Ohio Gifted Education Incentives Study
Prepared for the Ohio Department of Education in 2022
This study was authorized by Ohio’s Senate Bill 310 (2020), which required multiple education finance-related studies. The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) selected Augenblick, Palaich, and Associates (APA) through a competitive process, with the support of a group of academics specializing in gifted education from the University of Denver to perform this study.
The study’s goals were to identify the challenges, barriers, and best practices in gifted education, including issues in the identification process, service provision, and other aspects of gifted education. Additionally, the authorizing legislation requires the development of “recommendations for an incentive program for school districts in rural areas of the state that provide services to students identified as gifted”.
To identify possible incentives to support gifted education in rural settings, the study team:
Reviewed the literature on gifted rural education and Ohio gifted rules and regulations,
Surveyed rural gifted educators and statewide gifted leaders,
Conducted focus groups with rural gifted educators and state gifted leaders, and
Convened Professional Judgment (PJ) panels to identify the costs associated with providing specific components of gifted education as a basis for identifying the cost of different incentives.
Based on findings, the study team recommended an incentive system focused on financial incentives. Given the feedback that districts need consistent funding to implement change, and that incentives structured as rewards will negatively impact rural districts serving populations that are difficult to identify for gifted education, the study team recommended providing financial incentives through a multi-year grant mechanism.