DD started the GT pullout program for math and language arts in 1st grade. We were told it would be a one-year subject acceleration in there. In math, they started her right off by calculating change from monetary transactions, then moving to multiplication and division. And DW and I were angry, because that's not a one-year acceleration, that's two. DD was right at the point where she was doing multi-columned, multi-rowed addition and subtraction (though still on her fingers), which is what I recall doing in 2nd grade.
Every kid in GT was doing the same work, despite the fact that she was the only 1st grader in the room, and almost all the rest were 3rd graders. So while everyone else is working at grade level in an alleged GT class, the teacher was voicing concerns that DD seemed to be a bit more needy about getting help from the teacher. This left DD convinced she was too stupid for GT, but too smart for 1st, and generally lost and unhappy.
Happily, she's got a new GT teacher now, who is showing interest in identifying DD's level and differentiating.
