Hi there! I am new here.... found the forum while searching for info online about this topic, and it seems like there are a ton of people here who can relate. I think that's what I need right now!
My daughter just turned 5 in September. She started K at the end of August. Before school started, I had mentioned to the teacher that my dd can read, so they started some testing once school began.
I had a meeting with the teacher, literacy specialist, principal, counselor and another literacy teacher on Wednesday. They are recommending skipping dd into first grade. According to her scores, she is reading on a 5th grade level. She is also ahead in math, but they are not sure to what extent. Apparently, they are still working on that. The path that we are taking is to have dd go to 1st grade for literacy groups, language arts and math and to re-evaluate in a month. They are leaning heavily towards acceleration, while I am not so sure.
Since Wednesday, I have been doing research pretty much non-stop. Everywhere I turn, there are differing opinions and people with different experiences. This decision will affect my daughter for the rest of her life and I feel shouldn't be taken lightly.
One thing that I have decided is that I want her tested further. I have asked them to do ability testing, rather than just achievement testing. We know she is extremely bright.... but is she actually gifted?
A lot of the articles I have seen are pro-acceleration, but I haven't found much that indicates it is a good idea at such a young age. I was wondering if anyone here could share their experiences with me. She would be a full two years younger than some of her classmates if she advanced, since she is already such a young 5.
Thanks in advance! Also, what does the acronym DYS stand for?
Jamie
