Hi everyone! I've been lurking, and finally decided to join in. I'm a former teacher, and mom to 2 homeschooling boys.

I thought I'd put forth a question that's been puzzling me for a long time. I know there's endless angst from parents and teachers about grade skipping, subject acceleration-- anything that puts a child in a group that's not of age-peers (and I've done some angsting myself).

I have also seen parents and teachers about to burst at the seams with pride about kids who are "Only in 1st grade, and reading at a 2nd grade level!"

My best friend lobbied to get his son into the "gifted" program when he just missed the cutoff. As explained to me, the gifted class is accelerated over the regular class by 3 months. My thought was, "Why bother?!"

Is it really that strange for a kid to be working a year or two above (or below) age peers, or to socialize mainly with others who are not near their age?

Are we that cookie-cutter a species that learning an "8 year old skill" at 6 is so noteworthy? Who decides what academic norms are in the first place?

I await your wisdom.

I think you're preaching to the choir here!

I agree, there is huge variation in development from one kid to another and even in the development of different skills by a given child.

But the way the schools are set up you would think that kids are clones! I don't think anyone is well-served by our current educational system. We have the means/technology/understanding/etc. to start designing individualized educational plans for each kid. That's what we should be aiming for.

Hi and welcome Luciente,

I agree with you that workikng a year or two above age peers in reading or doing math is not a big deal.

However, at least in my case, the gap keeps getting larger as my dd grows older. She is currently working on 6th grade math (she just turned 8 last month). She learns at a faster rate and unless her curriculum is individualized she would have to be constantly waiting for the rest of the class to finish.

She didn't start school until she was 6 1/2, so she has finished the math curriculum for grades 1-6 in 2 years. She is not "hothoused" or "pushed" She is simply able to grasp concepts quickly. I don't really care for bragging rights, I was just concerned that she would learn to just cruise thru school without any effort needed. I simply support the idea of teaching children "what they are ready to learn when they are ready to learn it" regardless of age. This is actually her school's philosophy.

Hi luciente and welcome!

Your question caused me great concern when thinking about acceleration. I was worried that we would give up social fit (my kids fit pretty well in their grade and a few years up with subject acceleration) and potentially not gain much academically. There have been many discussions on the list about how grade acceleration works so well for moderately gifted kids because it may be just enough for them, but it's harder to meet the needs of HG kids because just a year or two acceleration likely wouldn't be enough academically. I think most people who choose acceleration feel like their kids benefit from getting a better fit even if it's not perfect, while not losing much or even gaining socially. Others worry more about the negatives for a variety of reasons involving sibling issues, the kid's personality, sports and size concerns, and the worry that acceleration wouldn't help academically until it was in the 3+ year range. For most people without access to the kind of school bianc describes, there aren't easy solutions for kids way outside the norm.

I think the ideal is just what bianc described in her response -- a school that allows a kid to move at a fairly individualized pace, but doesn't require that doing 6th grade math as a 1st grader means you have to put a 7 yo in a class with 6th graders. We've pursued an HG+ public school program that allows a radically individualized program. I think it has the potential to offer lots of peer interaction, the collective aspects of school my kids love (recess, plays, concerts, carnivals, sports, chess club, etc.), and a chance for the kids to move at more appropriate pace through the curriculum. We don't start until next year, but I'm hopeful! In our current situation, subject and/or grade acceleration would be our only options and neither would work great for us longterm.

I don't think it's at all unusual for a kid to be a grade level or two above or below peers. In my kids' current school, about 50% read at least a year above grade level.

I don't think we're a cookie cutter species, but it seems that most schools focus on making sure everyone attains a certain minimum standard rather than maximizing the potential of each kid in every area of talent/relative weakness/or disability. For things my kids can learn at the "normal" pace like physical skills, art, interaction with a wide variety of kids, and exposure to lots of other families and situations, that works great. For areas where they are years ahead of where they are "supposed" to be, it doesn't work nearly as well.

Who sets the standards? After NCLB, it looks like each state creates their own, but there is a lot of variation among what counts as what level in different states. I've read that the standards keep getting lower so more kids will achieve grade level or above mastery but I hope that's not true

An important point to consider is that some kids work one grade above level because that is their actual challenge level while others are stuck at or slightly above grade level because that is the extent the schools will allow despite the fact that the student could progress much, much faster based on innate ability.

The lock-step issue causes much more angst for kids who are capable of completing 3 or more grades per year, but instead, are forced to spiral with the rest of the class year after excruciating year.

Luciente,

Spoken like a true home schooling former teacher! I like the way you think, and welcome!
Actually, I've been very surprised by how many teachers choose to homeschool, so telling in my opinion.
I have a pg daughter who is not skipped and has individualized curriculum (with 4 others) and loves school.
I have an HG(+?) 5 year old who I've just been told her FSIQ 140 is not correct as she did not take the test seriously and was fooling around the whole time. School is not working so well for her.
We are leaning towards partial homeschooling for next year as she loves her friends, playground, gym and music.
Actually, as we get closer and closer to taking the plunge, I've started to feel strangely happy and relieved!

Neato

I really think there's power in having another option available to you, even if you don't take it. Just knowing that you're not entirely at someone else's mercy for the education of your not-easy child helps!

Incogneato: Totally OT but I read "pg" as pregnant daughter. WHen I see PG, I think profoundly gifted, but after being on pregnancy boards I see pg as pregnant! ROFL!

Delbows and Cathy,
Good points! Kids are expected to do the same thing, regardless of ability. My DD has been in a full inclusion class this year, and it has really stifled her growth. She reads 3 years above grade level, but there's very little in-class reading instruction (other than intervention for the struggling readers), and she gets very little guidance in picking out AR books on her level (her teacher doesn't have many high level ones). The teacher does send DD to the math coach for enrichment, which is her favorite part of school right now. Thank goodness she only has 10 school days left!

Our school system is very quick to point out the percentages of kids who are "above the benchmark" on DIBLES or "above grade level" on AR. The so-called "benchmark" for DIBLES is only the 40th percentile, so what's the big deal? So many parents are uninformed, and they take these meaningless stats as an indication that the school is doing great things. It's sad.

The word "angst" sums up DD9's entire school year this year. You are so right about this.