Make an Informed Decision
Determining whether or not to accelerate a child can feel overwhelming. Teachers or parents often have questions about whether their students need acceleration. They may wonder whether their student should skip a grade, start kindergarten or college early, or move ahead in a particular subject.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could systematically account for all the important factors that go into making a decision? Wouldn’t it be great if you could automatically generate a report about whether acceleration would be a good fit for a particular student? Developed by leading researchers in gifted education, The Integrated Acceleration System helps your team figure out these tough questions. The Integrated Acceleration System helps your team turn a mountain of subjective information into an objective decision.
Although the Integrated Acceleration System is designed for users in the United States, the flexible framework can be applied to international educational systems.
The Process
Build Your Team
The facilitator invites a parent/guardian, current teacher, receiving teacher, and any other invested members.
Collect the Data
Team members add their individual perspectives on student readiness. The facilitator adds academic data such as test scores and grades.
Meet With Team
The team meets to discuss and review all perspectives and academic data collected. The facilitator finalizes the responses and produces the report.
The Process
Build Your Team
The facilitator invites a parent/guardian, current teacher, receiving teacher, and any other invested members.
Collect the Data
Team members add their individual perspectives on student readiness. The facilitator adds academic data such as test scores and grades.
Meet With Team
The team meets to discuss and review all perspectives and academic data collected. The facilitator finalizes the responses and produces the report.
"My daughter's school brought up the idea of her skipping a grade. We were reluctant to the idea at first, (but) we made the choice to have her skip 5th grade. She has excelled beyond our expectations!"
- Parent
The Report
Clear
The Integrated Acceleration System provides a clear recommendation, without technical jargon, that supports a direct path for action.
Comprehensive
It's easy to understand how a recommendation is reached. All information the team provides is available to review in the report.
Collaborative
The Integrated Acceleration System makes it simple to share the report with team members. Automatically email it out during the team meeting, or download and share when you are ready.
The Benefits
A process that is:
- Simple
- Efficient
- Organized
- Collaborative
Decisions that are:
- Grounded in research
- Data driven
- Defensible
- Inclusive
Child-centered focus for:
- Academically appropriate challenges
- Social-emotional development
- Informed & empowered educators
- Best outcome for the school
For Parents
A team approach is essential for making grade-skipping decisions. The team consists of parents/guardians, educators, and school administrators. The cost of the Integrated Acceleration System can be covered by the parents/guardians, if the school does not have funds allocated. If parents/guardians cover the cost, an educator at their child’s school must still serve as the "facilitator." The facilitator coordinates the data collection and the team meeting. The meeting always includes parents/guardians.
Continuing Education Webinars
Introduction to the Integrated Acceleration System
More Info
Pricing
To purchase codes for the Integrated Acceleration System simply create an account and choose the number of codes you'd like. One code provides access to everything you need to prepare for a decision on acceleration for one student, including a final report.
Interested in bulk pricing or want to pay by purchase order?
Susan Assouline
Author
Bio
Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik
Author
Bio
Brian Douglas
Lead Developer
Bio
Randy Lange
Contributor
Bio
Josh Jacobs
Developer
Bio
Pam Bozec
Graduate Assistant
Bio
Nick Colangelo
Special Acknowledgement
Bio
With gratitude to the members of the Belin-Blank Center faculty, staff, and doctoral students who participated in the beta testing of the Integrated Acceleration System: Dr. Laurie Croft, Dr. Alissa Doobay, Dr. Lori Ihrig, Ms. Emily Ladendorf, Dr. Brandon LeBeau, Dr. Megan Foley-Nicpon, Dr. Duhita Mahatmya, Dr. Katie Schabilion, Ms. Ashlee Donithan, and Mr. Eric Field.
With appreciation to the many other students and professionals who conducted beta testing.
Questions?
Still have questions about the Integrated Acceleration System, or acceleration in general? Check out the resources listed on the Acceleration Institute website, blogs about the Integrated Acceleration System, or email us!
To the parent: After you have talked with someone at school who has agreed to be the facilitator for the Integrated Acceleration System process, include this information in a follow-up email to that individual. We recommend that you copy the school principal in all communications.
Dear [name of facilitator],
We spoke recently about considering [my child] for a discussion about academic acceleration. The Integrated Acceleration System is an online tool developed by the University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center that guides participants through a process of data collection and discussion about acceleration for an individual student. Informed by decades of research, the Integrated Acceleration System includes all the major factors to consider when making such a placement decision and produces a report about readiness for academic acceleration.
This link provides some basic information about the process. Additional information for administrators is also available. After you have had the opportunity to learn more about the process and are ready to begin,
- Go to https://accelerationsystem.org/Account/Register and create an account. You will be the "facilitator" of the process.
- Click the Get Started button.
- Select the System Type (grade skip) and
- Click Send Invoice to Parent/Guardian.
- After the payment is made, you (as the facilitator) will receive an email notifying you of the payment and you can begin using the Integrated Acceleration System.
Questions? Email acceleration@belinblank.org.
An Introduction to the Integrated Acceleration System
Tuesday, February 23, 2023
4-5:30PM Central Time
Fee: $79. Includes one access code to the Integrated Acceleration System (valued at $69)
Video recording available after the live event
Determining whether to accelerate a child is an important decision; making sure to account for all the relevant information can feel overwhelming. The Belin-Blank Center team has developed an online system that: helps educators and families gather the right information, targets the important factors, and produces a report indicating a recommendation concerning whether acceleration is a good fit for a particular student.
This online professional development session will focus on:
- Best research-based practices in utilizing academic acceleration,
- How to use the online Integrated Acceleration System, and
- Suggestions to facilitate communication among the relevant team members and to monitor the student’s transition to acceleration.
The Integrated Acceleration System, an online tool developed by leading researchers in gifted education, guides participants through the integration of information about acceleration. Informed by decades of research, the Integrated Acceleration System includes all the major factors to consider and produces a report about readiness for one of the many forms of acceleration, including grade-skipping, early entrance to kindergarten, subject acceleration, and early entrance to college. The Integrated Acceleration System is designed for users in the United States. However, the flexible framework can be applied to international educational systems.
This webinar will focus on grade-skipping. Future online presentations will focus on early entrance to kindergarten, early entrance to college, and subject acceleration.
Register
Presenters
Susan G. Assouline, Ph.D. is a distinguished professor of school psychology and the director emerita of the Belin-Blank Center. She co-edited with Nicholas Colangelo, Joyce VanTassel-Baska, and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students. In addition to academic acceleration, her research interests include the burgeoning area of twice-exceptionality.
Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Ph.D. is Administrator, Acceleration Institute and Research at the University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center. She co-authored Developing Math Talent (2nd ed.), Developing Academic Acceleration Policies, and the Iowa Acceleration Scale. She is also co-developer of the online Integrated Acceleration System.
Randy Lange, Ph.D. is Administrator, Professional Development and Curriculum Coordinator at the University of Iowa Belin-Blank Center. He is part of the Integrated Acceleration System and Academy for Twice-Exceptionality teams at the Center. Prior to coming to the Belin-Blank Center, he spent 26 years as a gifted services resource teacher and developed the Talent Development Services Program in two Illinois suburban school districts.
Advanced Uses of the Integrated Acceleration System
Coming soon!
Register
Bulk Pricing
50 or more codes can be purchased for $39 each.
100 or more codes can be purchased for $35 each.
Register
Purchase Order Information
If you have not already set up an account with the Integrated Acceleration System, please login to https://accelerationsystem.org and set up an account (or ask the facilitator who will be using the System to set up an account). Send a message to acceleration@belinblank.org including the information below, and we will send you an invoice for 1 access code. If you need to purchase more than 1 access code, indicate the number of Integrated Acceleration System access codes (grade-skipping) you are purchasing. They are currently $69 each. Bulk discounts are available.
- 5 codes for $299
- 10 codes for $499
- $39 each for 50-99 codes
- $35 each for 100 or more code
Please provide the following information for the invoice:
- Name of contact person to receive the invoice
- Email address
- Name of school
- Physical address of school
- Number of Integrated Acceleration System access codes you are purchasing
- Name and email address of the Facilitator who will be using the Integrated Acceleration System (if different from contact person for invoice)
Register
Susan G. Assouline, Ph.D., Author, is a distinguished professor of school psychology and the director emerita of the Belin-Blank Center. With Nicholas Colangelo and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, she co-developed the Iowa Acceleration Scale, a tool designed to guide educators and parents through decisions about grade-skipping students. In 2015, she co-edited with Nicholas Colangelo, Joyce Van Tassel-Baska, and Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students. Throughout her career, she has been especially interested in the psychological principle of individual differences, which serves as a platform for the Belin-Blank Center’s research in the areas of twice-exceptionality (highly able students with learning disabilities or social impairment), academic acceleration, and psychosocial development of exceptional students.
Ann Lupkowski-Shoplik, Ph.D., Author, is the Administrator for the Acceleration Institute and Research at the Belin-Blank Center. Previously, she founded and directed the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Talented Elementary Students (C-MITES) at Carnegie Mellon University. She co-authored Developing Math Talent (2nd ed.), Developing Academic Acceleration Policies, and the Iowa Acceleration Scale, and co-edited A Nation Empowered: Evidence Trumps the Excuses Holding Back America’s Brightest Students. In addition to academic acceleration, her professional interests include identifying exceptionally mathematically talented students and devising appropriately challenging opportunities for them, assisting educators in understanding the Talent Search Model and how it can be utilized in schools, and helping families to find appropriately challenging educational opportunities for their talented students.
Brian Douglas, MBA, Lead Developer, is the Assistant Director for Finance, Operations, and Technology at the Belin-Blank Center. He heads a talented team of programmers and database administrators who manage the virtual side of the many programs at the center, including the Integrated Acceleration System. He also is responsible for the financial operations of the Belin-Blank Center and teaches programming classes for the talented students attending Belin-Blank Summer Programs.
Randy Lange, Ph.D., Contributor is the Coordinator for Professional Development & Curriculum at the Belin-Blank Center. In addition to working on the Integrated Acceleration System and the Bucksbaum Early Entrance Academy, he is part of the team to establish the Academy for Twice-Exceptionality at the University of Iowa. Prior to joining the Belin-Blank Center faculty and staff, he worked in a suburban school district in Illinois where he created a continuum of services for a comprehensive K-8 gifted program. Over his career, he has taught a variety of courses through the Belin-Blank Center’s professional development opportunities for educators. Acceleration, identification, underrepresentation in gifted programming, above-level measures, and the application of education research to a classroom context are his key interests.
Joshua Jacobs, A.A.S., Developer, is the Administrator for Technology and Project Management at the Belin-Blank Center.
Kristin Flanary, M.A., Marketing Lead, is the Communications Administrator at the Belin-Blank Center. She leads the Center’s strategic communications, public relations, advertising, and marketing efforts.
Pamela C. Bozec, Graduate Assistant, is a doctoral student in School Psychology at the University of Iowa. Prior to returning to school, she helped families to coordinate community services for children with special needs. She is currently interested in supporting families, educators and policymakers in making informed policy decisions so that they can provide students with appropriate educational challenges.
With special acknowledgement and appreciation to Nicholas Colangelo, Ph.D.,founding Director of the Belin-Blank Center and Dean Emeritus of the University of Iowa College of Education. In addition to his co-authorship of the Iowa Acceleration Scale, he was the co-PI on multiple grants that facilitated the founding of the Belin-Blank Center’s Acceleration Institute. He is well-known for his work in counselor education as well as for his significant contributions to the field of gifted education and social-emotional development of gifted students.