State Models for Implementing the Standards

Standards provide a basis for developing policies, rules, procedures, plans, programming and services, assessment systems, and professional development at both the state and local levels. State departments of education use national standards for two additional purposes: (a) to evaluate and improve state standards, and (b) to approve gifted plans and programs and monitor for compliance with state regulations. In the 2008–2009 State of the Nation in Gifted Education report, “28 states mandate some form of programs or services for gifted children,” but it is a “piecemeal, inconsistent, and at times bewildering collection of policies and programs that vary sharply from state to state … Ultimately gifted and talented students are ill-served by this fragmented and uncoordinated method of delivery” (NAGC, 2009, p. 3). The NAGC Pre-K–Grade 12 Gifted Programming Standards (2010b) provide promise for bringing consistency among states. This chapter will explore how three states are presently implementing the standards and suggest additional ideas about how they might be used.