Acceleration:A coat of many colours

The word "acceleration" continues to generate controversy. Although the literature makes it clear that acceleration in its various guises is a positive intervention for many gifted students, educational practitioners in Australia continue to resist the evidence and campaign actively against allowing students to take this option. This article synthesizes 3 research projects conducted in New South Wales, Australia, exploring different forms of acceleration. The first project involved an investigation of the Early Entry policy for gifted children in one region of the state; the second reports on the experiences of students who skipped at least 1 grade; and the third examines a vertical programming system that allows students to accelerate within subjects at an academically selective high school. Based on these research studies, this article explores the issues that are at the center of the acceleration debate.