Evaluation of Gifted Education using A-F School Grading Accountability Systems

A recent trend in accountability systems in the United States has been grading schools on an A-F scale. Some of the evaluation components included in these systems are standardized test proficiency rates and student growth measures. Traditionally, these systems have not emphasized accountability for gifted education programming or services. The accountability systems of the sixteen states in the U.S. under these A-F systems were analyzed for indicators that involve gifted education, which does not yet have a federal mandate or centralized decision-making. The frequency of evaluation components were compared at the high school and elementary school levels. The only gifted education-specific components were based on AP and IB testing in high school. The lack of gifted education inclusion into these systems represents the current climate for gifted education in the United States.