Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Differentiation? What is normal? (elementary)

Before you flee this district, take a look at what is ahead in middle and high school. I personally think that our elementary schools are not so great, the middle school is okay, and the high school is fairly good. I have yet to see an elementary school that I would consider good. I attended a private school K through 12 - it is at the top of the list each year for average SAT score for our major metropolitan area. I didn't learn much there in elementary, and I am certainly not PG.

My middle kid repeated 2nd grade when we moved her from a private school to public. She was small and immature, and keeping her in 2nd grade put her in the right grade for her birth date (per the public school cutoff). At the private school in 2nd they covered all of the math taught in the public 3rd grade. Was she bored? I'm sure she was but we didn't think much about it at the time. They gave her some extra math sheets to do if she wanted (she didn't want to). I know others will disagree with me, but I don't think we damaged her for life.

Even my eldest thinks elementary math could be compressed into a few years, and math is her weakest subject. While you should keep after the school to deliver whatever they promised, I wouldn't expect a lot. Math differentiation typically gets better in middle school, and many districts will bus the most advanced 5th grade math students to the accelerated middle school math program (so they end up being three years accelerated in math).

MAP tests don't reveal a lot about advanced kids. They started them a few years ago in our district and my middle kid took them in 8th. They use them to track growth, and I wouldn't put a lot of faith in the results. They gave my 8th grader a graduate student lexile level - umm, I don't think she is ready to read anything that advanced (nor would she want to).

I know folks will rip me apart, but provide learning opportunities at home (if she wants them) and continue to advocate for her. If she is happy at school and has friends there, I would avoid switching schools unless your HS is miserable.