I find it hard to believe that you could not advance your children a grade. I considered skipping a grade with my dd and was talked out of this by teachers because they had a "higher ability" program. Unfortunately, the higher ability program lets in about 15% of the kids and my dd is in the top 1-2%. She is still incredibly bored and I wish I had advanced her a grade. She has continued to dance competitively through school for 15-25 hrs/ week and has no problems balancing school with this schedule (she rarely has homework). She was finally advanced further in math starting in 6th grade and is now taking geometry in 8th grade- currently has a 96% while others in class are struggling to get Bs or Cs. Of note is that in activities outside of school, she mainly hangs out with kids that are 2-4 years older than her. I have found that her giftedness is reflected socially in addition to her academics. I really wish I had advanced her at least one grade because she gets along much better with older kids. She finds kids her own age to be immature, lacking in logic & sense of humor (they don't get irony), and- she said this- "less worldly" in their outlook on life.
There is a textbook that can be found on Amazon that has specific information on assessing a child for grade advancement. I forget the name of the book. I do remember that it is somewhat pricey- over $30?? School systems should be using this manual to assess grade advancement. However, I think they really do not make much effort to truly assess a child or are frequently ignorant of this resource. Good luck!!! Please do not give up on advancing your children. There are many negative consequences to a child not being challenged in school. Your children might have significant problems later in life if they are not challenged in school.
