Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story Of Success?

In his book, Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell makes the claim that IQ does not have an accurate correlation to success after a certain point. Specifically, he says, “The relationship between success and IQ works only up to a point. Once someone has reached an IQ of somewhere around 120, having additional IQ points doesn’t seem to translate into any measurable real-world advantage.” IQ tests and other talent assessments have long been used to enroll students in gifted education initiatives. It has been argued that not only are IQ tests inaccurate, but gifted programs are detrimental to a child’s education. While I concede that IQ tests are not the best way to determine intelligence, I still insist that gifted programs are beneficial for children that show a special aptitude in different school subjects. Without advanced programs to challenge children with unique abilities, these students are unable to reach their full potential.

A common misconception is intelligence is inherited and does not change, so therefore, gifted children do not need special services. However, this mindset is very dangerous when it comes to the development of gifted children. It is widely believed that gifted students will get by on their own without any assistance from their school. After all,

they are gifted right? Carolyn Coll of CNN writes, “In general, the assumption is that gifted students will succeed regardless of the quality of the education they receive. This is simply not true. Gifted students require special services and programs to ensure the growth rather than the loss of their outstanding abilities.” Children that are above average in subject areas learn at a faster pace, and require accelerated curriculum to challenge their brains.
Starting in 1971, psychology professor David Lubinski of Vanderbilt University conducted a study over several decades tracking more than 5,000 gifted individuals. These children were identified by talent search programs and SAT testing around the ages of twelve and thirteen. The study produced several insights as to who gifted children are and what these kids needed from schools. Lubinski concluded that exceptionally gifted students were able to easily master new information, but schools often couldn’t accommodate their pace. This boredom resulted in frustration and underachievement. A study done by Duke alum, Dr. Michael Mathews, found anywhere from 1 in 50 to 1 in 200 gifted children fail to complete high school due to the lack of challenging work. Moreover, Lubinski found that students who were exposed to an array of advanced and enriched learning activities in STEM areas were twice as likely to earn a PhD and tenure by their early thirties than those who had little to no exposure to accelerated curriculum. The US school system has long focused on ensuring that all students reach minimum proficiency. But just as struggling students deserve resources to aid them, advanced learners require resources too in order to grow and develop as well.
Personally, I have benefitted from accelerated learning, but it wasn’t until eight years into my educational career I received the opportunity to take advanced coursework. School has consistently come easy to me, particularly math. Always extremely bored in class, I coasted through middle school. I never had to work for an A and I rarely had to study. I was finally presented the opportunity to enroll in a high school math class during 8th grade. The pace of the class was much quicker and the content was more complicated. I wouldn’t say I was challenged, but it was considerably better than reviewing algebra I for the third consecutive year. I’ve greatly benefitted from the AP courses offered in high school. AP classes move quickly and the concepts taught are complex. AP Chemistry was the first class I struggled through. I received my first B the first semester of that class and it was because I hadn’t realized Chemistry class would require extra effort. Because I rarely had to work hard in the past, I never acquired effective study skills or even the desire to study. I developed a habit of getting by without effort throughout all of junior high and I struggled to motivate myself to study for AP Chemistry because of that habit. Currently, I’m very appreciative of first semester AP Chem and I worked hard enough second semester to receive an A. Chem helped me develop learning and studying skills, and it’s all because I was challenged. For this reason, it is essential that advanced learners are provided advanced opportunities in order to learn on to be a successful successful.
Unfortunately, precocious students not only suffer academically in an average classroom, but socially and emotionally as well. These students are typically standouts and struggle to fit in. They isolate themselves from other students and feel misunderstood by their peers. These issues lead to feelings of sadness, anger, and anxiety. Frustration is also a common symptom of boredom in precocious children and it is often from waiting for their peers to learn a skill they have already mastered. Advance learning programs would help combat social isolation. By placing children at the same academic level in classes together, it introduces these children into an environment where they are able to understand and relate with one another allowing them to focus on learning.
In conclusion, it is important for all students to be challenged in the classroom.

Special focus needs to be allotted to not only the kids struggling but the kids who are excelling. Learning is the sole purpose of school, and for advanced students who already mastered the classroom skills, they need an extra challenge so they are learning too. Gifted education is essential for fully developing and engaging precocious children. Lubinski said, “If you’re trying to solve problems in the world like climate change and terrorism and STEM innovation, and transportation and managing our health care, you want intellectually precocious youth who have had their intellectual needs

met.”