No child left behind: Gifted children and school counselors.

The most importantrole that a schoolcounselor mightplay is as anadvocate forindividual studentlearninggains.pushed out of the system, which no longer has anythingleft to offer them.The first step to solving a problem is recognizingthe problem. The vignettes with which I began thisarticle are real examples of the effects of NCLB(2001). There are many more such examples incountless schools across the country as educatorsstruggle to find meaningful focus in the chaos of thelargest federal education initiative ever. Interventionfor individual students and quality education foridentified gifted, at-risk, and underidentified giftedand at-risk students begins with one educator andone child at a time. It seems that school counselorsare in a unique position not only to work with children,but also to bring to the table conversationsconcerning some of the issues raised herein. IReferencesAmerican School Counselor Association. (2005). TheASCAnational model: A framework for school counseling programs(2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: Author.Amrein, A. L., & Berliner, D. C. (2002). An analysis of some unintendedand negative consequences of high-stakes testing.Tempe: Arizona State University, Educational PolicyStudies Laboratory. (EPSL No. 0211-125-EPRU)Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. New York: W.H. Freeman.Barton, P. (2003). Parsing the achievement gap. Princeton, NJ:Educational Testing Service.Bloom, B. (1985). Developing talent in young people. New York:Ballantine.Borders, D. L., & Drury, S. M. (1992). Comprehensive schoolcounseling programs: A review for policymakers andpractitioners. Journal of Counseling and Development, 70,487-498.Bracey, G. (2002, January 16). What they did on vacation: It'snot the schools that are failing. The Washington Post, p.A19.CBS News. (2004, January 7). The Texas miracle. RetrievedJanuary 23, 2004, from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/06/6011/printable591676.shtmlClarke, M., Shore, A., Rhoades, K., Abrams, L., Maio, J., & Li, J.(2002). Perceived effects of state-mandated testing programson teaching and learning: Findings from interviewswith educators in low-, medium-, and high-stakes states.Boston: Boston College, National Board on EducationalTesting and Public Policy.Colangelo, N., Assouline, S. G., & Gross, U. M. (2004).A nationdeceived: How schools hold back America's brightest students.Iowa City, IA: Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. BlankInternational Center for Gifted Education and TalentDevelopment.Davidson, J., Davidson, B., & Vanderkam, L. (2004). Geniusdenied: How to stop wasting our brightest young minds.Riverside, NJ: Simon & Schuster.Dobbs, M. (2003, November 8). Education "miracle" has a mathproblem. The Washington Post, p. Al.Educational Trust. (n.d.). Transforming school counseling.Retrieved January 13,2006, from http://www2.edtrust.org/EdTrust/Transforming+School+Counseling/mainEisner, E. (2001).What does it mean to say a school is doingwell? Phi Delta Kappan, 82,367-372.Elmore, R. F. (2003). A plea for strong practice. EducationalLeadership, 61(3), 6-10.Entwisle, D. R., Alexander, K. L., & Olson, L. S. (2000). Summerlearning and home environment. In R. D. Kahlenberg(Ed.), A notion at risk: Preserving public education as anengine for social mobility (pp. 9-30). New York: CenturyFoundation Press.Gallagher, J.J. (2004). No Child Left Behind and gifted education.Roeper Review, 26,121-123.Gentry, M. (in press). No Child Left Behind: Neglecting excellence.Roeper Review.Gentry, M., & Gable, R. K. (2001). My class activities: Technicalmanual. Mansfield Center, CT: Creative Learning Press.Golden, D. (2004, December 29). Initiative to leave no childbehind leaves out gifted. The Wall Street Journal, p. Al.Haney, W. (2000).The myth of the Texas miracle in education.Education Analysis Policy Archives, 8(41). RetrievedNovember 10, 2005, from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n41Hillman, C., & Buck, S. (2004, October). Physical fitness and cognitivefunction in healthy preadolescent children. Paperpresented at the annual meeting of the Society forPsychophysiological Research, Santa Fe, NM.Hunt, J. B., & Carroll, T. G. (2003). No dream denied:A pledge toAmerica's children. Washington, DC: National Commissionon Teaching and America's Future.Johnson, S. (2005). Furlough from school? Gifted Child Today,28, 5.Jones, M. G., Jones, B. D., Hardin, B., Chapman, L., Yarbrough, T., &Davis, M. (1 999).The impact of high-stakes testing onteachers and students in North Carolina. Phi DeltaKappan, 81, 109-203.Kohn, A. (2000). The case against standardized testing: Raisingthe scores, ruining the schools. Portsmouth, NH:Heinemann.Kohn, A. (2001). Fighting the tests: A practical guide to rescuingour schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 82, 349-357.Mayer, D. R, Mullens, J. E., & Moore, M.T. (2000). Monitoringschool quality:An indicators report. Washington, DC: U.S.Department of Education, National Center for EducationStatistics.MoonT. R., Callahan, C. M., & Tomlinson, C. A. (2003). Effects ofstate testing programs on elementary schools with highconcentrations of student poverty-good news or badnews? Current Issues in Education, 6(8). RetrievedNovember 10, 2005, from http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume6/number8/National Association for Gifted Children. (2005). State of thestates 2004-2005. Washington, DC: Author.Neihart, M. (2002). Risk and resilience in gifted children: A conceptualframework. In M. Neihart, S. M. Reis, N. M.Robinson, & S. M. Moon (Eds.), The social and emotionaldevelopment of gifted children (pp. 113-122). Waco, TX:Prufrock Press.Neill, M. (2003). Leaving children behind: How No Child LeftBehind will fail our children. Phi Delta Kappan, 85,225-228.Nichols, S. L., & Berliner, D. C. (2005). The inevitable corruption ofindicators and educators through high-stakes testing.Tempe: Arizona State University, Educational PolicyStudies Laboratory. (EPSL No. 0503-101 -EPRU)No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110.Retrieved January 13,2006, from http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/Ohanian, S. (1999). One size fits few: The folly of educationalstandards. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.80 ASCA I PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING