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In February, the U.S. Department of Education invited public school districts to apply for the Javits Gifted and Talented Program, which awards grants for five-year projects that support 鈥渁ll students, including gifted and talented students, with accelerated learning opportunities.鈥� Specifically, says: 鈥淎 major emphasis of the Javits program is to identify and serve students underrepresented in gifted and talented programs, to include the training of personnel in the identification and education of gifted and talented students and in the use, where appropriate, of gifted and talented services, materials, and methods, for all students.鈥� 

The magnitude of this announcement is that it represents a shift away from models of gifted and talented programming that rely on labeling, sorting and segregating students, and toward designs that encourage inclusion and integration of all children in mixed-ability classrooms. It also represents a philosophical shift in the understanding of gifted education because of its recognition of all children’s innate potential for demonstrating strengths and high intellectual performance.

The Javits program reflects our position on the future of G&T education because it addresses equity through the excellence targeted in gifted education. Some school leaders and policymakers are already re-envisioning what gifted programs should look like, rather than tweaking admissions systems and maintaining separate classes that serve only a select few. For example, students in ; , Minnesota; ; , New York; and at in Brooklyn, New York, are being exposed to accelerated learning and enrichment opportunities based on the philosophy that all children have unique gifts and talents 鈥� and it is the school鈥檚 job to identify and cultivate them. 

One district that is working toward the goals of the Javits program is New York City. Last fall, then-Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he would eliminate separate G&T programs and replace them with 鈥�,鈥� . The plan was to stop testing 4-year-olds for coveted G&T slots, a practice that ended up with more than 70% of the 2,500 seats 鈥�, who make up less than a third of the city鈥檚 overall student population,” each year. The new plan was to offer all kindergartners access to accelerated learning starting in September 2022. Yet, because de Blasio announced this change three months before Mayor Eric Adams took office, the city still seems to be at a crossroads, even after extensive .

This is unfortunate, as a in New York City and beyond finds that the separate and segregated nature of most G&T programs sustains inequities inside schools . In 2013,  at Michigan State University compared how students of comparable academic abilities perform when they are admitted to a public school for gifted children versus when they remain in regular-track schools and classrooms. After a year and a half of G&T classes, there was essentially no difference in test results between students in G&T who had scored right above the admissions cutoff and children in regular classrooms who had scored just below. A 2019  of 2,000 elementary schools across three states by the National Center for Research on Gifted Education echoed those findings: Third graders in gifted programs made no significant learning gains in comparison with their peers in general education. 

The problem starts with , which lead to inequality and exclusionary behaviors by some parents who can access test prep and other means to secure scarce seats for their children. Students in G&T classes who are segregated from their peers miss out on the numerous benefits of , , including higher test scores in math and science and cultural competency skills for global literacy. In addition, sorting students into separate programs or classes unfairly labels them. As Linda Darling-Hammond wrote, 鈥�. All children are motivated to learn the next set of skills for which they are ready; few are motivated by labels that rank them against others or communicate stigma.鈥�

Discriminatory and subjective admissions criteria such as achievement tests, grades and teacher recommendations that districts typically use to identify students for G&T have been blamed for the segregation 鈥� and they are certainly part of the problem. Yet districts must change not only how they .听

We believe, based on our research and advocacy work with urban and suburban schools, that what is holding some districts back from offering G&T education to all is the assumption that parents with children in separate programs will oppose it. This , based on winners and losers, is morally, ethically and . It perpetuates a system of and racial entitlement. But there is an alternative to such an us-versus-them mentality: the solidarity dividend, also known as a 鈥渞ising tide lifts all boats鈥� mindset.

There is evidence that New York City families, students and educators will support phasing out separate G&T programs and replacing them with schoolwide enrichment models, such as STEM or International Baccalaureate. It was a that led the school to end G&T. A group of NYC students are plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the city that .” And District 13 Superintendent Kamar Samuels said this about his district’s replacement of separate G&T classes with schoolwide programs: 鈥淚t鈥檚 about all students in the school and all teachers in the school (emphasis added).鈥� Commenting on NYC鈥檚 shift to G&T education for all, education scholar , of the National Association of Gifted Children, said, 鈥淲e should absolutely be doing a lot less separating of these kids, unless there is literally no other way to provide a particular service.鈥�

Many more students lack access to G&T classes than have it. Why not use those numbers as the rationale to provide gifted education to all? What is now a private commodity that benefits mostly white and Asian students can become a public good for all children. It is time to set a new path forward and celebrate all students for their unique abilities and strengths, rather than labeling and sorting them. As the Javits gifted and talented program proposes, more districts should move toward the goal of gifted-for-all programs 鈥� and receive funding to do that important work.

Allison Roda is an assistant professor of education at Molloy College in Rockville Centre, New York. Yvette Jackson is an adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and senior scholar at the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education. Halley Potter is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation.

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