My DS14 did 9th grade last year at the public school, and even with all honors track classes, AND a grade skip he found the level of discussion to be frustrating. So he was working really hard to hand the physical demands of 9th grade in a younger body, and getting very little 'academic fun' out of it. He's PG with ADD inattentive, and lost points from slowness on tests and the occasional 'forgot to turn the paper over to check if there were more questions on the test.' So B+ average, and no spark, no enthusiasm, and Mamma feeling guilty that the skip, which worked so well in the heterogeneous classrooms before high school, was putting him at a major maturational disadvantage when the grades were going to count for college. Plus I was working 36 hours a week, and our town has no public transportation, so his afterschool activities were slim to none, and I didn't foresee him being able to change that on his own in time for college resume. I want to be clear - there is a wonderful State University with an honors track that he will probably attend and I think that's great, and he could have done that on his old projected path. But I wasn't comfortable making that his only available path based on his behavior as a 13 year old - and I didn't see any indication that DS would have learned to really engage with his work well enough to be successful at the State Univ based on what he was doing. I've heard Movie Stars referred to as 'phoning it in' and that sure is what DS looked like to me.
So in Jan of last year, DS said: "Why am I not at boarding school?" and I jumped at the chance, once I found a place that I felt was a good fit. DS is repeating 9th grade, doing all homework and studying anyone could ask for, 95% average, and having really meaningful class discussions. His school uses a block schedule so every class is 90 minutes long! Every teacher takes an interest in every student. And there is 'enforced study hall' for 2 hours every night.' My son's school isn't as 'top-notch' competitive as Exeter, but when I heard that E's study hall was 3 hours a night, and that many very bright kids commonly did more than that, I looked at my kid and thought 'nope, that isn't him.' So we didn't apply to Exeter, Andover, St. Pauls, etc. It might have been a mistake, but DS just didn't look ready to 'hit the ground running.' I think that those are great schools for the right kid, but I remember being frustrated at a very competitive college surrounded by kids with 'Iron Buts' but kind of vapid in other ways. I'm sure that was a lot of sour grapes, but I think part of it is my own ADD traits.
See
http://www.tenschools.org/home/ for a round up of the Exeter-style schools. They prefer SSAT, which isn't related to SAT at all.
We are all happy (even DH) and just signed the contract for next year. I have to say 'delighted and relieved.'
Smiles,
Grinity
