Ok for the OP had to come back now and give some reasons our family considered not requesting acceleration. 1) tennis--it is pretty clear that we may have eliminated her chance to play varsity tennis in high school. But athletics is not our top priority, and she can still play in the city league, etc. and be challenged in tennis and have a sport she can play her whole life. She won't be in the 99%. It is highly unlikely she will be valedictorian. However--if she continues to be passionate about violin, it puts her closer to focusing on music. And most importantly--if she is to develop the skills that we all need to be successful in life, she is going to have to get some practice at actually struggling with her academics. (the only area I really anticipate this being an issue, even with a skip, is math--and I hope she will learn it is OK to get answers wrong, and to have to work to understand something.) We are confident that for our daughter that a skip is appropriate, and not skipping would be detrimental to her development.
