ABSTRACT
Schematically, the special-educational rationale for gifted education is simple and straightforward: Gifted students are exceptional by virtue of certain characteristics that make the regular core curriculum inappropriate for them. As is the case with other exceptional students, curricular and instructional modifications are necessary if gifted students are to receive an appropriate education. These modifications should be made in direct response to the characteristics that make gifted students exceptional. Leaving aside the issue of the lack of consensus as to what giftedness is, there is another issue that renders differentiating curriculum and instruction for gifted students difficult. Teachers need support from their administrations in the form of education, resources, time, and opportunities for collaboration, and they need these things over a period of years. Teachers need support from their administrations in the form of education, resources, time, and opportunities for collaboration, and they need these things over a period of years.
