Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration
The 2004 publication of A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students was seen as a watershed event in the national debate about acceleration and gifted students. As an outgrowth of that response, the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration (IRPA) was established at the Belin-Blank Center in 2006.
The IRPA is dedicated to the study of curricular acceleration for academically talented students, and is unique in that its sole focus is research on acceleration so teachers and administrators can implement an effective and research-based curriculum.
A Nation Deceived, a two-volume national report published in 2004 by the Belin-Blank Center, highlights the disparity between the scholarly research on acceleration and the educational policies and practices that often run contrary to the research. The founding of the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration is a strong testament to the impact of A Nation Deceived and to the need for continuing research, information, and policy initiatives on acceleration.
It is our hope that the national and international communities will mobilize to meet the needs of all gifted and talented students. The research is clear: when it comes to meeting the needs of gifted students, acceleration is effective and needs to be the cornerstone of a gifted program.
The Belin-Blank Center is grateful to the John Templeton Foundation for its generous support in the publication of A Nation Deceived and the establishment of the Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration.