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 purpose of this longitudinal case study was to investigate the relationship between participation in professional development in Renzulli’s Enrichment Triad Model and one gifted education teacher’s knowledge and practice, with particular attention to differentiated instruction. Findings indicated that professional development increased the participating teacher’s knowledge of gifted education, her attitude toward change, and her repertoire of instructional strategies; however, it did not alter her underlying beliefs or subsequent approach to gifted education. Time span and provider support were noted as promoters of effective professional development. Conceptual blocks, teacher characteristics, and lack of time were identified as barriers that inhibited professional development–related change with regard to differentiated instruction for learners who have high academic ability.

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.

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The purpose of this article is to assist classroom teachers in discerning qualitative differences between a student-written report and student-led research. There are many connotations to the terms “report” and “research,” and they can have implications on how teachers effectively or ineffectively differentiate instruction to challenge students who have high academic ability. In this article, we present what we coin the Report-Research Continuum (R-RC), which is a differentiation decision-making tool for selecting student projects of varied levels of complexity. We also discuss the benefits of student-led reports and research and how they align with national standards. After reading this article, teachers will have an expanded understanding of similarities and differences between the terms “report” and “research” and will be able to use the R-RC to guide their selection of appropriately challenging projects that align with students’ readiness levels and interest areas.

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This study illustrates the consequences of accounting for or ignoring teacher variability in student ratings in conjunction with combination rules when identifying students for gifted services in one rural primary school. Teachers ( n = 16) rated 282 first-- and second grade students on creativity, motivation, mathematics, and science. Results indicated the most variability in how teachers used the science scale and the least variability in the mathematics scales. Further, teachers rated female students higher than male students in motivation, but not on any other scale. More students were identified if the top students were identified in each class versus the top students in each grade level, and largely, the students who were identified within their classrooms were not the same students who were identified within their grade level. And as expected, OR rules resulted in the highest number of students identified. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

National- and state-level education policies are evolving to address teacher shortages that are pervasive across the United States and are particularly problematic in rural special education. In this article, we describe a policy we call “endorsement by exam” in which teachers certified in one subject area can become certified in other areas by passing a content knowledge test. Although such add-on endorsements are not uncommon in some content areas (e.g., chemistry teachers adding certification in biology), some states have extended this practice to include special education certification. The purpose of this article is to explore what state agencies have adopted endorsement by exam for special education. Despite difficulties in obtaining reliable information, we determined approximately eight states have adopted some form of this policy. We discuss results in terms of rurality and conclude by explaining our position that endorsement by exam is a potentially harmful quick fix that may in fact exacerbate teacher shortages in the long term and thus is ill advised.