Book excerpt: Seeking a more comprehensive vision for gifted education, this book offers a modern vision of programs and services for gifted and talented students. Beyond Gifted Education: Designing and Implementing Advanced Academic Programs provides the first comprehensive look at designing and implementing advanced academic student programs. Written by four leading experts in the field, Beyond Gifted Education reviews the current range of traditional gifted education practices and policies. Then, the book offers the concerned gifted program coordinator or school administrator a more expansive approach to educating gifted learners. The authors lead readers through the process of identifying needs, responding with programming, and then finding students who are well-suited for and would benefit from advanced academic programming. Detailed examples walk the reader through real-world scenarios and programs common to the gifted coordinator on topics such as cluster grouping, acceleration, and increasing diversity. Throughout the book, connections are made to Common Core State Standards, Response to Intervention, and a wealth of outside research in order to support ideas.