What is it about?

In this study, I compared the adult incomes of people who experienced academic acceleration (e.g., grade skipping, early kindergarten, graduating from high school early) with similar people who did not. I found that, on average, accelerated individuals had incomes 4.66% higher than non-accelerated individuals. Accelerated women had higher incomes (6.78%) than non-accelerated women. The income advantage of accelerated men compared to non-accelerated men was much smaller (0.83%). Income gaps varied across time and were largest in early adulthood.

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Why is it important?

Academic acceleration is widely supported among gifted education experts, and there is strong evidence for its academic benefits. This study--along with an earlier study of mine--shows that there are economic benefits, too. These benefits last well into adulthood. Academic acceleration is not used with bright or gifted students as often as it should be. I hope that this article gets more parents to consider grade skipping and other forms of acceleration for their children.

Perspectives

This article is a replication of an earlier study I performed on economic outcomes, and I was pleased when the results were similar. Also, I am the beneficiary of full-grade acceleration (as were two of my four brothers), and it is nice to see that my anecdotal positive experience is supported by empirical data. Finally, I am glad to contribute to the literature on this widely accepted--but seldom implemented--practice. I hope that my work can make a teacher, principal, or parent more likely to decide that a bright child can skip a grade.

Dr Russell T. Warne
Independent Scholar

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Possible economic benefits of full-grade acceleration, Journal of School Psychology, December 2017, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsp.2017.07.001.
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