Accelerating Gifted Girls

Throughout the history of gifted education, acceleration has been shown to be an effective method of meeting the educational needs of gifted students. Subject matter acceleration options such as taking high school courses in junior high, college courses while still in high school, or correspondence courses all appear to be effective educational procedures for the gifted. However, gifted adolescent girls have been less likely than boys to take advantage of these options (Fox, 1977). This article examines acceleration methods and recommends a method which has been piloted at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay that has attracted a high proportion of female participants.