She was against any testing b/c she feels she is too young to do them. She did know about IAS and said they do use it as a way to evaluate children for the gifted program in 3rd grade and that again ds was too young for that evaluation.
If you can get your hands on a copy of the IAS manual and read through it, I think that might be helpful. Perhaps ask the curriculum specialist. Certianly send and email thanking her for her time and 'following up.' Here is a possible way to 'ask the right question' that might help get the ball rolling. Weirdly, if a key player is 'against acceleration' then they will act like it's impossible, right up to the minute before they change their mind. Then it was all their idea. It's a good time to take a deep breath.
Dear So and So,
I'm so looking forward to the next meeting, and I'm so pleased that you are clear that my child needs more than what she is currently getting. I had a few parts that I think I could have misunderstood, perhaps you could clear them up before the meeting.
1) You mentioned that my child is too young to use the IAS, is that correct? If so, can you show me where the Manual shows that he is too young?
2) You mentioned that my child is too young to benifit from testing, is that correct? If so, which tests do you typically use, and can you explain in more detail this idea?
You mention that of course gaps can be detrimental to a child. On the other hand, there is also possible detriment to a child's developing work ethic and love of learning by not providing a good fit educational environment that is much more difficult to remedite than Algebra. My spouse and I are perfectly willing to sign a paper that we will be responsible for any problem that gaps cause our child.
The positive effects of grade skips have been well documented (see
http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/Resources/Policy_Guidelines/and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nation_Deceivedand that we should be sure not to take any workable alternative off the table without carefully studying our child's educational needs.
Thanks again for your attention and caring,
.....
