In reading between the lines of your post, I can't help but get the feeling that not skipping is the overall better choice in your DD's specific situation. There are social and resource considerations here as well as lack of track record for the 5th grade STEM program versus awesome teacher for the 4th grade GT class.
As you move into middle and high school, there are just so many opportunities for kids to challenge themselves in math and science, whether through tons of competitions or independent research or internships or dual programs with college courses as early as 9th grade.
Throwing sports into the mix just tilts the scale a bit more. I don't have an especially talented athlete but it has been pretty obvious that a couple of years can matter during the tween/early teen years after seeing DD compete (just regionally) against kids who are two grades higher, a foot taller and 50% heavier.
I think everything matters: social, emotional, music, art, sports. After all, it is not uncommon for many top students to get their academic challenge outside their standard classrooms. No matter how many years you skip, it will be difficult to find enough true academic peers in a single school (except for a select few across the country). If you look at the distribution of scores on tests like MAP or SAT, you can see what I am talking about. For example, on MAP math, a 99 percentile 6th grader outscores a 90 percentile 10th grader. When you have a kid who is considerably more rare than top 1%, even skipping her those 4 grades will net considerably fewer peers.
Last edited by Quantum2003; 05/06/15 10:22 AM.
