amp221 we are going through a similar situation right now, so I cannot comment on how it will work out, but DS5 is switching schools next year, and they have offered him a place with a grade skip. DS does have some social and emotional areas that need work, but he seems to socialise well with slightly older kids. The school is aware of both his areas of strength and weakness and they feel that the grade skip is the best option for him. I feel that a grade skip will be advisable for him at some stage, and it seems like doing it at the same time as we change schools will make it run a bit more smoothly that after he has been at the school a few years and settled in with his year group. He was subject accelerated this year for math and reading, and he coped well with that. We know there will be no perfect solution, so we are making a choice and then putting our effort into making it work the best we can. The new schools seems like quite a supportive environment in general, so that helps me feel confident about it.
You mentioned that your son tried the second grade class and he was fine with the work, did they comment on how he went socially, how he got along with the other students? That made up a big part of the decision process for the school we are moving to. They even considered how tall DS is.
Maybe you could take a look at the IOWA acceleration scales to help guide you through your decision making process?
Like MumofThree pointed out, not skipping is also an active decision. That was a bit more clear cut for us since it is happening in the process of a school change in which we were deciding 'where is it best to place him' rather than 'should we move him from where he already is'.
Good luck with your decision, and remember, you can only make the best decision now based on the information that you have now. There is no right or wrong. Just do what you think is best for your child and do not be hard on yourself if things don't seem to run that smoothly. If you have to tweak and make changes later, remember that those changes are based on new information you receive from new situations that is not available now.
