<p>The purpose of this eleventh grade Advanced Placement (AP) program study was to determine factors associated with AP placement and subsequent student performance. This research was considered to be a mixed methods case study with elements of arrested action research. One hundred and twenty-four students, four guidance counselors, three AP teachers, and one administrator provided information used to determine if a problem existed in terms of the influx of students into the AP program without a comprehensive set of research-based supports designed to assist struggling students. Student data included instrument measures, structured written response questions, and secondary source information which was obtained from 124 eleventh grade students in 11 different AP classes between these two comprehensive high-schools in this district. Secondary source data was used to gauge academic ability and preparedness which included collecting: Preliminary Standardized Achievement Test (PSAT) scores, cumulative Grade Point Averages (GPAs), AP final class grades, and AP exam scores. All 124 students also completed three self-report measures designed to gauge test anxiety, academic locus of control, and executive functioning. These students also wrote brief responses to five structured written response questions that were aligned to the self-report measures. Four counselors, three AP teachers, and one administrator were interviewed to better understand their views concerning current AP placement practices and strategies used to support academically at-risk and traditionally underserved students. The analyzed data was then used to create a Professional Development (PD) Module inclusive of feasible and low-cost strategies to improve AP grades and exam scores. This PD Module was subsequently implemented for a short duration in three AP classrooms as the first cycle in an action research project. The three AP teachers were then interviewed in order to garner feedback and ideas on how to improve this PD Module. </p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> Advanced Placement (AP), Preliminary Standardized Achievement Test (PSAT), cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA), test-anxiety, academic locus of control, executive functioning, case study, arrested action research, mixed methods, Professional Development (PD) </p>

<p> Although previous studies have acknowledged the role of teacher training in working with children with special needs, none have investigated the relationship between teacher training and referrals. There is a need to understand the factors that affect K-12 classroom teachers' referrals of twice exceptional (2E) students into gifted programs. Supported by the optimal stimulation theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between teacher training and 2E student referrals. The survey method was used to collect data from 102 K-12 teachers in the Ohio school district on their teaching credentials, ranging from no training to being certified to teach gifted children.The teachers read a vignette about a hypothetical student who had an emotional behavior disorder and indicated their decision for referral. Phi and Cramer's V tested the validity of the hypothesis that teachers will make referrals according to their level of training. A binary logistic regression was performed to determine which factors predicted the referral of the hypothetical 2E student described in the vignette and the number of self-reported referrals during the previous year. Teachers who received training in the education and learning of exceptional students beyond the current level of degree for K-12 teachers were significantly more likely to refer 2E students to their school's gifted program. Teachers who received advanced training in working with exceptional students were significantly more likely to have made referrals of 2E students during the previous academic year. The results of this study can initiate positive social change by aiding teacher-educators or leaders in education to make specific recommendations for teacher training in an attempt to respond to the needs of 2E students. </p>

<p>The demographics of public schools in the United States have changed over recent years to include millions of English language learners (ELLs), students whose first language is not English and who demonstrate limited proficiency in English. During this same time period, school personnel have struggled to identify ELLs for gifted programs because of language and cultural barriers. The problem addressed in this study was that researchers do not have a clear understanding of why or how some ELLs are being identified for gifted programs despite the documented difficulty with gifted identification of ELLs. Using a qualitative method and embedded single-case study design with a school district's gifted identification process for Spanish-speaking ELLs as the main unit of analysis, the purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which three Spanish-speaking ELLs in a southeastern U.S. school district were identified for a gifted program. Data sources included in-depth interviews with nine teachers and three parents of these students, and a document analysis of state-required gifted characteristics checklists completed by these teachers during the gifted referral process. Data were analyzed and coded to identify patterns related to how these Spanish-speaking ELLs were identified for the gifted program in the school district. From the coded themes, the four patterns of rapid learner, translation abilities, problem solving and creative thinking skills, and motivation emerged as key factors in the school district's gifted identification process for Spanish-speaking ELLs based on teacher interviews, parent interviews, and document review of the gifted characteristics checklists. Recommendations based on the findings included creation of additional gifted checklists that incorporated the characteristics of translation skills, rapid progress in English acquisition, and leadership in the ESL classroom as criteria in the gifted identification process for Spanish-speaking ELLs, professional development for teachers in how to use these factors in the process of identifying gifted Spanish-speaking ELLs, and parent meetings and personal communication to ensure parents of ELLs understand the gifted referral and identification process in the district. Recommendations for future research included studies of other school districts' gifted identification processes for ELLs and studies of the gifted identification process for ELLs from other countries and cultures. </p>