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    Joined: Jun 2016
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    First, hi, first post here, although I've read a lot. I'm looking for some people who might have experience or direct feedback about where we are and our current decision surrounding Kindergarten for my YDS (5Y9M).

    Pertinent Facts:

    • Never has had any testing, do not know if he's gifted. At this time we are not concerned with pursuing testing.
    • 5Y9M old, late September birthday
    • WA state Kindergarten cutoff is must be 5YO by 9/1. Last year he was 4Y11M old, could not start. We were not interested in acceleration at that time so did not pursue.
    • Has been in daycare since 8wks old. Daycare has Montessori-based academic program with certified teacher.


    We've registered this child for Kindergarten because birthday falls in entering K range. The issue we are facing is that the daycare has an accredited Kindergarten (real teacher). He took this class for 2015-2016 with 5 other pupils (all boys, male teacher, was a hoot). He's passed all common core / state mandated subjects.

    A few facts about his academic readiness, as I think we are about to do battle with the school district on considering him a transfer student...

    • Can read. Currently reading books like "Ducks in a Row" with ease. Level 1 readers mostly. At Christmas he wasn't reading at all. He was barely reading in April. The light turned on sometime in the last 60 days and he's taking off. We are big readers, read every day to our kids and have since birth. He is doing summer library program so I expect he will grow still before school starts on 8/30.
    • Can count to 100, skip count to 100 by 2s, 5s, 10s. Understands place value. Can do addition / subtraction to 20 easily. Knows odds / evens, greater than & less than, etc.
    • His kindergarten teacher is recommending 1st grade.
    • He can do monkey bars, skip bars, ride a bike without training wheels, etc. Is 40th percentile for height. He has an older brother and can physically keep up.


    Our hesitation is doing 1st grade is by age this is an acceleration. I don't know that he's gifted, but he's bright. His older brother was in the same position and we repeated Kinder and my older son has been bored to tears for 3 years. Older child tested to Hi-Cap. I don't know if he's gifted either but as an example his MAPs are off the charts high in both reading and math.

    I'm trying not to see younger child through the lens of older child. What questions should we be considering to execute this "skip". Overall I think for bright children our school system doesn't really work well. My ODS class was so focused on teaching 2nd graders to read, even a little bit, that there was zero attention to kids achieving at or above grade-level.




    Boys age 7&9 grades 2&4.
    SW Washington State (near Portland, OR)
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    Welcome!

    It would appear that, per WA state law, it is up to your school district what their early entrance policy is. You might want to inquire about that (if you have not already done so), since many districts would place him in the typical range for considering such (BD between 9/1 and 10/31). Not only would that reduce the possible conflict with the district, it might help you to work through the decision-making process. A district early entrance process most likely would include cognitive and academic screening/assessment, and teacher reports from his preschool. Some also have trial placements.

    Here are a few sample policies from WA districts:

    http://ckschools.org/UserFiles/Serv...y%20Entrance%20to%20K/EEK%20Handbook.pdf

    http://www.everettsd.org/Page/4955

    (note this page has links to a waiver form for transferring in from private K)

    http://www.edmonds.wednet.edu/Page/816

    http://www.nthurston.k12.wa.us/cms/...or%20First%20Grade%20-%20%20Brochure.pdf

    We went through a similar decision-making process with our #1 (though with a private school, and less extensive testing).


    ...pronounced like the long vowel and first letter of the alphabet...
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    How does he do when bored? It is important not to underestimate the rage some kids feel when they're told they'll learn at school, and then they don't.

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    Have there been other children from your son's private school who were in a similar situation? Were they able to enroll as first graders (since they had already completed K and its requirements)?


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    Also, with a late September birthday and a 9/1 cutoff, he's not really that much younger than the first graders who have summer birthdays. I'm sure you have considered this - the rule, after all, is arbitrary. In another state, you could easily enroll him.

    It would seem a disservice to a child who has mastered the K curriculum (who in fact, just completed K) to not at least have a conversation with the school district.

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    I'm a huge proponent of not testing because you're curious, but testing when you need more information. It sounds like you need more information to make this decision, and IQ and achievement testing will give you what you need.

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    Welcome!

    Originally Posted by MamaRachel
    ... first post here, although I've read a lot... Never has had any testing, do not know if he's gifted. At this time we are not concerned with pursuing testing... What questions should we be considering to execute this "skip".
    If you have been a frequent reader, then you may already know that grade-skipping or acceleration is a frequent topic on the forums. The Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS), described here on Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, is the gold standard for evaluating evidence for/against a full-grade skip at a given point in time.

    The IAS is in its 3rd edition (2009) and is therefore sometimes called IAS-3.

    There are three parts to the IAS:
    1) Manual (re-usable paperback with process description, essays, examples)
    2) Form (one form is completed for each child, each time an acceleration is considered)
    3) Summary and Planning Record (one summary and planning record is completed for each child, each time an acceleration is considered)

    The IAS is described on the website of the Acceleration Institute and is available from Great Potential Press. If your school is not aware of the IAS, you may wish to share this information with them.

    The IAS recommends tests which measure student ability, aptitude, and achievement.

    If you are not presently interested in having your children tested, then the IAS may not be useful to you. On the other hand, understanding the role of testing in evidence-based acceleration may lead you to opt for testing.

    More about testing and acceleration in this post.

    More advocacy in this post.

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    How is his writing? What are the writing standards of first grade versus K? Social maturity?

    I agree with PPs about the possibility of testing giving you more information. My boy is a couple months younger than yours and going into the K equivalent at a private school (UK curric). He's crazy advanced at the school, but they have exceeded my expectations and done well meeting his needs. We're leaving him at grade level at the moment, but the school has agreed to out-of-level testing -- which we can use later if needed to support a skip.

    In your case, knowing the school isn't supportive of advanced kids, it makes more sense to look for a skip now. I'd still want to know what the writing expectations are in grade 1, and social aspects wouold be a major consideration.

    FWIW, I've read that first grade is the grade to skip if possible, as the day turns from more play to more sitting-down school. That's a major reason we haven't pursued a skip; our boy would rather play all day.


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    As another alternative, is it possible for you just to keep him home and school him there? We faced similar dilemmas, and looking back on it, I think I would have been better off homeschooling for a couple years and trying B&M school later on.

    I would look at your district Early Entrance policy. I think your child sounds like a good candidate, but it may come down to writing skills (neatness, etc). If they think his writing is not ahead, they may say no, even though he is barely younger than the entrance age for 1st. Girls may have an advantage here, as their fine motor skills are usually better at this age.

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    think you have the data you need to put him into first (his current teacher's recommendation). I'd most likely not test him at this point unless you need to per your school district's requirements if they have an early admissions policy. The reason I'd not test now - he's still very young, and in another year ability test scores will be more stable (less prone to being lower than true ability) and I think you'll know more in another year or so what his abilities are and whether or not you need abiiity testing. This is jmo, so take it for what it's worth (not much!!!), but I suspect that quite a few high-average through gifted kids would be ready for first grade at his age and with his background in preschool - so it's true, you might not know yet what level of ability you're dealing with, but you do know he's ready to handle the academics, and if his teacher thinks so, also the not-so-academic aspects of first grade (less play than kindy or whatever it's like in your district). What I think what you'll see happen if you put him in first grade is that as he is given new and more challenging work, you'll get a better idea of his abilities - if he's highly gifted, chances are he'll still be either asking for or ready for more challenge. Just skipping a grade doesn't necessarily provide a higher level of pace or more in-depth challenge which is what many highly-gifted kids need and crave... so if he's HG+, just skipping might not be enough. OTOH, you really don't seem to have anything to lose if you put him in first next year, no matter what his ability level is (exactly - you do know from his teacher this year that he's capable and ready).

    Best wishes,

    polarbear

    ps - Have you found out what you school district policy is for early entry? You can probably find it online, and your ds' preschool teacher *might* also know what it is.

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