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Description
Nationwide African American students are overrepresented in special education programs and underrepresented in accelerated programs. The purpose of this program evaluation was to determine if African American students were equitably represented in elementary accelerated programs in one of California’s largest school districts. The primary focus was the selection and qualification process for entry into Accelerated Kindergarten, Vanguard, and Gifted and Talented Education. The program evaluation was conducted using mixed methods and featured data, including document analysis, parent/teacher surveys, and principal interviews. One hundred fifty-four (154) parents and 35 teachers and district personnel participated in the surveys, with an additional four principals taking part in semi-structured interviews. Analysis of enrollment data revealed an underrepresentation of African American students in accelerated programs, but when the Equity Allowance Formula was applied there was equitable representation. The document analysis found board policies were based on repealed education codes. There were six domains for accelerated program qualification that aligned with the National Association of Gifted Children, however only two were actively used. Teacher and parent surveys found there was adherence to the current qualification processes, while principal interviews revealed that they veered from the selection process to fill vacancies in accelerated programs. Future consideration for program evaluation may include the analysis of African American students in elementary special education programs compared to African American students in accelerated programs.
