Age 4-- Math grade 1, English grade 2, science grade 2, etc.
Age 5--Math grade 3, English grade 4, science grade 4, etc.
...
Age 8--Math grade 6, English grade 7, science grade 7, etc.
I think that a gifted child follows a "unique" path. There are no two gifted children whose paths are the same. My child at age 5 finished all "elementary" grade math (using multiple challenging curriculum) - this could have happened at age 4 and maybe I did not test him then. At age 6, he can diagram complex sentences and can write poetry (a few different styles)- this goes beyond reading at "X grade level" and comprehending higher level books. I have absolutely given up on tracking his grade level - because he maxes out scores in above level achievement testing all the time. Science has been done using only one curriculum and a ton of hands on activities at our science museum and many months of science/innovation camps during the summer. What his grade level is on science is impossible for me to measure.
My best advise to a parent who accelerates is this: provide resources at all levels to your child - some at a higher level to keep learning new things, some at a lower level to reinforce/review already learned concepts. Keep challenging them to think and learn every single day.
Ashley, that's good advice.
Maybe instead of saying "what level has your child achieved?", a different way to ask the question is "what is the minimum level of skills you feel, say, 90% certain he has mastered in each area?"
It makes perfect sense that there will be confidence intervals around these estimates; probably wide ones for some domains. Learning is a fluid process of skills acquisition that doesn't conform to discrete edu-speak boxes.
Part of the reason I'm asking this question the way I am, and at this time, is because I'm hoping to homeschool DS for kindergarten and subsequently open an HG+ micro school in grade 1. I'd like to appreciate the extent to which there is commonality in learning pace across HG+ children with abilities in different domains in the early years.
I'm working with some educators to build a first-pass curriculum plan for the early elementary years. So far, my template is assuming a baseline minimum of 3-4 years of acceleration in core subjects (math, LA, science, social science) by grade 8. The students will all have individual learning plans, but those will be predicated on a core level of common achievement.
I'm testing the hypothesis that there is rough convergence of raw ability in core subjects around age 6 for HG+ children. If it looks like there's wide divergence in learning trajectories among similar-ability children until a later age, I might have to push back opening a school in grade 1, or open it earlier because different home environments will amplify early differences in achievement. As you can appreciate, it's hard to reach a large number of local HG+ parents on a shoestring budget, so this is my early stage research.
Thanks again to everyone who has replied!
