Hold on to your hat Ebeth! And thanks for addressing this, as it's something I should be more up to speed about. I should consider science acceleration eventually for DS.

Anyway, I would expect that exceptions are always needed in extreme situations. For example, my own son can't take biology "concurrently" with algebra 2, as he's already IN algebra 2 (and might not have biology for 3 more years!). I think from our course selection guide that it's more about ensuring only the top kids land in the top courses. You can't for example just take honors biology without being in the honors math equivalent. But if the two didn't quite line up due to acceleration, I suspect they'd go a little softer on the subject that might be behind. However...surely some level of math expertise is required for the sciences.

For us, algebra 2 is the standard 10th grade math class. We have about 30% that took algebra 1 early as 8th graders, and are now in this "honors algebra 2" course in 9th. The biology course is listed for 9th/10th. But I consider algebra 2 to be status quo (ie, my expectation) for 9th grade.

Each school probably has slightly different progressions and requirements though. Our school is not what I'd call "competitive" in their course offerings and pacing.

Oh, ebeth! I feel this way every time someone starts talking about college for 10yos. Can we get 'em through 2nd grade first? I'm so not ready for that!

You have my deepest sympathy!

You know, I had a thought, so I'll throw it out there. Feel free to reject it out of hand...

Does the acceleration have to be SO radical? Could he go to 6th grade science, for example? It's rare around this forum to ask for LESS of a skip, but maybe in your son's case, that's a better choice. It might solve some of these problems. Is there a reason why 7th is a better choice than 6th (beyond just that it's harder, of course...)?

I posed that very question to the acceleration committee, Kriston. They all agreed that 6th grade science was an option, if we wanted it. It think that they felt that 6th grade science would not fit his ability though. I went into the meeting thinking that they were going to offer 5th grade science, and so I studied up on the course curriculum for 4th, 5th, and 6th. All of it was material that was very basic for him. I even went all the way up to 9th grade science before I could find any material that he had not already mastered. He came home from the WJ III testing talking about moles and what they measure in chemistry, so he had to make it up that high on the testing. He nearly passed a college level physics course that was a conceptual based physics class (very little math) while in 2nd grade, and he routinely picks up my college level chemistry book and reads it for fun. He can chat happily about covalent bonding and the electron orbital shell model. He can read any adult science material that we have laying around... i.e. Scientific American magazine or Discovery magazine.

I think the acceleration committee thought that 7th grade would be as far up as the could comfortably place him due to writing and social issues. It was about half way up to where they thought his science ability was.

So I am toying with putting him in 6th, to avoid the issues surrounding Jr. High. But if you are going to jump them up 2 grades, you might as well go up 3 if it is a better fit with the material. Am I crazy to think that?

BTW, we asked DS what he wanted to do with the acceleration. He was all for it. His eyes got kind of big when we said that the school had agreed to let him go up to 7th. (we had asked him about going up to 5th before the meeting.) But even with my explanations about 7th grade might have more homework and a lot more writing (which he is not too fond of), he was very excited. We asked if he wanted to go up to visit the classroom and the teacher to check it out. He said that there was no need... he was just ready to go!

No, I definitely don't think you're crazy to think that! Not one bit!

I only asked because if the 7th grade class won't accomodate his writing issues--which he's BOUND to have!--I fear they're setting him up to fail.

I guess I was thinking that if the choice is between two academic situations that are both covering material he's mastered, then he might as well be in the one that will accomodate his other needs.

But that's just an idle thought, and even then, only if they won't accomdate his writing issues. Trust your gut.

If they WILL accomodate his writing issues, then personally, I'd say full steam ahead, and on to 7th grade!

Okay, so given that DS wants to skip up to 7th grade science, what do you think is the biggest lag or gap that can occur between Science and Math accelerations. If DS goes to 7th grade Science with 4th grade Math, then by 9th grade Science he will be in 6th grade math. That doesn't seem like it is going to work. A two year gap between Science and Math seems like the bare minimum? And if his WJ III math scores were high enough for a DYS application, then it seems like I need to talk to the school again.

I thought that maybe I should ask the 7th grade teacher to see if she would meet with DS... maybe sort of an interview process. I would trust the teacher to be able to judge fairly quickly if DS could handle the various aspects of the classroom. I also thought that I could ask her for samples of a typical homework or project then.

And yes, Kriston, I did worry that they were setting him up to fail. I keep seeing both sides of the coin... as it spins, and spins, and spins....

How about 7th gr. science/ 4th gr. math
then the next year 8th gr. science/ 6th gr. math
then 9th gr. science/8th gr. math
then 10th gr. science/10th gr. math

That way he's only skipping in one subject at a time.

Maybe you can get the math acceleration out of the science acceleration? It's a pretty strong selling point, I think! "He'll need X if he's going to do Y next year" is pretty persuasive...

Yes, I think you should talk to the school again. Fer sher!

Cathy A: I look at the number of grade skips that you propose for math, and it makes me realize just how far behind in math he would be compared to science. DS would have to go through three sets of double grade skips in order to equalize the math and science grades. Oh boy! That means being with three different groups of friends each year... As soon as he made a new set of friends in a grade he would jump two grades above them the next year. I realize it would only be for math and not for a whole grade... but it still seems hard on a kid that struggles to make friends anyway?

I have a question. Everyone said that schools seem to take Achievement test scores more seriously than IQ scores. Now, after having WISC-IV scores for six months and WJ III Math scores for less than a day, it doesn't seem like the schools are really interested in the math achievement scores. DS had the magic 145 or beyond for the scaled scores in three out of the four of the math subtest (with only the pesky math fluency below it) and grade eq. that were 3+ to 6+ higher than he currently is placed. So what do I do with this data? How do you approach the school if they are focusing on the math fluency data, which seems to me to be the Processing Speed equivalent of the WISC-IV?

Should I focus on the scaled scores that DYS wants and look like IQ scores? The school doesn't really seem to understand these. The grade equivalents seem kind of arbitrary, and don't necessarily track with the scaled score. DS's highest scaled score was in Math Calculation, which had a GE of 4 grade levels above his current grade, while the Applied math scaled score was 17 pt lower but had a GE of 6 grade levels above current grade. It really makes no sense to me!

Any idea what are the schools looking for in order to get math acceleration? (I know, that is probably the million dollar question around here!)

Hmmm... I see what you mean about multiple skips being a social issue.

I wish I knew what to tell you about how to use the data to convince the school. What if he restests on the math fluency at the end of the year? Maybe he'll be sufficiently fluent then to satisfy them.

I think your school, like many is in WAY over their heads. You all need professional guidance, and by this I mean GT experts. I think it's great that your school is at least willing to talk! If you can round up some GT teacher, advocate, etc, who has seen this type of situation before, it would be extremely helpful. If not, it would help if they are willing to use a little "trial and error" with fine tuning along the way. (They wouldn't be the first school to totally wing it!)

Our school used the STEP math achievement test for DS's multiple accelerations. This was more indepth than the WIAT/WJ and gave them more reassurance that he was indeed ready. He is currently in an algebra 2 class, and seems to be doing fine 3 days into it, but I have to say there seems to be a fair amount of writing. My "back up" plan is to photocopy DD13's notes if needed, but for now I'd prefer that DS take the course "as is" with no special accommodations.

If a school is willing to help a younger child though, that's fantastic. I just feel like we are always in "prove he's worthy" mode and hesitate to ask for even the most basic help because of his younger age.