Researchshows

from Hoagies Gifted website

__Moderately gifted children tend to do well in the regular classroom, with the added challenge of differentiation, a gifted pull-out enrichment program or mild acceleration in their areas of strength__. Highly gifted children tend to do well in congregated gifted classes, such as offered in a few larger districts across the United States. These classes are most successful when they use a more in-depth curriculum, which also moves at a faster pace. Gifted children are different not only in their faster learning, but by their deeper interest and level of understanding. Both these differences must be addressed in a successful educational situation.

Exceptionally and profoundly gifted children often need more, and may do well in schools by using __a combination of congregated gifted classrooms, subject and grade acceleration__. Congregated classrooms of only eg/pg children would probably be more valuable to these children's education, but there are often not enough of these children in any one school district to make the practice viable. Exceptionally and profoundly gifted children are commonly homeschooled for some part of their educational path. This is not a requirements, but parents of these children often find themselves with no other option for a year, or a school level. And this can be the best alternative for some children.

Old "common wisdom" said that a gifted child would be inherently weak in physical or social / emotional development (or both) - it was considered "a fact" that a strength in one area was offset by a weakness in another. Gifted children were seen as skinny, poor-eye-sighed children. Terman's research back in the 1930's attempted to disprove this "knowledge." He succeeded, but his research methods are now considered questionable. More current research continues to support the conclusion that __gifted children are not inherently weaker in any other developmental area.__
 * Concerning social emotional needs**:

Newer "wisdom" suggests that although gifted children are advanced intellectually, their physical and social / emotional development is on par with their chronological age. This, too, is not borne out by the research. Miraca Gross is continuing her research of highly gifted children. Gross has found that the __social / emotional development of those kept with their age peers was the least advanced, with significantly lower scores on self-esteem than those allowed to move forward in a radical fashion with their intellectual peers__. (Gross, Exceptionally Gifted Children) So this wisdom, with respect to the social / emotional development of the gifted, is not born out by research.

Each gifted child must be considered individually. __Some highly, exceptionally and profoundly gifted children are happiest placed by their academic achievement__, learning side-by-side with students who are intellectual peers. __Others prefer a social placement__, learning with peers who can be friends, offering good social interaction. For a lucky few, a placement is available that offers both intellectual and social / emotional fit.

__Most uncommon is the exceptionally or profoundly gifted child who fits best in the age/grade tracked classroom__. This fit is likely to work for such children only in the congregated gifted classroom.