Thanks Coll, I am going to have to see if I can get a hold of the specific curriculum. So far, we have only been given a really general overview and the specific expectations for 1st quarter, which he has been able to do since at least kinder. Based on rereading these expectations, I think he may in fact be getting slightly more advanced work but it is still quite easy for him. I don't have the 3rd/4th grade curriculum, I will have to see if I can get a hold of them.
I am not sure if grade skipping in math is a possibility. They do have an advanced math program that starts in 3rd and is based on standardized tests from 2nd. But that seems like a long time to wait! lol
I think it makes great sense to take a look at the curriculum and then see if I can get him assessed at the more advanced levels. And yes, I was the one asking about outside testing and I can relate to what you said about it. I feel like going in with some "objective" information will make me feel more comfortable asking for things and perhaps make my case more convincing. And my lack of trust in the schools makes me want to have a second opinion so to speak.
My other issue with his math education is that they use Everyday Math, which seems to burn a lot of energy making some things that are easy seem more complicated so that there is little time for more complicated concepts. Also, as I wrote in a previous post, (not sure if this is school specific or part of the EDM approach), each unit has some skills in which students are supposed to be "secure" in, some that they should be "developing" and others that they are just "beginning". But DS has often been assessed at "developing" when he answered all questions in the post-test correctly because that is the expectation for that quarter! So IMO they are not even assessing him correctly at this point.
OK, vent over!
Thank you for your comments Coll, they were very helpful.
