Is Every Child Gifted?

Believing all children are gifted leads to problematic educational policies. When schools open gifted or Advanced Placement classes to everyone, two inevitable consequences emerge: either academically unprepared students fail at high rates, or curriculum gets diluted to accommodate them. Both occur because typical children struggle with advanced material that gifted peers handle easily.

AP test data demonstrates this clearly. As participation increased from 1.3 million (2006) to 2.8 million students (2018), average scores declined. For instance, AP English Literature averaged 3.05 in 1998 but dropped to 2.56 by 2018. When Philadelphia eliminated non-AP courses, forcing all students into AP, only four of 41 schools achieved 50% passing rates—and these had selective admissions. Among remaining schools, none exceeded 33% passing rates, and thirty had rates below 10%.

High-IQ learners require different instruction than average students. They benefit from abstract, self-directed, incomplete instruction allowing them to construct knowledge independently, whereas lower-ability learners need highly structured, detailed, concrete instruction. Gifted students also learn faster, requiring less repetition and practice. Classes accommodating substantial numbers of average students must inevitably become less abstract, more concrete, and more carefully structured—essentially watering down the gifted program.

Some children are gifted; some aren't. Acknowledging this isn't elitist—it recognizes that individual differences exist and shape appropriate educational responses. Programs reflecting this reality will necessarily provide different experiences for gifted and non-gifted students. Ignoring these differences produces negative consequences, particularly for gifted children who spend extended periods without learning anything new. However, all children deserve rigorous, challenging education—just education appropriately matched to their abilities.





From Chapter 18 of "In the Know: Debunking 35 Myths About Human Intelligence" by Dr. Russell Warne (2020)