Originally Posted by geofizz
OP, also, if your son is nearly 8, I'm assuming he's now finishing 2nd grade, and you're talking about accelerating to 4th grade reading and math next year?

Yes. It may be important to note that last year his second grade teacher and a third grade teacher decided to "unofficially" accelerate him. I appreciate their trying to help DS, however the 3rd grade class wasn't much better for him than the 2nd. He was, once again, in the highest reading group and therefore most of the time he was in the third grade class he was left to his own devices and allowed to simply choose independent reading from the class stock. That does not help further his comprehension or reading skills and it give him too much idle time. He only read with the 3rd grade teacher and his group every two weeks or so. I now know that even though it was not official (with a WEP) that he should have taken the third grade reading proficiency test. Considering the fact that the WJ and their STAR assessments both show him reading and comprehending at 5th - 6th grade level, I doubt he would have had an issue! :-)

Originally Posted by geofizz
I went to go get you the table of approved instruments, and found that they have changed the rule as to how they count test scores in value added for a SSA kid:
EMIS Reporting Guidance
So assuming he's formally accelerated and scores proficient (note, of course, that what proficient is hasn't been defined), accelerating him will *help* the school's VA score. This should never drive a principal's decision, but it does help mitigate worries about how the child will affect the receiving teacher of the school's score. This is a great change, and I'm glad to see it.

I was aware of the reporting, but I didn't know that was a change...I have learned A LOT about ODE rules for GT in the last few days...

Originally Posted by geofizz
Call the ODE and ask to talk to someone in the gifted office. They answer the phone and answer questions.

I had emailed back and forth with the GT man there, he was a wonderful resource. He had even pointed out the procedure for filing an official complaint with the other issue. They have been most helpful!

Originally Posted by geofizz
Here's the chart of what the state requires the districts accept:

Thanks!