Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments We can't let the kid skip be-cauuse....

My dd11 skipped 5th although she probably should have skipped 4th since that year wasn't a year in which she did much other than help other students. That aside, she was already one of the youngest in her grade b/c her bd fell just before the cut-off for starting K here. She is, therefore, btwn 1-2.5 yrs younger than her current grade peers.

We've had two years of schooling since the skip (6th and 7th). She did get straight As and A+s both year and tested in the 99th percentile on reading immediately post skip and advanced on all of her CSAPs (NCLB test in CO) the year following the skip. We haven't gotten her CSAP scores for this past year yet. These are the only achievement tests she's taken for which I've been given scores since the skip other than the SAT this past year. While her reading and writing scores on the SAT were in the top 10% for JHU's talent search region (so I think that they were fairly good), they didn't make the cut in our region -- oh well.

Long story short, I do think that she is still near the top of her grade post skip. She is still in accelerated/GT classes. I am disinclined toward skipping her again and don't honestly feel that it is necessary at this point, however. She intends to change districts the year after next to attend a more challenging high school and to take AP classes where available. We'll see where it continues to go and may change course if needed. However, at this point she won't be turning 16 until her senior year so I don't foresee wanting her to be any younger than that.

My dd is not a DYS/PG child, though, so yours may need more acceleration than my dd has depending on LOG, personality, age within grade already, etc.

My DS had a mid-year skip from 1st to 2nd but it was really more like a 2 year acceleration because he skipped into a GT cluster that was working at a 3rd grade level overall with individualized reading groups. In theory, they will work at a 4th grade level in the coming year.

We will see how it goes this year because they reorganize the cluster grouping every year. He finished ALEKS 4th grade math in 10 hours this summer so redoing it again would be an okay review but if they drop back down to 3rd grade he will need additional subject acceleration.

At his pace of learning, I can see that an additional skip in the future is probably going to be necessary but we will try to avoid it if at all possible. DS is happy socially in his current grouping and seems to be a really good match.

Thanks for all your comments. Sounds right along with what I was thinking! Well, we can only take it one step at a time and cross those bridges when we get to them! Thanks again!

bh14 - so far, one skip has been enough for us. DS6 starts 2nd grade next week. He's also in Target/ALP. I think he could warrant another skip, but I do think socially he's in a good spot. So unless the first few weeks are a disaster at his new school, we're all (including him) happy where he's at.

Thx JJSmom... we are a few years ahead of you in school (just finished 2nd, will skip to 4th.) Not sure if that will make a difference as far what will be needed down the road as both of our children get older. Time will tell DD is in the GT program at school also. I am keeping my fingers crossed that one will be enough but like to be prepared of possibilities! YIKES! Don't get me wrong... I am VERY happy with the one we've gotten so far... just trying to see what the norm has been with those who have been there and if something else still needed to be done. THX AGAIN!

I'm so glad to read all these success stories! My husband and I seem to be in the minority in that we weren't big advocates of skipping and pushed against it when the public school suggested it last year ('though that doesn't mean we're against it for others). DS would need at least two skips right off the bat, and even then would require further subject acceleration in multiple areas. I suspect that he's like a lot of kids here (especially the YS-level ones), and that 1 skip is rarely the complete answer. When we considered it, the teachers we talked with were not fond of the subject acceleration b/c it required them to match up with upper grade teachers in timing. We didn't pursue it much further when we discovered our homeschooling options.

That being said, we fully expect to re-integrate him back into school at some point before high school, and I'm really watching how you all pave the way. I'm one of those moms who doesn't really want to see her child graduate super early (he'd be 17 even without skipping), but I know we'll be there sooner or later.

Meanwhile, we're trying to slow the acceleration down with filling a lot of his school day with "elective" type studies (language, geography, etc.). bh14, we piece together our own curriculum, taking the best of everything while meeting the various grade levels that DS is at with each subject. We're with a charter who buys us most of our materials, and we utilize a lot of workshops and other classes.

Thank you so much to all of you for pushing your schools to recognize what needs to be done! I know how hard it is to fight with administration, and I really admire it!

FWIW, I didn't have to fight to get dd11 skipped. I was approached by the middle school suggesting that we start her a year early. They said that they felt that they would have a hard time meeting her needs if we didn't start her then. It is nice when the school is looking out for the kid, though .

Oops, great point, Cricket! I just meant that I see so many parents wrestling with this issue, and think it's great that everyone is such a powerful advocate for their children. Super-kudos to the teachers who recognize the need and come forward, too!

Wow Cricket2! We definitely had to pursue it.... it's never been done at our school before so this was a BIG deaL and a huge change for them in our case!

I give kudos to the schools who are willing to give it a shot, having no experience with it, though the research and tools available to make informed decisions should leave them feeling comfortable with their decisions in this day and age.

Gratefulmom... thx for the info. on your curriculum. Always good to know

We fought tooth and nail at the private school for subject acceleration and they just straight out refused. They "go deeper" they kept saying. There's not really a "deeper" when you're doing phonics two hours a day but that is a bit of a moot point!

The public school, once we worked out the class size funding issue, was happy to do a full skip. In fact, it was DS's 1st grade teacher who really pushed the issue with the school psych. I will never forget the look on the principal's face when he said "well usually kids that skip turn out weird." The school psych turned to him and said "I skipped 1st grade... are you saying something?" Then DS's 1st grade teacher said "I graduated high school early..." Insert foot in mouth, principal signed the papers :-)