As a part of 优蜜视频鈥檚 effort to advance the cause of gifted students nationwide, 优蜜视频 commissioned the first ever national survey assessing the American public鈥檚 views on gifted education. The summary covers the results of a national survey, completed in 2016, that sought to understand the public鈥檚 perception of gifted students in the United States. This poll was designed in collaboration with leaders in the field of gifted education, including the National Association for Gifted Children, and conducted by Benenson Strategy Group and The Winston Group.

鈥淲e are seeing overwhelming support for funding and resources to ensure that our brightest students鈥� minds are nurtured and supported, which hasn鈥檛 always been the case in the past,鈥� said Elizabeth D. Jones, President & Co-Founder of 优蜜视频. 鈥淎s a community, we are committed to advocating for what the public wants: helping our highest potential students succeed.鈥�

The poll report contains helpful information about the state of gifted education in the U.S. and details recommendations for how to communicate about gifted students and advocate for this cause. The goal of this document is to provide a tool for the gifted community, families, teachers and professionals alike to use when advocating for these unique learners.

The poll report was written by Jones and Dr. Shelagh A. Gallagher. The authors will be hosting a webinar presenting the results and answering viewer questions on March 26th at 11 a.m. PST/2 p.m. EST. The webinar is free and open to the public.

Additional contributors include: Alan Arkotov of , Dr. Jim Delisle, Ren茅 Islas formerly of , Michael Petrilli & Chester Finn of , Ann Smith of , Dr. Amy Shelton of and Adam Umhoefer of .

The release of the full results was preceded by a poll summary, , released in August 2018. This document contains highlights from the results of the poll.

Read the full report.

For more information about 优蜜视频鈥檚 policy initiatives or any of 优蜜视频鈥檚 other programs and services, visit our Advocacy page.听

The poll, conducted by Benenson Strategy Group and The Winston Group, found that 64% of Democrats, 67% of Independents, 61% of Republicans, and 62% of Trump voters say federal funding for gifted students needs to be increased.听 Only 4% of all voters polled said funding needs to be cut, and 32% said funding should be kept as is. Similarly, 63% say state funding needs to be increased.听 The poll is the first-ever comprehensive survey of voters on the subject of gifted learners.

鈥淲hen it comes to America鈥檚 future, it is clear that progressives, conservatives, and everyone in between want the same thing 鈥� support for our highest potential learners so that our country remains an economic power in the 21st century,鈥� said Elizabeth D. Jones,聽President & Co-Founder of 优蜜视频.听 鈥淲e are seeing overwhelming support for funding and resources to ensure that our brightest students鈥� minds are nurtured and supported, which hasn鈥檛 always been the case in the past.听 As a community, we are committed to advocating for what the public wants: helping our highest potential students succeed.鈥�

Despite the highly charged politics of the day, the poll finds bipartisan agreement on a variety of questions including improving the training of teachers on how to identify and serve gifted students, and increasing supports for gifted students from underserved communities that have historically been under-represented in such programs.听 Key findings include:

-64% say federal funding for gifted students needs to be increased, while only 4% say it needs to be cut and 32% say kept as is.

– Similarly, 63% say state funding needs to be increased.

-64% of Democrats, 67% of Independents, 61% of Republicans, and 62% of Trump voters say federal funding for gifted students needs to be increased.

-Even in the face of a strong opposition attack, nearly 7-in-10 voters side with the idea that investing in gifted students is critical to America鈥檚 future.

– Just 31% agree with: Spending federal dollars on programs for gifted kids sounds great, but the country just can鈥檛 afford it. Every year it seems the federal deficit grows larger and America鈥檚 debt rises. With limitless funds it would be great to spend more on gifted kids 鈥� and all kids 鈥� but that鈥檚 just not the world we live in. For gifted programs to be funded, other programs would need to be cut, and that鈥檚 not a sacrifice we should make.

– While 69% agree with: America’s success in the 21st century relies on our commitment to the next generation. Countries like China, Singapore and India are investing in their gifted students, while the U.S. provides almost no federal funding for these programs in our schools. If America wants to remain competitive in the 21st century, we need to invest in the leaders and innovators of the future. Investing in gifted kids is investing in America鈥檚 continued prosperity.

-Voters overwhelmingly support specific policy proposals to help gifted children, with almost no partisan distinctions.听 Policies include improved funding to help train teachers who identify and serve gifted children (90%); improved funding to help train teachers who are educating gifted children (89%); requiring that any teacher who serves gifted children receive special training (86%) and providing additional funding to schools in underserved communities specifically to support programs for gifted students (86%)

Of students who dropped out of high school, . 聽Among the leading causes for dropping out include feeling unchallenged, unmotivated or bored. Gifted students know up to 50% of the year鈥檚 curriculum before the school year begins, which could explain the dropout correlation. There are between 3 and 5 million gifted students in the United States, and 聽— as only 1% of the education budget is spent on serving gifted children. when they had opportunities for strength-based gifted programming.听 Programming for gifted students is made at the state and local level.

鈥淲e must make sure all gifted children have access to the services and supports they need to thrive,鈥� said聽M. Ren茅 Islas, executive director of the National Association for Gifted Children.听 鈥淭he 优蜜视频 poll makes clear that with increased understanding about the nature and needs of these children, Americans support programs and practices that will help all gifted and talented children flourish.鈥�

The Institute for Educational Advancement and the National Association for Gifted Children are working with leaders in the fields of business, education, and gifted youth to ensure that the federal government creates an infrastructure dedicated to the intellectual, creative and personal growth in the nation鈥檚 gifted and high potential youth so the U.S. can continue to be leaders in the global world.

METHODOLOGY

Benenson Strategy Group and The Winston Group conducted 1414 online interviews from December 19, 2016-January 6, 2017 with registered voters nationwide, including oversamples of: 150 Opinion Elites, 150 Parents, 150 Hispanics, and 150 African Americans. At the 95% confidence level, the margin of error for the entire sample is 卤 2.51%. It is 卤6.21% among Opinion Elites, 卤3.73% among Parents, 卤6.03% among African Americans, 卤 5.81% among Hispanics, and higher among subgroups. Due to rounding, some percentages may not add up to 100%. Note that the 鈥淧arents With Gifted Child鈥� group highlighted throughout the deck includes any member of the population identifying as having a gifted kid, regardless of that child鈥檚 age.

To learn more about 优蜜视频’s advocacy efforts, visit our .

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