Academic acceleration is the advancement of gifted students in subjects at a rate that places them ahead of where they would be in the regular school curriculum.

—”A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students”

As we talk a lot about accelerative practices at CBK as part of a broader talent development model, we also field a lot of questions about what we mean by and where to find more resources on acceleration. For a long time, people leaped immediately to grade-skipping as a direct interpretation of what acceleration means. However, we know from over 100 years of validated research that acceleration means so much more, both in methodology and in result.

The findings in A Nation Deceived were compiled to offer educators an array of research-backed, proven options for acceleration other than grade-skipping, in hopes that schools would proactively seek out students who would benefit.