'those kids aren't going to be in the "regular" public classes, they are going to private school'
Most private schools aren't set up to cater to gifted kids. If you don't believe me, ask the folks running a private school how they deal with kids who are 2-3 grade levels ahead in math.
Then ask them for concrete examplea of what they actually mean. And concrete examples of the outcomes this differentiated instruction has achieved for those kids.
Private schools often have smaller class sizes, nicer physical environment, better equipment and higher expectations. But the curriculum is still aimed at the average kid in that school, with little consideration for the outliers.
EDIT: I should have mentioned, that I interpret 'gifted' to mean something like top 3% by ability (corresponding to an IQ of about 130). Back when SFUSD used to identify kids at gifted and talented, they were talking about the top ~30%, which is totally different.
Nobody claims that most private schools are set up to cater to gifted kids: What you get is a whole lot of different schools, catering to different backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, some of which will cater mostly to gifted kids.
This is easy to see in metro areas with a balkanized public education system, like Saint Louis. Your typical child has access to one public school, which could be quite good, or horrible, depending on where it is: The better the school, the more expensive it is to get a house that can sends kids to it. If you don't want to move for your favorite school, you go into one of hundreds of private schools. The differences amongst them are so wide, locals ask others where they went to high school as a shortcut to get a lot of information about them. On the gifted end, you will find private schools where less than 15% of the class is stuck "only" at grade level in math, and that's probably because they are way ahead somewhere else. Those schools tend to be so interested in high performers that there's a great chance there's quite a bit of financial aid for those with blue collar parents.
So yes, most private schools are definitely not better: Hell, I'd argue that in a city like this, most private schools are worse academically. But when there are enough private schools, self-assortment surrounds kids with others that are more like them, whether it's athletic focus, qualifying as gifted, following Christian Science, or making sure most girls are rich enough to own horses. Whether this is good or bad for the city is a different story, but I suspect the gifted kids come out ahead.
And yes, all of this will only happen in large enough metros with enough children. A gifted child in a small town is probably served more or less equally badly by public and private schools.
"And yes, all of this will only happen in large enough metros with enough children."
Yes. I should explain my perspective. I live in San Francisco, which has ~900k people, and maybe 80k school-age children.
So perhaps 180 (80000/13*0.03) kids per grade are gifted. Enough to fill 7 to 10 classrooms.
Even so, as far as I'm aware, San Francisco has no elementary schools focused on gifted kids. The nearest gifted-only elementary school is private, pricey, a 30+ min drive away, and has way more qualified applicants than places.
How do elementary schools determine whether someone is gifted?
Also, SF has some elementary schools that are considered much better than others. Rooftop, for instance. If it isn't the student body or budget, what makes Rooftop better?
"How do elementary schools determine whether someone is gifted?"
Public schools in SF? They don't.
Private gifted schools? Using psychologist-administered tests.
"If it isn't the student body or budget, what makes Rooftop better?"
During the most recent year for which data are available (2019) half of Rooftop 3rd graders were not meeting state standards in math. 45% were not meeting state standards in ELA (English Language Arts).
>Most private schools aren't set up to cater to gifted kids.
Just by filtering out the most disruptive kids, having small class sizes, and teachers aligned with the school, kids, and parents, you are catering to the gifted and the rest of the students as well.
For a school to be "catering to the gifted", they'd need to be providing challenging material at the level and the pace of gifted (top ~3%) kids. The conditions you describe are not sufficient.
I tested at the top ~0.1% back in the day and, digging out the old recommendations my parents were given, it was recommended I skip several grades, be given private tutoring, and have access to additional programs with my peers.
Top 3%-1%, they recommended skipping grades + specialized instruction in areas of strength and additional programs.
(They also had recommendations for the actual Einsteins/Michelangelos/Mozarts, which amounted to "there is no reason for this child to be in the K-12 education system"; I always wondered what their experiences were like.)
I was a six year old whose main interests were astronomy (particularly the stellar lifecycle and black holes), PARENTING (as in I was a six year old with an interest in child psychology), and web development. At that level, you have to personalize it, or at the very least give the child unorthodox information resources.
It is sufficient because when classes are small enough and teachers care, gifted kids get the challenging material and attention they need. They don’t need to be in a gifted bubble, then need obstacles removed, and some encouragement.
I recently toured some private elementary schools in San Francisco (and researched others) and my impression is that differentiated instruction is pretty limited for core subjects like math.
One thing to consider is that the average at academic private schools is probably better to begin with. So all the kids might be 1-2 years ahead of the average student overall.
Most private schools aren't set up to cater to gifted kids. If you don't believe me, ask the folks running a private school how they deal with kids who are 2-3 grade levels ahead in math.
Then ask them for concrete examplea of what they actually mean. And concrete examples of the outcomes this differentiated instruction has achieved for those kids.
Private schools often have smaller class sizes, nicer physical environment, better equipment and higher expectations. But the curriculum is still aimed at the average kid in that school, with little consideration for the outliers.
EDIT: I should have mentioned, that I interpret 'gifted' to mean something like top 3% by ability (corresponding to an IQ of about 130). Back when SFUSD used to identify kids at gifted and talented, they were talking about the top ~30%, which is totally different.