2019 Report Shows Massachusetts Needs Gifted Education

In June 2018, the state legislature mandated that the state's department of education (a.k.a. DESE) have independent research done into the practices, policies, and educational needs of students who could achieve beyond their grade level who are gifted. The Final Report was released on 8/21/2019. 

The report recommended creating a task force to:

• Define giftedness and measures to assess giftedness;

• Determine the most effective way to collect data on gifted students;

• Consider best practices of other states and districts;

The report also urges the state to:

• Establish state policy and guidelines on acceleration;

• Track and report on the excellence gap; identify and implement strategies to close it.

• Include instruction on the learning needs of gifted students as part of teacher training for all teachers; and

• Hire staff at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education with expertise in gifted students and gifted education.