Getting Ahead: Current Secondary and Postsecondary Acceleration Options for High-Ability Students in Indiana

Abstract

Gifted education programs at the secondary level have yet to receive as much attention as those at the primary and elementary levels. The 2007 State of the States Report found that AP courses remain the most common means of addressing the needs of high-ability high school students. This study presents the current state of high-ability programming in Indiana high schools with special attention to dual-credit and IB programs. Survey data were collected on the policies and offerings of 87% of the state's school corporations. The data suggest that even though almost 90% of corporations offer dual-credit courses and 4% offer IB programs, AP courses remain the primary source of high school programming. The data also indicate that 70% of school corporations require students to exhibit high levels of performance in past coursework or on standardized tests to participate in these programs. Implications for such requirements are that they may prevent underachieving high-ability students from gaining access to the coursework from which they would benefit to be successful in an academic setting.