DS6 is in 1st grade. He took 1st grade math last year. The 2nd grade math schedule doesn't work with the 1st grade schedule this year. He's been sitting in 1st grade math for the last 6 weeks. I think he needs to be in 3rd grade math (which also works schedule-wise), but he needs some curriculum compaction to get there. My question is: Am I pushing DS6 too hard in wanting to accelerate him by 2 years with some curriculum compaction?

The school finally administered the 2nd grade end of year proficiency test to him on Tuesday - they didn't tell us this till DH asked the teacher today - and he scored 35 out of 68. This is lower than I expected (I expected about 70% proficiency), and does not jive with the Kauffman achievement testing we did last April, which showed him a full two years ahead. I know DS6 is capable of operating at a 3rd grade level in math with a little bit of gap-closing on the 2nd grade curriculum, based on my review of the 2nd and 3rd grade math curricula.

In my ideal scenario (I think), I would like to work with an outside tutor to get him through the remainder of the 2nd grade math curriculum, and get him through the first 4 months of the 3rd grade math curriculum, and request that the school put him in 3rd grade math next semester. He's not above grade level in reading, which complicates things. He's in the advanced reading group within his grade, but is definitely not at a 2nd grade level. We might have to work with a tutor on reading skills too, if he is to do well in 3rd grade math. Am I pushing things too much, and should I back off? I really feel that he would thrive in a math class 2 years ahead, but we obviously aren't quite there yet.

Since the 2nd grade math doesn't work with the 1st grade schedule, I think we are likely to need a tutor anyway to give him the challenge he needs in his favorite subject. Maybe we just request the tutor move as fast as DS is capable, and whatever that is, it is? If we have to work with a tutor after school on math, what do we do with him during 1st grade math time? He's not reading well enough to do independent work that requires much reading. Part of me feels like I'm making too much of this. Part of me feels that this is what DS needs. Thoughts/suggestions from others who have needed curriculum compaction to advance an extra grade in a subject?

What math curriculum is it? If it's Everyday Math, significant reading will be needed (and some writing) to get through the 3rd grade curriculum.

Are they offering anything at all, or saying nothing is needed because of the test they just gave?

DeeDee

We've been doing Destination Math (online at Riverdeep) at home. DS6 is in 1st grade, just finished the 1st grade curriculum and is on to the 2nd grade course. He really enjoys the online format. Perhaps you could use a similar program online at home to catch your son up?

A couple thoughts and questions:

* Do you have any ability testing to go along with achievement testing? If his ability is very high and the achievement isn't quite there yet, I'd be less concerned about pushing to get the achievement up.

* If you are going to push for one area, math does seem to make the most sense of the two and I'd probably just focus on that one area for now rather than tutoring in both math and reading. Is the level of reading required for 3rd grade math in terms of word problems, directions, etc. just too much with his current reading level? If so, I might back off on 3rd grade math for now and try something else like asking that he work more independently on 2nd grade math or do something like EPGY independently for math until the reading catches up.

* In terms of whether two years of acceleration is asking too much, I'd say that it may not be but it totally depends on the kid. I've known kids who are not gifted but who are fairly bright and who work hard who do fine with one year of acceleration. I also have one child who is HG but for whom math is her weakest area (probably MG in math) and she's done fine with what amounts to 1-2 years of math acceleration. She was very young for grade, skipped a grade, and is in the accelerated math program in her grade.

Point being, brilliance is not required to be a good candidate for a year or two's acceleration in one subject.

DeeDee, it is Everyday Math. His teacher knows he has mastered 1st grade math, but they aren't sure what to do since schedule doesn't work for 2nd grade. She's meeting with VP tomorrow or Monday to discuss.

Cricket2, I didn't know there was such a thing as ability testing. The specialist who did his WPPSI testing in 2010 did the KTEA test last April, but no other testing. Can you elaborate on the ability testing? DS conceptually understands math at a much higher level than his ability to do computation.

DS6 is MG. His full scale IQ is 98th percentile. However, his processing speed is really low (102) compared to his verbal and performance IQ scores. His reading lags far behind his other cognitive skills, and it's made it difficult for me to figure out what his real needs are. If his reading skills were where his reasoning, science, and math skills are, we'd probably be considering a grade skip.

Thanks for the recommendations for online curricula. I'm not sure how well those relate to the unique vocabulary and approaches of the Everyday Math curriculum, but I think our choices are likely to be online learning, or engaging a tutor. I haven't researched online curricula yet and appreciate recommendations.

FWIW our school is in the process of abandoning some of the weirder parts of Everyday Math (no more lattice multiplication). But it remains a very wordy, language-y way to learn math, which disadvantages kids who are uneven in their skills, like yours (and mine). I wouldn't put a first grader into 3rd grade EM unless I was sure he could write sentences about how he solved problems, because that's all over the workbooks.

We have not found a perfect solution to the scheduling headaches that come with subject acceleration. Right now DS has language arts separate from his class peers just so he can get math. It's not ideal, but it's what could be worked out.

Can your DS's teacher (or a 2nd grade teacher) change the time when she teaches math, to facilitate your DS getting appropriate instruction?

We have found that in the years when DS worked "independently" (workbook alone in the corner of the class) he got only 1/3 to 3/4 of a year of math instruction at school, the variable being how much the particular teachers that year were invested in his learning. It's unrealistic to expect a 1st grader to teach himself, no matter how much he loves the material.

We have found that having DS in a class with other kids has been important. If we couldn't get that, I would argue for the school providing someone to instruct him as a 1:1 pull-out during the hour when the class has math.

Good luck,
DeeDee

It sounds like he's already had an ability test (IQ), then. I may have overlooked that in your original post!

My older dd also has much slower processing speed than her other abilities. She, too, was slower with computation when younger but seems to be doing fine with it now that she's older. She's the one who I mentioned skipped a grade and is somewhat accelerated in math as well. I'd imagine that your ds would do fine with math acceleration if he's that able even if he isn't a fast processor.

How about working solely on the reading and letting him naturally move ahead in math w/out extra tutoring by just subject accelerating him in math once the reading is at a point where he can do it? Would the school not be willing to accelerate math, though, unless it was an area where he was already far ahead not just showing the ability to move ahead?

I sympathize with your predicament. My DS8 is in third grade and currently doing 5th grade math with the 4th grade GT class. It was obvious that he could work a year or two ahead in K and his first grade teacher actually informed me about the option of acceleration. However, I did not pursue it until second grade and he wasn't accelerated until mid-year to the third grade GT class to do 4th grade math. Although it may be hard to get accurate and complete information, you may want to get the complete set of qualifications for accelerating into third grade math. I have to say I was shocked to see the District checklist on the official paperwork a couple of months after the acceleration.

On the one hand, it's great that you already have a history of differentiation for your DS. On the other hand, there is a huge difference between a K doing 1st grade work and a first grader doing 3rd grade work, at least at the schools with "current" expectations. By that I mean there is a huge focus on word problems and providing written explanations to support the solutions.

Based on the information you provided, it sounds like second grade math would be the ideal fit for your DS at this point in time. One of my hesitation with accelerating DS8 in second grader was due to the different math schedules, but his teacher offered to switch the class schedule so that DS would not miss anything. Perhaps you can approach your DS' teacher to see if she would be willing to accomodate your son.

As far as the curriculum compaction aspect, you really should use your school's actual curriculum so that your DS will truly be at the appropriate level if you decide to push for acceleration next semester. I know that some of the online programs can be misleading, especially if they are in the multiple choice format, although they are useful in giving you a rough estimate of your child's superficial understanding of basic math conepts at the test level. Instead of hiring a math tutor, why don't you expose DS to some of the concepts and let him ask you questions and apply it to real life situation (fractions in cooking and counting money/making change with purchases, etc.)

I would broach th subject of 1:1 pullout for math or an online math class that your DS can do during the math hour. He can do second grade on-line easily enough and it works well as long as he is motivated.

The truth is that a school CAN do anything they want to, but they have to want to. The schools in our area have jumped through so many hoops for DS8 it scares me sometimes. Age appropriate to 3rd grade he is currently cruising through a split schedule that has him accelerated between 4 and 7 years depending on the class. Have they ever done it before? No. But it works for him and it is allowed.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. His teacher talked with DH after school today, and she has decided on her own to switch her afternoon schedule so he can go to 2nd grade math. I had planned to suggest that as a possible solution, based on DeeDee's post, and am really glad that she proposed that solution on her own. I honestly didn't think the school would allow a schedule change to accommodate the needs of just one student.

I realize from all of your posts that it would be a stretch for him to be in 3rd grade math, either now or mid-year, because of his reading level and because of the heavy language focus of the Everyday Math curriculum. I feel much more comfortable with the coming year in 2nd grade math after reading your experiences. Thank you!

That is great, Coll! That is promising that she worked the schedule out for him. Hope it all works out!

Does your DS8 go to public school, and if so, how did you get them to jump through so many hoops??? My DS8 is very gifted in math and is receiving no acceleration right now (I haven't asked, but I'm sure the school would say no.) Advice?

Mom2Gifted, I think your question may have been for BWBShari, but I'll share what we've done with you.

A) We picked a public school where the principal explicitly stated on our tour that they move kids to higher grades by subject when needed to address accelerated ability. This isn't as easy to do as she made it sound when we toured, but they have a history of doing it.

B) Although most posters on this forum don't advocate IQ testing unless you really need it, we got it done for DS before K so we knew what we were working with. It helped me feel more comfortable advocating for him.

C) I made a list of his math skills before K and compared them to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade math curricula for our school district (available online, I called the central office and they walked me through the website to the curricula). He was doing 2nd and 3rd grade math before entering K.

D) We made an appt with his K teacher two weeks into school to present his math skills and comparison to district curricula and requested that we look for ways to work with him.

E) We met with the GT teacher, at the K teacher's recommendation, to discuss his math skills and his IQ testing (our district doesn't accept outside testing, so we have only ever showed it to the GT teacher). The GT teacher gave him a computerized STAR math assessment. The K teacher moved DS to 1st grade math in October.

F) This year in 1st grade, per my original post, we had to advocate for the first six weeks of school to get him into 2nd grade math. I kept emailing/talking to his teacher every week and a half or so, and they eventually worked it out for DS and one other kid to go to 2nd grade math.

You said that you haven't asked for acceleration, but you're sure the school would say no. That may be the case, but they can't help you if you don't ask. My DS would not be accelerated in math if we hadn't asked for it; he'd be sitting twiddling his thumbs at grade level. I'd encourage you to pull documentation together on your DS8's math skills, request a school-administered math assessment showing which grade levels he's mastered, and request that they accelerate him to the appropriate grade level.