Early Reading Background of Some Superior Readers Among College Freshmen

Abstract

A criticism of acceleration Is that it often results In lower grades In subject fields In which preliminary courses were skipped than could normally be expected of students talented In those fields. This study, composed of 108 pairs of students, compared the grades received In advanced courses by students who skipped the preliminary courses with the grades received In the same advanced courses by equally talented regular-progress students. It was found that the difference between the grades received by the two groups of students was not statistically significant. Therefore, It seems clear that acceleration did not result in lower-than-expected academic performance In advanced courses for the students included In the study.