Okay, I think I have a game plan. I haven't gotten IAS yet, but I will. In the meantime, I downloaded several placement tests for math and reading, around the 2nd or 3rd grade level. He's averaging about 85% on the second grade tests, and about 60% on the third grade tests. And, to be honest, I've never taught him most of the things on those tests, and I know he hasn't learned it in school. So I have no idea how he learned a lot of it. Anyway, I dusted off the psychology minor from college and found several articles and exerpts from books that show that if a child is not challenged, it's bad for them in about a dozen different ways. And I got together a folder of samples of the math that he does (and enjoys) at home, along with his journal, in which he writes stories that are ten times better than the ones he does at school. I have two main concerns. FIrst of all, the 85% on the tests. Is that good enough to skip? I want him to be challenged, but I don't want him to be totally overwhelmed, or for him to miss 15% of what he is supposed to learn in second grade. My second concern is that his work at home is SO much better than his work at school. He gets good grades, but he knows exactly what he has to do in order to get those good grades, and does no extra. That is not going to be good enough if he's in third grade next year instead of second, and I suspect that's the argument I'm going to get when I have this conference. Thoughts?
