Hmmm - on Alek's, you might try searching for free trial. IIRC you have to register but you get some time free.
Thanks Kcab, I had forgotten. First you have to register, and then they 'test' you to see what level you are at.
I think Montessori isn't going to line up with other achievement tests very well. The genius of Montessori method is that it splits up every task into tiny tiny steps. This can really help with concentration or drive a gifted kid wild.
I guess I think that this particular school has treated your son well, and perhaps the best thing to do is bribe him to play their game and progress through their levels 'on faith.' My thought is that it might not matter if he's bored by school for a few months if he can 'bang out' all the easy-peasy stuff, the speed challenge itself might make it more fun...I think of it as an 'OBEYING' challenge. And you can be sure that eventually he will get to new material. ((Um, do check their hardest works and make sure that they do look like new material, ok?))
I can't remember if your son is bribable. If so, I would offer a really complicated reward system - small of 5 works completed per day, bigger of 6,even bigger for 7, giant super reward for 8 (or whatever is the usual amount of works/day) then I would make super-bribes for a weekly total, so if 8 works per day is really fabulous, and enough to get him to 3rd grade work in 3 months, I would add in bonus rewards for a whole week of 8 or more works per day.
Of course the drawback is that you are encouraging sloppy work. Sloppy work does have it's place, and you don't have a whole lot of other options. I love the idea of starting a super big project, and maybe these two approaches can be combined.
What I'm keeping in mind is that overall he's been happy at the school and that you don't have a lot of other options.
I honestly don't think that any achievement test is really going to 'prove' to the Montessori Mind that he is ready for harder works. Maybe you could work it out with them that if he does a great job 3 days in a row with 2nd grade work, that he gets to do a 'works' that is randomly pulled from 4th grade.
My son didn't do Montessori, but he did seem to get a nice little buzz from having a ridiculous goal and gettting through busywork fast. I think the idea of completing a school year in 3 months might have stimulated him, even if the work itself didn't.
Where's to bribable kids! I really feel for you parents of unbribable ones!
Grinity
