Accelerating the kids also come with a price that the kids' physical development (may be emotional)is behind their intellect level and sometmes feel out of place in the class room (especially >2 grades level).
I have to disagree with the above though - so much depends on the kid and the personality ...
I can see both points. Our eldest has skipped two grades, and does well socially now. But it's clear that fitting in when he's in high school (if he goes to a traditional high school) would be a huge challenge. He may be able to debate the high school students on their own level already, but socially, his interests are a world apart from theirs (and this is completely normal).
An 11-year-old 9th grader would be in an environment where half the kids are at least five years older. That's a big difference. And a student who's +3 accelerated will be two years away from the beginning of puberty in a place where pretty much everyone is well into it. Maybe I'm way out of line here, but I just don't think that a high IQ can compensate for that socially. They're completely different things.
I understand the need for academic challenges, and I understand about not always fitting in with age mates in school, having BTDT. And no one in my house regrets the skips. Academically and socially, my son is doing well --- but he's in a very small school and is outgoing.
But at the same time, I think it's important to think about how school and college will be addressed when considering radical acceleration. This is just my opinion, but I think it's possible to get so focused on the academics that the very real differences in maturity (especially in high school) get overlooked. I really, really, don't want to put my kids into a position where they feel so outside the norm, they lose perspective and feel like outsiders. They're outside the norm in some ways (learning speed), but not in others (games, toys, height, many age-based activities).
I'm NOT advocating against grade skips. I'm only advocating FOR planning ahead thoughtfully by considering different aspects of life after multiple skips.
Val
