The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center
for Gifted Education and Talent Development Evaluating the
Effectiveness of the Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) in Determining
the Appropriateness of Whole-Grade Acceleration The Annual NAGC
Conference November 10, 2007 Minneapolis, MN Leslie Forstadt, Susan
Assouline, Nicholas Colangelo Slide 2 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Purpose Introduce the Iowa Acceleration Scale
(IAS) Validation Study Report results of the validation study
Discuss qualitative and quantitative results in the use of the IAS
as a decision-making tool Slide 3 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline
N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development The Iowa Acceleration Scale A more objective look at
the student An analysis of the major factors to be considered in
making a decision Guidelines for weighting the relative importance
of the major factors Documentation of the students strengths and
concerns A numerical range to guide the discussion and decision of
acceleration A standard of comparison with students who have had
successful accelerations Slide 4 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline
N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development The Iowa Acceleration Scale The IAS was developed as an
administrative tool to help educators and parents make a decision.
Modeled after the Lights Retention Scale Multiple versions: Yellow,
Green, Blue 1 st, Blue 2 nd In process, Blue 2R, 2008 Slide 5 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Subscales Academic Ability
and Achievement Developmental Factors School and Academic Factors
Interpersonal Skills Attitude and Support GRAND TOTAL 1 st edition
max score of 97 2 nd edition max score of 80 Recommendations:
Excellent, Good, Marginal, Not Rec Slide 6 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Effectiveness of the IAS Decision-making
process: It is not a test! The items have numerical ratings as a
means to provide structure to the process, but it is possible for
educators (and others) to misuse the numerical ratings: Internal
Structure Evidence Do the items contribute positively toward the
recommendation ? Do the different parts provide unique information?
Slide 7 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International
Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development Effective Items
(Lipscomb, 2003) Effective School-related Extracurricular
Activities Positive attitude about learning Peer relationships
Students view School system support Prior Planning Moderately
Effective Motivation Not Effective Non-school related
extracurricular activities Slide 8 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development 2003 New and Necessary Extensions of Validity
Research Decision Who: The students for whom the IAS was used were
already carefully selected as candidates therefore it was likely
that the IAS process would produce successful candidates Was the
IAS more useful in generating a consensus among the
decision-makers? Decision making process Slide 9 The Connie Belin
& Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education
and Talent Development Rationale for the Current Validation Study
evaluate the utility of the IAS in the acceleration decision-making
process collect post-acceleration achievement test information as
an indicator of student success after an IAS-based decision Slide
10 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center
for Gifted Education and Talent Development The Validation Study
Surveys were distributed to teachers or coordinators of gifted
programs, which addressed the experience of using the IAS as well
as multiple outcomes for the students. Outcomes included social,
extracurricular, and academic measures. n = 136 (1 st Edition), 44
(2 nd Edition) Slide 11 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank
International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development
Results Recommended Excellent (1 st Ed: n = 15, 2 nd Ed: n = 32)
Good (1 st Ed: n = 57, 2 nd Ed: n = 12) Marginal (1 st Ed: n = 16)
Not recommended (1 st Ed: n = 1) Slide 12 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Results Slide 13 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Sex of Candidate Slide 14 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Age of Candidates Median = 8 Slide 15 The Connie
Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted
Education and Talent Development Grade Level at Time of
Acceleration Mean age = 8.2 Early grade accelerations 63% of the
accelerations between K-3 Slide 16 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Not recommended (n = 1): A Profile Female Age 8
Grand total = 40 Academic Ability and Achievement subscale = 15
Developmental Factors subscale = 4 School and Academic Factors
subscale = 11 Interpersonal Skills subscale = 4 Attitude and
Support subscale = 6 Decision: whole grade acceleration All
standards were met and she performed well academically and socially
Slide 17 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International
Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development Decision Made
Based on IAS Decision Excellent candidates higher rates of whole
grade acceleration than good or marginal Good candidates, higher
rates of single subject acceleration than excellent Slide 18 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Excellent and Good
Candidates Slide 19 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank
International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development
Excellent and Good Candidates (n = 116) Males = 56% (n = 65)
Females = 44% (n = 51) Average age = 8.6 Median age = 8 years 1 st
Edition = 62% (n = 72) 2 nd Edition = 38% (n = 44) How do excellent
and good candidates differ in their score profiles? Slide 20 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Grand Total Slide 21 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Developmental Factors Slide
22 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center
for Gifted Education and Talent Development School and Academic
Factors Slide 23 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank
International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development
Attitude and Support Scale Slide 24 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Academic Ability and Achievement Slide 25 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Interpersonal Skills Slide
26 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center
for Gifted Education and Talent Development Excellent and Good
Candidates: Outcomes Slide 27 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N.
Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development Excellent and Good Candidates: Comments (Whole-grade
accelerated) His needs were very high in language, so along with
full- grade acceleration, he is receiving extended acceleration in
language. (Single-subject accelerated) Student was moving into a
student government position and would have missed it if whole-grade
acceleration had been decided upon. Slide 28 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Marginal Candidates: A Profile Male = 73.3% (n =
11) Female = 26.7% (n = 4) Mean age = 7.6 years Median age = 7.4
years Grand total average = 49 Slide 29 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Marginal Candidates Slide 30 The Connie Belin
& Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education
and Talent Development Marginal Candidates Acceleration Decision
Slide 31 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International
Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development Marginal
Candidates Slide 32 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank
International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development
Marginal Candidates Slide 33 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N.
Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development Marginal Candidates Slide 34 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Marginal Candidates Slide 35 The Connie Belin
& Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education
and Talent Development Marginal Candidates Slide 36 The Connie
Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted
Education and Talent Development Marginal Candidates Slide 37 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Marginal Candidates:
Comments (Whole-grade accelerated) Even though this was a
questionable acceleration, child was readyLack of above-level test
scores depressed IAS Total. (No change to curriculum) This was a
parent request....decision would not have changed had we not had
the IAS. Slide 38 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank
International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development
Marginal Candidates: Outcomes Slide 39 The Connie Belin &
Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and
Talent Development Was the process useful for participants? Slide
40 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center
for Gifted Education and Talent Development The Team The IAS
provided an excellent framework for us to use for a thorough study.
EXTREMELY beneficial. The team was glad it was used. Using the IAS
helped evaluate the total child. We have learned that concerns
raised during the IAS process continue to be problematic. Slide 41
The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development The School System Collins
success has made converts of the middle school staff involved. They
now believe it can be good to whole grade accelerate. The IAS has
been adopted as part of board policy on acceleration. It helped the
school to recognize the magnitude of this childs intellect. Slide
42 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center
for Gifted Education and Talent Development The Family I have
talked with the parents a number of times, and they are pleased.
The parents decided not to transfer their son to private school
because they felt this school sees their son clearly and has a
definite plan to meet his needs. They felt that all areas of their
childs life were examined and taken into consideration-given the
unusual nature of their childs academic life. Slide 43 The Connie
Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted
Education and Talent Development Suggestions from users Maybe some
type of social or emotional intelligence score? Many early grades
do not have extracurricular activities and young students may be
penalized in their scores for not participating. Can you recommend
other tests if schools dont administer social studies or science
subtests? Slide 44 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank
International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development In
Conclusion The IAS does what it was intended to do: the process was
comprehensive...parents, teachers, & administrators [commented]
to me about how nice it was... This process did a great job
explaining the data...not all questions were black & white and
that allowed for some discussions about school vs. home life. It is
important to document its impact through research Slide 45 The
Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for
Gifted Education and Talent Development Present and Future
Acceleration Research as Proactive Institute for Research and
Policy on Acceleration (IRPA)
http://www.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/acceleration Current IRPA
projects include: National survey of attitudes, practices, and
prevalence of acceleration Use of national data sets to examine
acceleration practice and outcomes Acceleration among English
Language Learners Slide 46 The Connie Belin & Jacqueline N.
Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent
Development Ordering the IAS The Iowa Acceleration Scale 2 nd
Edition A Guide for Whole-Grade Acceleration K-8 Published by Great
Potential Press Fax: (602) 954-0185 Toll-Free 1-877-954-4200
[email protected] www.giftedbooks.com