From the editor's desk.

Welcome to the spring issue of the Roeper Review, volume 26, issue 3. In this issue we continue our investigation of issues that affect gifted children, from legislation to parent perceptions.

Two respected figures in the field, Jim Gallagher and Sandra Kaplan, consider the impact of the No Child Left Behind legislation on gifted students. This major educational initiative will affect all school-aged children and it is our responsibility to learn how it will affect them. Dr. Gallagher and Dr. Kaplan offer their insights to further guide our efforts.

Early entrance to kindergarten, like grade acceleration at all ages, has been a controversial topic in education for years. Again and again, the socio-emotional impact of early entrance is criticized. Francoys Gagne and Nadia Gagnier set out to determine if this issue should actually be a reason to avoid early entrance in their study of early entrants in Quebec. Their findings are heartening for supporters of early entrance to kindergarten.

Jerrell Cassady, Kristie Speirs Neumeister, Cheryll Adams, Felicia Dixon, Rebecca Pierce, and I share with readers an instrument that was developed for use in our Jacob Javits grant in the article "The Differentiated Classroom Observation Scale" (DCOS). This tool has provided a useful function in our observations of classrooms as we determine the differentiation that is actually occurring there. It is our hope that others may find utility in the DCOS.

Marcia Gentry and Bill Keilty describe what they have learned from implementing cluster grouping programs in their article "Rural and Suburban Cluster Grouping: Reflections on Staff Development as a Component of Program Success." As the authors note, no program can work without the support of the staff who will be affected by it.

The Center for Talent Development, home of the Midwest Talent Search program, has offered special classes on Saturdays and in the summer to gifted students for many years. Paula Olszewski-Kubilius and Seon-Young Lee examined the effectiveness of the program from the parents' perspectives in their article "Parent Perceptions of the Effects of the Saturday Enrichment Program on Gifted Students' Talent Development." The benefit of these special programs can extend beyond the learning that takes place in the classroom.

In their article "Raising the Bar: Encouraging High Level Thinking in Online Discussion Forums," Mary Christopher, Julie Thomas, and Mary Tallent-Runnels evaluate the use of a new technology we are beginning to see in college classes, the online discussion forum. Technology can be a powerful teaching tool, but it sometimes falls short of its promise. These authors explore ways to make these online forums a truly useful pedagogical technique, a necessary step in incorporating new technology.

Once again, Judy Margison presents recent dissertation research in the field of gifted studies, followed by three book reviews from Claire Hughes. Jeanetta Riley reviews Don Campbell's book, The Mozart Effect for Children: Awakening Your Child's Mind, Health, and Creativity with Music; Dona Matthews reviews Jane Piirto's "My Teeming Brain": Understanding Creative Writers; and Julie Milligan reviews Being gifted in school: An introduction to development, guidance, and teaching by Laurence Coleman and myself.

I hope you will find this issue of Roeper Review stimulating and informative. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and suggestions.

Dr. Tracy L. Cross, Editor

Roeper Review

Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities

Ball State University

Muncie, Indiana 47306

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