Len LaCara
You don’t need to be an Einstein to know Ohio is cheating its most promising students.
Last week, The Plain Dealer wrote a story about the sorry state of gifted education in Ohio. Consider these facts:
- 31 states require school districts to provide special services for children identified as gifted. Ohio does not, even though a sixth of its pupils have that classification.
- Three-fourths of the state’s gifted students receive no special services, according to the Ohio Department of Education. Many of the rest only get partial services.
- Ohio spends more than $8 billion a year on educating students. But less than 1 percent of that amount – roughly $47 million – goes toward gifted education.
Does this strike you as, well, smart?