I was trying to get in on the conversation a couple of days but I could not remember the password.

My two daughters skipped a grade in middle school. At that time, there was a lot of stress about whether we were doing the right thing or not. But it turned out to be one of the best moves for them. I can�t imagine them stuck one grade lower now.

When my older daughter entered 6th grade, we requested to skip math after a week because it was just waste of time. Teachers gave her a couple of tests to make sure that she was advanced enough. Then she was allowed to move to 7th grade math class. Half year later, her English teacher told us that we should consider moving her LA and history classes as well. So we did. As a result, she was more than half way skipped. Only PE, Science and Band classes were still with kids of her old grade.

This worked fine for another year, but by 8th grade, there were problems. She had to take Math, English and History in nearby high school and then came back for rest of classes. It just became a logistical nightmare. On top of that, the local HS is not the one we want her to attend. So decision was simple, let her skip a whole grade. The middle school was very supportive on this. I did not have to arm wrestle with anyone.

For my younger daughter, we already know the consequence and the potential problem of subject skipping. So she just went straight to skip the 6th grade. We armed with her CTY SCAT test score, her writing portfolio and some other awards when we talked to Principal and consoler. Then it was done.

I think that it is relative easy for girls to skip a grade in middle school. My older daughter started out with subject skipping so it gives her time to make new friends while still have the connections with her old classmates. It took a bit effort; she was eventually accepted into the group. My younger daughter had an easier time. She moved up a grade and just inherited her sister�s friends. For boys, the experience might be different. Being smart is not cool in middle school, especially for boys.

If you are not totally sure about grade skipping, then you can start with subject skipping on their strongest subjects. You can stay this way or move to whole grad skipping later. If the kid is doing well in subject skipping, it is much easier to talk to Principal for grade skipping.