/her psychomotor development stage. For the sake of student’s balanced development, arranging the
grade-skipper to attend PE classes in his/her original class could be an option.
Offering counselling service to help grade-skipper manage expectation from others and pressure arising from new challenges
Helping the grade-skipper socially by monitoring the student’s adjustment and introducing the student to friendly peers. A mentoring system with senior accelerated student who excels in similar area mentoring junior grade-skipper is helpful for his/her to cope with challenges
Making efforts to help parents understand what is appropriate in terms of giving support
Special support for grade-skippers (cont’)
to grade-skipper without imposing unnecessary pressure.
Offering individualized education programme for grade-skipper who has exceptional
learning needs which are not able to be met in regular classes.
Monitoring closely on the performance of the student. Any persisting unsatisfactory social and academic performance might indicate that the grade-skipper would be becoming
untenable. Receiving teacher and school counsellor should jointly provide remedial support to the student accordingly.
According to the major principles of grade-skipping, students considered to be suitable for such programme option are most likely the high ability students with all-round outstanding performance. They demonstrate above average mastery of the knowledge and skills in general most of the academic areas. Promoting to a higher grade will definitely provides more challenging learning opportunities to these students.
4.2.2 Subject-skipping
For students who excel in individual KLAs, subject-skipping or curriculum compacting can be more appropriate options to nurture their particular talents, and keep them motivated to pursue higher goal in learning.
The target students for subject-skipping and curriculum compacting can be identified through observation and assessment by subject teachers and KLAs coordinators on their extraordinary abilities and interests demonstrated in different KLA-related activities. The KLA specific abilities and interests of students are listed in the following table for reference. (The information of the following table, as an example, is extracted from the Nomination Guidelines of the Support Measures for the Exceptionally Gifted Scheme. Detailed checklists of individual KLA can be found in the website of the Gifted Education Section at http://www.edb.gov.hk/cd/ge)
Mathematics Education Science Education
Persistent in learning math, high concentration, hard working, motivated, interested.
Enjoys trying to solve difficult problems, likes puzzles and logic problems.
Interested in numbers and quantitative relationships, sees usefulness or applications of mathematics.
Learns math concepts and processes faster than other students.
Develops unique associations, uses original methods for solutions.
Recalls relevant information or concepts in solving problems, recognises the critical elements.
Generalizes mathematical relationships, relates concepts in various applications.
Resourceful in seeking ways to solve a problem.
Persistent in learning science, high concentration, hard working, motivated.
Interested in science books and television programmes, enjoys science fictions.
Enjoys trying to solve difficult problems in sciences by logic deduction.
Organises data or analyses an observed phenomenon to discover patterns or relationships.
Good at observing, exploring, questioning, investigating things in detail.
Understands scientific methods, able to formulate hypotheses and conduct experiments carefully.
Skillful in using lab equipment, able to improve on experiments.
Persistent, sticks with investigations in spite of difficulties or problems, has high level of
Chinese / English Langague Education Personal, Social and Humanities Education
Organises ideas and sequences well in preparation for speaking or writing.
Reads widely for a period of time in a variety of types of literature.
Develops convincing characters and situations in writing.
Strong instinctive understanding of language, e.g. sensitive to semantic meaning and emotion between lines.
Is able to support the main idea by using details and examples at the paragraph level.
Can show essay development including introduction and conclusion.
Uses appropriate linguistic forms and structures; mistakes in sentence structures do not detract from meaning.
Learns new vocabulary words and grammatical concepts rapidly, and even make critical judgement.
Displays intellectual curiosity, becomes interested in a variety of topics not required or assigned.
Sensitive to social issues, sees ethical and moral questions.
Interested in social themes, complex public issues, explanations, and theories of
causation.
Suspends judgement, entertains alternate explanations or points of views while exploring a question.
Aware that statements about people depend for their validity on the authority and type of available evidence.
Attracted toward cognitive complexity;
enjoys puzzles, paradoxes, mysteries.
Asks questions and challenges knowledge.
Skilled in analyzing topics, finding the underlying problem, questioning, investigating.
Adapted from: Feldhusen, J.F., Hoover, S.M.H., & Sayler, M.F., (1991), “Purdue Academic Rating Scale in Identification and Educating Gifted Students at the Secondary Level. Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
The students significantly outperform their peers with the
above-mentioned characteristics should be considered as potential candidates for subject-skipping or curriculum compacting. With reference to the chart for identifying students for acceleration programmes in 4.1, the social emotional maturity and eagerness to advance of the target students should also be taken into account.
A. Major procedural principles
Student’s outstanding subject performance. Student should demonstrate one or two level(s) advanced achievement in the particular subject(s)
Comprehensive subject assessment. Assessment of students on which subject(s) of the curriculum they perform eminently and the subject skipping should cater for the acceleration in the area(s) only
Evidence-based selection of student. Students are selected for subject acceleration based on factors including student, parent and teacher nomination and other teacher assessment. Attention should also be given to the student's ability to work and think independently.
Student’s eagerness to advance and learning motivation. The students should have a high level of interest in the accelerated subject(s) and eager to move ahead in the subject(s).
Appropriate class time-tabling. The arrangement of the timetable should allow subject-skipper to attend the class of subject-skipping at the higher grade.
Appropriate level of social maturity. Students should be socially mature and prepared to take a risk to meet academic challenge.
Sustainability or extension in the subject learning. There should be a plan for continuous progress on the learning of the subject after subject-skipping for the moment. For example, mentorship scheme, independent study or individual educational plan in the further future of advanced study of the accelerated subject.
B. Common pros and cons of subject skipping
Pros Cons
Keeping the student motivated to learn
Imposing minimal disruption on student learning and social development
Having same teachers involved usually in adjoining years of same subject to facilitate student’s adjustment in new learning environment.
Timetabling constraints
C. Curriculum design and administrative arrangement for subject-skipping Objective To provide a better academic match to meet
high ability students’ learning needs in individual subject(s).
Learning experience Subject matter should be carefully planned and monitored to cater for the learning needs of the subject-skipper
Independent learning sessions such as computer-assisted instruction, project learning could be supplementary learning experience for subject-skippers
Evaluation on the learning outcomes
Examining class rank, school-based test and examination scores and teachers’
observation on subject-skippers’ learning attitude of the accelerated subject to evaluate academic outcomes
Examining the independent learning ability
Administrative arrangements for subject-skipping
Timetables can be structured so that a particular subject is simultaneously studied by adjoining stages, so that student
movement across stages is simplified. (See example in Appendix V)
4.2.3 Curriculum compacting
A. Major procedural principles
More challenging study. Facilitate advanced students to study more challenging and interesting materials at a faster pace after basic skills and course content are taught.
Accurate pre-assessment. There should be pre-testing of students to establish their current skill levels and achieved learning outcomes in order to determine the level of challenge in the replacement materials.
Evidence-based selection of student. Students should demonstrate outstanding subject-specific measures of outcomes and dislike drill, recitation and whole-class learning experience. They should also have good grasp of independent learning skills, task commitment and motivation.
Reorganising the regular curriculum. Eliminating curricular material that students have already mastered and replacing it with more
appropriate learning activities so that fast learners can buy time for engaging in enrichment activities
Challenging replacement materials. Replacement materials must focus on student interest and should be challenging to relieve high ability students of the boredom resulting from unchallenging work in basic skill areas
Identical assessment. Assessment for the students undertaking a compacted programme should be based on the same material on which others in the class are being assessed to avoid students’
unwillingness to jeopardise their good results in core work.
Clear evaluation criteria. All criteria for evaluation should be
presented and understood before students begin an extended activity.
It is also important for students to understand that they need to be working independently during “compacted” time; otherwise, they may need to rejoin the regular instructional group.
Record keeping. Should be maintained as part of the student’s individual record to allow forthcoming follow up work.
Collaborative effort. Should be carried out cooperatively by
classroom teachers and supporting teachers in enrichment session.
Teachers should have the capacity to provide differentiated materials , such as tiered assignment10, for replacement.
B. Common pros & cons of curriculum compacting
Pros Cons
Compacting releases time for more challenging learning experience
The pace of instruction and
practice time is flexible and can be tailored made according to student’s individual needs
Replacement of what has been eliminated with appropriately challenging content and activities would be a more challenging task for teachers
Teachers will need specific preparation or training for
10 Tiered assignments are parallel tasks at varied levels of complexity, depth and abstractness with various degrees of scaffolding, support, or direction.
planning what to substitute for high-ability students
Negotiation of teaching different
topics to different groups of students could be a complex task
C. Curriculum design for curriculum compacting
Objectives To create a more challenging learning environment by “buying” time for more appropriate enrichment and/or acceleration activities with greater degree of learning autonomy
Steps for implementing curriculum compacting
Step 1: Identify the learning objectives in a given KLA.
Step 2: Use appropriate assessment tool
Finding or developing assessment tool to assess students’ achievement on the objectives before instruction.
Step 3: Identify students who may benefit from curriculum compacting
Identifying students who may be capable of learning with less instruction or drilling time than other students.
Identifying students’ specific content area strengths to ensure they are excused from class for enrichment activities or
Steps for implementing curriculum compacting (cont’)
independent study only during their curricular strength times.
Step 4: Determine students’ mastery level of course content
Making consensus on the definition of mastery among teachers.
Guiding information for what skills and general knowledge should be eliminated.
Step 5: Eliminate instructional time, practice or drill for students who show mastery of the objectives
If a student has mastered three out of five objectives in a unit, that student could be exempt from the classroom instruction of those three objectives and exposed to learning experience that matches up with his/her learning pace and abilities.
Step 6: Offer challenging enrichment alternatives11 for time provided by compacting
Possible replacement activities could be independent or small group work on self-interested topics, self-directed study, hands-on projects or mentoring.
Step 7: Keep records on compaction process and students' learning progress
Records should contain students’
11 Please refer to Guidelines on School-based Gifted Development Programmes for suggestions.
Steps for implementing curriculum compacting (cont’)
strength areas with supporting academic results, assessment tool used to
determine mastery level and enrichment alternative experienced.
(Adapted from S.Reis, D.Burns & J.Renzulli, 1992 )
Evaluation on the learning outcomes
Assessment methods used for autonomous learning activities such as rubrics, student self-assessment, peer-assessment and student reflection records could be used to evaluate students’ extended tasks.
Responsibility for evaluating student work is
better shared between teachers and students.
Students could be engaged in producing the scoring rubrics and evaluate their own work.
Questions to Ponder:
How do we evaluate the effectiveness of acceleration programmes?
What do we evaluate for understanding the impacts of acceleration on the students’ learning and adjustment?
In what ways can we make use of the evaluation findings for programme improvement?
What steps are included in a continual monitoring of the performance and adjustment of the accelerants for assuring them of timely support?
4.3 Evaluation of acceleration practice 4.3.1 General principles of evaluation
assess if the practice serves the intended goals
highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the acceleration practice
identify critical issues influencing the effectiveness of the practice
ensure instruments and procedures used to conduct evaluation should be valid and reliable for targeted practice
4.3.2 Evaluation process
Adapted from Rimm’s Model (1977)
Decision Making
Manpower planning
Teachers’ capacity building
Resource support and development
Identification of potential accelerants
Matching of programmes
Organisation of learning activities
Programme strengths and weaknesses
Teaching strategies
Parent involvement
General academic achievement
Specific skills achievement
Student
socio-emotional adjustment
Student products
Teachers’ knowledge and attitudes
Parent attitudes Input (Resources) Process (Programmes) Outcome (Objectives)
Evaluation
4.3.3 What if unsatisfactory outcomes arise?
There is no definite cut-off, in terms of duration and measurement of the adjustment and performance of grade-skipper or subject-skipper during the participation in an acceleration programme, for judging their success or failure.
However, in case of continuous unsatisfactory outcome observed during the first 6 weeks of acceleration as suggested by researchers and school practitioners that, for instance, the student
feels undue pressure or stress caused by unexpected maladjustment or learning problem,
shows enormous difficulty meeting greater academic challenge, or
demonstrates unwillingness to stay in the new setting, etc.
With these outcomes proven harmful to the development of the student, the student should be made aware of the trial nature of the placement and informed that he or she may choose to return to the previous setting without worry of being labeled a failure. Such a trial option should embody thorough counseling support to the student and communication with the parents.
4.3.4 Record of student
A comprehensive record of any student who has been accelerated should be regularly updated and accessible to teachers and parents. Supporting documentation on each record should show evidence over time of the suitability or necessity for accelerated progression. Such documentation should reveal a trend extending back beyond the current year so that cross reference could be made by personnel involved.
5. School Cases
This chapter highlights the rationale, implementation, impact and specific features of the acceleration practices in a few local schools. The following models are not exhaustive but to disseminate some examples of acceleration programmes in Hong Kong for reference only.
School A – Parent Request and Support
Background A through-train school under the direct subsidy scheme which has been established for 5 years
Students are generally with high calibre.
School
administrative arrangement
Principal disseminates the school policy and administrative
arrangement on acceleration to all teachers in every communication channel.
Teachers generally perceive acceleration as a common practice to cater for their students’ educational needs.
Acceleration is usually requested by parents. The school will consider
the case with reference to comments by educational psychologist and teachers who are actively involved in the decision making process.
Acceleration is put into practice only after detailed discussion with parents and the target student.
Student’s academic ability is the key criteria for considering acceleration, while a high level of social and emotional maturity is also required for acceleration practice.
The forms and numbers of provision of acceleration programmes for target students are multifarious. It highly depends on the needs of the students.
Implementation and impacts of acceleration programmes
Grade-skipping is most commonly adopted as an acceleration strategy to cater for remarkably bright students.
Teachers would make adaptation on their school-based curriculum tailor made for grade-skippers
In order to cultivate the spirit of self-directed learning, not only the pace of learning, but also the option of learning experience is regulated to meet the learning needs of the grade-skippers
Grade-skippers are requested to have supplementary self-study on the knowledge and skills skipped due to acceleration.
Most of the grade-skippers are found to have improved
socio-emotional behaviour.
Highlight on features
There is an escape clause of acceleration. Students are allowed to go back to their original class of study if they found it unendurable in coping with challenge after grade-skipping.
Parents’ support is a crucial factor contributing to the success of
accelerated students. The good adjustment and performance of accelerants, to a great extent, attributes to the academic and socio-emotional support from parents.
School B – School Early Selection
Background A primary school located in a new town with eight years of history.
School
administrative arrangement
The school arranges special acceleration practices for high-ability students to help them achieve their full potential,
After academic assessment at the end of first school term,
the top 20 Primary 1 students will be invited to join an after-school acceleration lesson for the study of the P.2 curriculum.
Socio-emotional ability of the top few students in the after-school
