Hi Grinity,
Thanks so much for your thoughts - I did have a fleeting moment when I considered a grade skip, but I have a number of reservations (not the least of which is the fact that I've never heard of it being done in our district). They are:
1. My kid is quite small for her age, and she also has a late spring birthday.
2. The idea of sending a young 17-year-old off to college is a bit disconcerting!
3. She is not reading well yet.
4. There are days when I just don't see her as "that smart." Does that make sense? I don't have a lot to compare her to, but I keep thinking that she can't be THAT much smarter than the status quo in this district full of doctor's and lawyer's kids...and some days, she does stuff that totally AMAZES me, but other days I think, "This kid's GIFTED??"
Reasons I've considered acceleration:
1. Her math achievement testing showed her at a k.9 level at age 4 1/2 (not super high, but easily 1-2 years ahead with no formal math instruction). Reading achievement wasn't tested because she was only starting to sound out words at that time.
2. She much prefers the company of older kids or adults. When we had her at a gifted preschool, she had tons of friends (both older and same-age) - but we were forced to pull her for logistical reasons. She is now in a regular preschool in our district, and she hates it. She says she has no friends, and I never see her interact with anyone there except her younger sister (age 3). The worst part is that she doesn't really complain about it - just seems to accept the fact that she doesn't have any friends and plays at stations by herself.
3. K in our district is only 1/2 day, and she appears to have mastered nearly all of the end-of-year expectations. What she doesn't have (i.e., being able to effectively write out all numbers up to 100), I could easily work on over the summer. Also, since K is only 1/2 day, she will have to go somewhere for afterschool care - effectively a baby-sitting service that most likely will have no real learning experiences.
Anyway, I will order a copy of the Iowa Acceleration Scale Manual and take a look - perhaps it will help make things a little clearer. Thanks for the insight!
