Originally Posted by aeh
IOW, the social risks of whole grade acceleration are also related to a self-fulfilling prophecy/feedback loop. If more children were allowed developmentally-appropriate whole grade accelerations, there would be less social stigma and fewer negative social impacts, but institutions tend to be opposed to grade skipping because of the fear of negative social impacts...which leads to fewer children being grade skipped...and thus greater negative social impacts of grade skips...

I was just thinking about this futher. The state I was born in had a complicated start of school system, all children would start school the term after their 5th birthday and then must do at least three and no more than four terms of school. Actually when I went through we had trimesters, so probably it was at least two and no more than five. I started school, did one term (trimester) and then moved states, where I was put into yr1, having "already done" FYOS. I moved back to my home state a few years later and progressed as per the grade I had been in for the last few years. I was never formally or deliberately grade skipped, but never the less I finished school a month younger than my grade skipped child will be when she finishes. Functionally I was grade skipped. And it was never mentioned.

The year I started high school birthdays and ages and who was the youngest in the class were all discussed... There were kids younger than me. Two or three I think in my grade (about 100 kids). We had a chat about the school start thing and it was never discussed again. Every now and then I chat with other adults from my state who had the same experience. "Oh yeah, I turned 17 right at the end of yr12, but it wasn't for any real reason, it was just that school start thing".

I suspect it would have been a much bigger deal if I had been "skipped" rather than just randomly very young due to the nature of our system. My state was deeply anti gifted education at the time.

I think we have developed a great deal more cultural baggage around why kids are older or younger than normal (if they are) and how very very important it is not be different because something bad might happen. There is now huge reluctance to hold a child back a year too. We must all be the same in the sausage factory.