not better or differentiated curriculum, it's just more work...
Yes, unfortunately that practice is becoming so widespread that there's a name for it:
differentiated task demands... and it is generally experienced as punitive: a punishment for being smart, gifted, and/or high achieving. "Differentiated task demands" can cause homework to be so lengthy and burdensome as to take away from extracurricular activities, sports, hobbies, and pastimes which tend to make a well-rounded individual and create internally motivated life-long learners outside the classroom. An intended or unintended consequence of this negative educational experience is that the gifted and/or high-achieving kids may begin to intentionally underperform and underachieve in order to avoid the punitive homework demands placed on the gifted and/or high-achieving.
I would tend to agree that if your child is happy and experiencing continued growth and development, I'm not a fan of change for the sake of change - "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." That said, I think it's great to look into different programs/schools and know what your various options are at any given moment... as circumstances may change.
