Once Again, With Feeling

Corbett School District graduated 78 students in 2010. None of those students was involved in an explicit Talented and Gifted program. Because he had previously passed exams in AP Calculus (ab), Calculus (bc) and AP Statistics, one attended math classes at MHCC.

The top 10% of the graduating class passed an average of 8 Advanced Placement exams each with a score of 3 or better. They passed 65% of their exams. Using the Oregon State University rubric, they are eligible to claim 271 credit hours based on their exam scores. This is the equivalent of 6 full years of schooling, worth about $120,000.00 at current OSU rates. The District paid about $7000.00 for the exams, which are provided for free to all Corbett students. This represents about a 17-to-one return on the educational investment. These students earned the equivalent of two full quarters of university credit each.

Of course several of these students are not headed to public universities in Oregon, and that's part of the program as well. Their destinations include Baylor, University of Pennsylvania, New York University, George Fox, and, of course, OSU!

Among them, they passed 21 AP math exams (ab, bc and stats), 5 physics exams, and 11 English exams (both lang and comp).

Two things are important about these numbers. First, they represent astounding opportunities for students without regard for their standardized test scores. Nobody had to qualify to take these classes or to participate in the exams. They didn't have to pay. They only had to work.

I believe that this opportunity represents the most effective and least expensive Talented and Gifted program available anywhere. It is simple to replicate. It avoids the problem of under-identification of under-served populations, because identification is not a prerequisite for participation. It creates opportunities for acceptance at highly selective colleges and universities as well as scholarship consideration. It allows for advanced placement, either reducing the time and expense of an undergraduate program or creating space for more elective courses.

This programming should be universal.