Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Competitions and Grade Placement

edited

I guess that you have to go with the rules that the competition sets although I must admit, as the parent of skipped kid in a B&M school, I do think that they should use consistent guidelines and they often do not. For instance, back when my dd14 was in middle school (she just finished 10th grade), she did place in a few competitions such as writing and talent search, but not as highly as she might have had she not been a 11 or 12 y/o versus others who were in her grade and, say, 13 or 14.

The thing that I guess is hard to account for is subject acceleration as well. There were, for example, kids at the talent search awards who were 14.5 y/o 8th graders who were either online schooling utilizing 9th or 10th curriculum across the board or in B&M schools where they were subject accelerating multiple yrs while still enrolled as 8th graders. Keep in mind that I do have a subject accelerated kid, too, so it isn't that I am opposed to subject acceleration. It is just a question of whether you can fairly compare achievement of a kid who has had more opportunity to learn with a child who has not had that opportunity.

I guess that I have no answers here! We're thinking about this too as of late but on higher stakes things like national merit for which dd will be testing in the fall next yr. She very well may make it (her current national test scores like PLAN bode well for her being in the 99th percentile+ compared to her grade mates), but I know that, if she does not, it will likely have a good amount to do with her being much younger than other 11th graders locally and nationally. None the less, it was still the right move to put her where she is.

Yes, absolutely you should enter based on grade, even if subject accelerated.

I would enter based on grade if that's what the contest administrators want you to do, or if it's clear from the rules that's the intent. I wouldn't worry about "fair" In any direction - from what I know of our local competitions, most of the kids who participate in them are kids who are very competitive and highly capable academically - my guess is your child won't be the only first grader (by age) studying 3rd grade math and beyond who participates in the competition.

Please note though - this is only my perspective based on what I know of other students' families... my own kids are highly non-competitive and completely non-interested in this kind of thing, so they haven't participated in any academic competitions.

Best wishes,

polarbear

I kind of agree with polarbear, that many who enter would be probably working ahead anyway, although I always have a hard time because I don't want to be self serving and picking when it is best to use the grade accelerated level (trying to get her into activities at the PCR where she actually has a better chance of finding peers since she has more friends 3+ years older than her age) and when I would choose grade based on her age. I don't think there is really any clear cut answer and if you called the sponsors even they probably wouldn't know wince most just don't think about kids like ours when implementing things.

My child is entered into the grade level she's working in, not the grade level she's the right age for. This is in B&M schools.

Competitions are for challenge and interest, you'd be doing him a disservice if you didn't enter him at the right level.

Exactly.



Our approach to this has been twofold:

a) in competitions, we go with the entry at DD's level of PLACEMENT academically, unless guidelines specify age placements only.

b) in academic camps/clubs/activities which are NON-competitive, we work it out with the organizers, who usually prefer age-placement unless there is backing for grade placement instead.

Honestly, we've opted to err on the side of scrupulously ethical conduct here and DD's high ability is the reason. She's competitive even with peers 2-5 yrs older in almost every area-- and while she isn't guaranteed WINS in those entries (as she almost certainly would be if we were basing things on age instead), we feel that it isn't really fair to kids at lower LOG to have her grouped with them, either.

This is a really personal set of decisions for parents and families, though. Our family tends to view it as a form of brinksmanship to work at a level higher than you enter competitively. Like being a tennis pro and playing in amateur competition youth leagues for the trophies.

As for subject-specific competition entries, I'd probably ask specifically what to do re: subject acceleration.

Yes.

Here is something to think about...if it is an active competition if you don't do it at the placed level then is the competition worth doing for the child?

Say it is a math competition and just pretend he is doing pre-algebra as his class but he is physically age-wise a first grader. The first graders compete with questions that would bore a child doing pre-algebra.

If it is send in an art work or essay and we will let you know who wins...I see those as more of an age based thing no matter what you are doing with him in homeschool...unless your child is already publishing chapter books or an art prodigy.

I would look at each thing and see which is more appropriate age based or grade level based (for that subject area) and then see if the competition has hard and fast rules or what they can do to allow your child to compete where he should.

I guess that it also comes down to the purpose for which you are entering the contest. I do very much get the impression that some of the parents in talent search, for instance, went out of their way to have their kids enroll at the level at which they could place highly. I can see that making sense if the purpose of entering is to "win" or use the scores for something like a DYS application.

OTOH, if the purpose of entering is to be challenged or to learn, then going the route of placing the child at a level where s/he would be less competitive to take top honors makes sense.