The Daily Nonpareil - Young Introduces Talented, Gifted Education Proposal

News Article

By Scott Stewart

In late May, Rep. David Young told a group of Lewis Central high-ability learners that he didn't feel challenged when he was attending school as a child.

"I was one of those kids who was sat up against the window of the school," Young said May 28 during a brunch for the Lewis Central Community School District's talented and gifted program."I didn't feel like I was challenged, and my grades reflected it."

Perhaps that experience is why the Republican, who represents Iowa's 3rd Congressional district, sponsored H.R. 2960, the To Aid Gifted and High-Ability Learners by Empowering the Nation's Teachers Act. The TALENT Act was also cosponsored by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and similar legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, among several cosponsors.

"It will empower our students with opportunities and maximize their potential to be the next round of leaders," Young said of the TALENT Act. "In Iowa and across the country, we have exceptionally gifted students who are not reaching their full potential. We simply are not maximizing their abilities in the classroom."

Maureen Marron, the legislative chair of the Iowa Talented And Gifted Association, said the hope is the TALENT Act becomes part of the rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Congress is reviewing the law, which in its most recent form is called the No Child Left Behind Act and requires states to test students and meet accountability benchmarks generally regarded as untenable.

"The Senate version of the ESEA currently contains multiple provisions from the TALENT Act, and we are thrilled with that progress," Marron said. "Of course, our hope is that those provisions remain in the Senate version and that the House includes provisions in their ESEA bill."

ITAG supports the TALENT Act because it provides federal recognition for gifted and high-potential students, she said, and the association believes the legislation would benefit Iowa's gifted and talented students. In particular, she said it would target "excellence gaps," the different levels of achievement at the top end of the spectrum between white and non-white students and between low-income and high-income students.

In Iowa, a 2012 student found the excellence gap widened had since 2003 between white and Hispanic students, with only minimal progress in the gap for white and black students. Considerably more students not qualifying for federal meal subsidies, a common benchmark of poverty, moved into the advanced scoring levels than economically disadvantaged peers, concluded the study "Talent on the Sidelines" by researchers Jonathan Plucker, Jacob Hardesty and Nathan Burroughs.

The TALENT Act would require states to produce an annual report on the achievement of high-ability students, with data available by various subgroups. States would also need to specifically include gifted and talent students when they plan for improving teacher quality, according to an analysis by the National Association for Gifted Children.

The association said the act has four key aims: support educator development focused on high-ability students, address excellence gaps, provide transparency on achievement data and continue research into best practices in gifted education. Young said the act's provisions would be good policy.

"It does not cost more money, and it gives states and local school districts the tools they need to fully embrace the abilities of this younger generation," he said. Talented and gifted programs were showcased by Lewis Central and Council Bluffs during separate events at the end of the 2014-15 school year. Young visited the Lewis Central event, while state lawmakers and community leaders participated in the Council Bluffs tour of TAG offerings.

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