The Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration (IRPA), described in this entry, was established in 2006 at the Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Iowa through the support of the John Templeton Foundation. IRPA is unique in that its sole focus is the study of curricular acceleration for academically talented children. Academic acceleration is an intervention that moves high-ability students through an educational program at a rate faster or at an age younger than typical. The goal of acceleration is to match the level, complexity, and pace of the curriculum with student's intellectual abilities.

The founding of IRPA is a direct outcome of the success of the two-volume report by Nicholas Colangelo, Susan ...