My thought on the "they all even out by the third grade" is that if I put my EG/PG kid into the regular curriculum, and he wasn't challenged anymore, that yes, by third grade others would catch up.
This isn't what I think the "even out by third grade" is intended to mean. I can also tell you, that having an EG child in the position of never having accelerated programming available in early elementary - other kids didn't "catch up and he never "evened out" - he was clearly ahead of his class in ability in kindergarten and still there in 3rd grade and on. The "even out" that took place was that kids who started reading early vs late etc - "evened out" as in fell into where their abilities were going to place them by 3rd grade - just because a student wasn't reading at 5, for instance, meant that they wouldn't be reading ahead of grade level once they were reading, and just because a child was reading at 4 didn't mean they were destined to be reading above grade level in 3rd. The "even out" as I've understood it from teachers simply refers to a wide range of *when* students learn to read - both based on when they are developmentally ready and in some cases exposure.
polarbear
