Montgomery County elementary schools are renowned for high-level instruction, but for gifted mathematicians, a report compiled by an active parent reveals equal access may not exist for the highest-level courses.
The report also underscores longstanding dissatisfaction among a small but committed contingent of parents who want more and different opportunities for gifted children than the schools seem willing to supply, especially as budget cuts loom.
According to data collected from 43 elementary schools — about one-third of the district’s total — the schools that offer Math 7 to fifth-graders almost always have significant numbers of students taking it. Those schools that offer only Math 6 do not.
According to district spokeswoman Kate Harrison, any fifth-grade student who is ready for Math 7 has the opportunity to take it at the local middle school, using district-provided transportation.
Fred Stichnoth, who compiled the report through parent surveys and analysis of district data, doesn’t buy Harrison’s explanation.
In the 30 of 43 schools to offer Math 7 (including seven with gifted and talented programs), he found an average of 18 percent of the students took it. Remove the schools with gifted programs, and the average is still 15 percent, compared with less than 1 percent of students at the 13 schools that did not offer it.
“What ‘opportunity’ do kids have in the schools that don’t offer it in-house?” he asked.
Harrison also cited schools’ difficulty in offering a course when only a handful of students are ready to take it, a point Stichnoth conceded.
Del Siegle, president of the National Association of Gifted Children and an education professor at the University of Connecticut, commended Montgomery County on its reputation for challenging even the brightest students.
Siegle said studies have shown, however, that when students don’t have enough of a challenge, they sink into underachievement.
“We know that if kids are not challenged early, they often don’t develop the necessary study skills and self-regulation, so when they do eventually encounter challenging material, they’re not prepared to handle it.”
