Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it can't. No one had ever been accelerated in our school district that anyone recalled, and there was the initial hesitation, but eventually my DD became the first one subject accelerated (well, another, older, child was subject accelerated at the same time as my DD), which led to my DD grade accelerating the following year after seeing with their own eyes how she was ready for it. It also, more importantly, led to several other students (including my DS) being allowed to also accelerate in subsequent years. Finally, it led to the creation of an official set of guidelines governing enrichment and acceleration for the district to follow.
Because we told the administration that we were willing to prove to them that DD was ready (they administered ability, achievement, and end-of-year tests) and willing to take the risk upon ourselves, the school allowed us to take the risk on a provisional basis. And because DD was successful (all measures indicated she would be), the administrators and teachers saw that it could work when done thoughtfully - even though it hadn't been done before.
Maybe you are the first one to try it, but by even having a conversation about the possibility you could help your child and others children with similar needs. Good for you for trying!
Thanks! I need the pep talk. I'm reframing with your posts in mind.
There is also an excellent summary in A Nation Deceived (free to download) that includes the 20 Most Important Points if you think they won't read the entire thing.
http://www.accelerationinstitute.org/nation_deceived/I particularly like this point:
"The few problems that have been experienced with acceleration have stemmed primarily from incomplete or poor planning."
That also includes pages and pages of research to back it up.