Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration

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 Assouline, and Miraca Gross. The report, entitled A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, synthesizes 50 years of robust and consistent research on academic acceleration. Both grade-based (e.g., grade skipping) and content-based acceleration are effective interventions for high-ability students. Although grade-accelerated students generally academically outperform their chronologically older classmates, both groups show approximately equal levels of social and emotional adjustment.

Despite the favorable research evidence for acceleration, there is a reluctance to accelerate students, as seen in educational policies, practices, and attitudes. Given this disconnect between research and practice, IRPA aims to provide up-to-date information on all aspects of acceleration.

Specifically, the primary purposes of the Institute are to

• Provide educators, parents, and the general public with current information and advice on the many aspects of acceleration.
• Serve as an international clearinghouse for research and policy on acceleration.
• Conduct and support research on the factors that moderate success with different forms of acceleration.

The institute's Web site is primary source of this information for both practitioners and researchers. Here, parents and teachers can find answers to basic questions about acceleration (e.g., What is acceleration? What forms does it take? Why should students be accelerated?); obtain advice on the acceleration decision-making process (including information on the Iowa Acceleration Scale, second edition, a tool for making objective decisions about grade acceleration); read personal stories about acceleration submitted by students, parents, and teachers; download a free presentation about acceleration; and find links to other resources. Policymakers can also find information about state acceleration practices and policies. Researchers can find an annotated bibliography of research on acceleration.

Research conducted by IRPA has taken several forms. Survey research has focused on assessing the attitudes toward acceleration held by different constituencies (e.g., parents, teachers, school [Page 469]administrators). These surveys have examined the changes in acceleration practices to see if more students are being allowed to participate in accelerative options and whether those options are grade based or subject based (e.g., increased Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate offerings at a school? Increased opportunities for middle school students to take high school math?). Other IRPA surveys have focused on the knowledge of and attitudes toward acceleration held by school counselors, the education professionals who may be most directly involved with the student's transition to an advanced setting and the challenges associated with adjusting to more advanced content and settling in with a group of older peers. In addition to documenting changes in attitudes and practices, surveys can inform decisions about how best to disseminate information about acceleration to those who may feel tentative about it.

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