The Marland Report: Twenty Years Later

Abstract

In October, 1971, Commissioner of Education, Sidney P. Marland, submitted a report to Congress which concluded that the Federal government had provided virtually no services to meet the needs of gifted and talented students in America. During the following twenty years, Congress and the White House sought solutions to overcome this deficiency, but usually their interests conflicted sufficiently to keep Marland's observation intact. In 1988, Congress finally passed the Javits bill which implements the major recommendations of the Marland report, and which appears to be the first piece of legislation that has the tacit support of the White House. President Bush's desire to be the “Education President” implies that the federal government may finally assume a role in the education of gifted and talented youngsters.