Two second-order meta-analyses synthesized approximately 100 years of research on the effects of ability grouping and acceleration on K–12 students’ academic achievement. Outcomes of 13 ability grouping meta-analyses showed that students benefited from within-class grouping (0.19 ≤ g ≤ 0.30), cross-grade subject grouping (g = 0.26), and special grouping for the gifted (g = 0.37), but did not benefit from between-class grouping (0.04 ≤ g ≤0.06); the effects did not vary for high-, medium-, and low-ability students. Three acceleration meta-analyses showed that accelerated students significantly outperformed their nonaccelerated same-age peers (g = 0.70) but did not differ significantly from nonaccelerated older peers (g = 0.09). Three other meta-analyses that aggregated outcomes across specific forms of acceleration found that acceleration appeared to have a positive, moderate, and statistically significant impact on students’ academic achievement (g = 0.42).

Current empirical research about the effects of acceleration on high-ability learners’ academic achievement and social— emotional development were synthesized using meta-analytic techniques. A total of 38 primary studies conducted between 1984 and 2008 were included. The results were broken down by developmental level (P-12 and postsecondary) and comparison group (whether the accelerants were compared with same-age, older, or mixed-age peers). The findings are consistent with the conclusions from previous meta-analytic studies, suggesting that acceleration had a positive impact on high-ability learners’ academic achievement ( g = 0.180, 95% CI = -.072, .431, under a random-effects model). In addition, the social—emotional development effects appeared to be slightly positive ( g = 0.076, 95% CI = -.025, .176, under a random-effects model), although not as strong as for academic achievement. No strong evidence regarding the moderators of the effects was found. Putting the Research to Use The findings of this meta-analysis suggest that acceleration influences high-ability learners in positive ways, especially on academic achievement. An important message for educators, parents and students is that high-ability learners can benefit from acceleration both in the short-term and in the long run. Specifically, accelerated students tend to outperform students who are not accelerated in their performance on standardized achievement tests, college grades, degrees obtained, status of universities or colleges attended, and career status. Accelerants equal or surpass non-accelerants in self-concept, self-esteem, self-confidence, social relationships, participation in extracurricular activities, and life satisfaction. It is informative for policy-makers that acceleration programs, especially university-based early college entrance programs, have been frequently assessed and appear to be the most effective. In summary, acceleration can be effective both in K-12 education and in college. Parents are encouraged to consider acceleration for their academically talented children and educators are encouraged to make acceleration options available.

This meta-analysis synthesizes research on the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) for college students. Thirty-five reports were found containing 39 studies assessing the effectiveness of 22 types of ITS in higher education settings. Most frequently studied were AutoTutor, Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces, extended Tutor-Expert System, and Web Interface for Statistics Education. Major findings include (a) Overall, ITS had a moderate positive effect on college students' academic learning [g = .32 to g = .37); (b) ITS were less effective than human tutoring, but they outperformed all other instruction methods and learning activities, including traditional classroom instruction, reading printed text or computerized materials, computer-assisted instruction, laboratory or homework assignments, and no-treatment control; (c) ITS's effectiveness did not significantly differ by different ITS, subject domain, or the manner or degree of their involvement in instruction and learning; and (d) effectiveness in earlier studies appeared to be significantly greater than that in more recent studies. In addition, there is some evidence suggesting the importance of teachers and pedagogy in ITS-assisted learning.

In this study, we meta-analyzed empirical research of the effectiveness of intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) on K-12 students' mathematical leaming. A total of 26 reports containing 34 independent samples met study inclusion criteria. The reports appeared between 1997 and 2010. The majority of included studies compared the effectiveness of ITS with that of regular classroom instmction. A few studies compared ITS with human tutoring or homework practices. Among the major findings are (a) overall, ITS had no negative and perhaps a small positive effect on K-12 students' mathematical leaming, as indicated by the average effect sizes ranging from g = 0.0\ to g = 0.09, and (b) on the basis of the few studies that compared ITS with homework or human tutoring, the effectiveness of ITS appeared to be small to modest. Moderator analyses revealed 2 findings of practical importance. First, the effects of ITS appeared to be greater when the interventions lasted for less than a school year than when they lasted for 1 school year or longer. Second, the effectiveness of ITS for helping students drawn from the general population was greater than for helping low achievers. This finding draws attentions to the issue of whether computerized learning might contribute to the achievement gap between students with different achievement levels and aptitudes.

What roles do teachers play in the development of talent and in the attitude of students toward school? Research indicates that teacher enthusiasm, feedback, and content knowledge are keys to student motivation, learning, and engagement. Research also reveals the importance of positive and supportive student/teacher relationships. In previous work concerning student attitudes toward school, a handful of teachers emerged, in the eyes of their students, as exemplary. Follow-up study provided insights concerning the characteristics, practices, and qualities of these teachers. What and how they teach, and the ways they relate to individual students distinguish these exemplary and talented teachers. This research reveals quantitative and qualitative findings that help to explain the student-identified exemplary teachers ( n = 18) from two samples that included more than 400 teachers. Implications for practice based on findings from these exemplary teachers are highlighted.

Underachievement of gifted students has been a great concern for the field of gifted education. The current study reviewed 14 recent empirical studies concerning the effectiveness of underachievement interventions on gifted students’ achievement outcomes and psychosocial outcomes. Overall, there was no evidence that underachievement interventions significantly improved academic performance of gifted underachievers ( g = .09, p = .387), especially in terms of course grades. Gifted underachievers receiving interventions significantly outscored their comparison peers on psychosocial outcomes ( g = 0.22, p = .001), which consisted of a variety of measures on self-efficacy, goal valuation, environmental perceptions, self-regulation/motivation, and psychosocial functioning. Qualitative studies generally reported that gifted underachievers benefited from the interventions in terms of increased motivation for learning, improved self-regulation, and finding school more meaningful. Findings need to be viewed in light of the relatively low quality of the evidence from recent research on underachievement interventions.

We are all familiar with pictures of colonial families sitting together and reading, often with a picturesque fi re blazing in the fi replace. However, because homework is a topic rarely covered in treatments of the early history of American education, we do not know whether this reading was done because it was assigned by teachers or because parents mandated it. What we do know is that by the beginning of the 20th century, most children were doing teacherassigned homework and their parents were debating with educators and one another about the value of home study ( Gill & Schlossman, 1996 ).The principle points in the debates surround whether homework actually improves student achievement, whether it has a positive or negative impact on motivation to learn and desirable character traits, and whether it crowds out other activities that help develop important nonacademic life skills or simply prevents students from enjoying the early years of their lives. In this chapter, we will review the research literature on whether homework works, for whom, and under what circumstances. With regard to circumstances, we will pay special attention to the role of parent involvement in the homework process. As prelude, we will begin by providing a defi nition of homework and a catalog of the positive and negative effects claimed by its supporters and detractors. A DEFINITION OF HOMEWORKCooper (1989) defi ned homework as "tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are meant to be carried out during nonschool hours" (p. 7). The qualifi er "during non-school hours" was probably not the best choice because older students often work on homework assignments during the school day-in study hall or during library time, for example-and this is certainly OK with their teachers. So, perhaps the defi nition would be more accurate if it substituted the qualifi er "during noninstructional time" for "nonschool hours."The defi nition does explicitly exclude (a) inschool or out-of-school guided study (e.g., test preparation classes) or tutoring; (b) home study courses delivered through the mail, on television, on audio or video disc, or over the Internet; and (c) extracurricular activities such as sports teams and clubs. Within this defi nition, Cooper (1989) also defi ned many distinctions in homework assignments, including its amount, level of diffi culty, purpose, skill area, degree of individualization and choice, assignment deadlines, and social context. Table 20.1 provides some examples of how homework assignments might differ along each of these dimensions and categories.

This article introduces the Special Class for the Gifted Young (SCGY), an early college entrance program in mathematics and science in China, which has been a focus for media coverage and public discussion of accelerated education in China. We first describe the admission policy and academic programming of SCGY and delineate its distinct features. Next we summarize findings regarding the long-term trajectories and accomplishments of its graduates. We then present our interview studies with graduates of SCGY and raise a set of questions for future research. The evidence shows that, when admission policy, academic programming, and student support are fashioned to optimize student learning and growing experiences, early college entrance programs can be effective ways of producing a pipeline of talents to the benefit of society while also benefiting the individuals involved.