Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments the "gap" issue with acceleration

At the beginning of grade 4 DS was subject accelerated in maths to grade 7. He didn't have any gaps and the acceleration was very successful.

Thanks . We were ready to pull her out b/c her class size went from 18 last year to 30+ this year, they cut science and history in half to focus on writing b/c they apparently didn't have good writing scores as a whole for the school last year, and the accelerated in-grade math class she was in last year was no longer available to her. Too many kids tested as advanced in math and, with only three classes instead of the four last year, they couldn't do accelerated math for two classes and regular for two thus giving half of the kids the option to move through the curriculum faster like they did in 4th.

So, we were at the spot of dd having the GT coordinator for about 45 mins/day for reading class (which has about 16 kids in it) and then being in a huge class with everyone else and too much focus on remediation for my tastes for the rest of the day. I couldn't justify leaving her there for 45 mins of education a day. I was also worried about her continued achievement b/c it invariably drops when she is feeling like the school thinks that she isn't all that smart (when they group her with everyone from kids who are struggling to high avg kids).

The set up now is that dd and 9 other kids are being pulled for math by the GT coordinator as well. She will teach them math in lieu of being in the regular class. About half of these kids had been subject accelerating in math for a year or two already. The other half, dd included, had not. Dd has some high math scores (a 98th percentile on the WIAT and a good math EXPLORE from 4th - qualified for GT id for a 5th grader) and some high IQ scores (99+) and then a lot of other really erratic scores.

She will still be in the regular classroom for half of the academic instruction where I'm not sure that the writing instruction will go beyond teaching them more of the basics, but I'm going to have her using EPGY LAW as time allows to hopefully fill in some of that. Science & history in the homeroom will still be less than in years past, which is unfortunate. She will be in the GT reading class as before.

The math group with the GT coordinator is starting with the 6th grade Everyday Math curriculum instead of the 5th grade. I can't say that I love this curriculum, but the GT coordinator is gifted herself and a good teacher who understands dd's divergent thinking. If 6th grade math proves to be too much for dd, the back up plan is to have her stay in this class but work independently on EPGY math at a computer with headphones.

DS had a mid-year skip last year from 1st to 2nd. The only obvious gap he has is a year less of handwriting motor skills. Though when comparing his handwriting to others in his class, he now sits solidly in the middle of the pack. You wouldn't be able to tell but I can tell.

I believe he missed an entire semester of social studies in the skip. But we spent a week in DC on vacation so I'm pretty sure we covered all of it and more.

He'll be subject accelerated a year in math this year as well (so 2 years technically). From what I've noticed, his math is actually gap-free, since he uses traditional vocabulary and does math the "old" way without lattice or scales or whatever!

Valid point AlexsMom. I was student teaching during Hurricane Katrina. We received a lot of displaced students who not only had significant gaps but were also dealing with the trauma of the horrific situation. Most of the students and their families only stayed in our area for a few months but I have to ponder how their schooling was effected by the tragedy.

My DD10 subject accelerated in math from 1st to 3rd. We had her do a 2nd grade math workbook over the summer so that she wouldn't feel like she missed anything. One problem, the workbook was traditional column addition and subtraction and her school uses Investigations. She kept getting told that she was doing it "wrong." She could look at the problem and write the answer. She kept getting marked wrong because she wasn't drawing sticks and dots. She was convinced until last year (4th grade doing 5th/6th math) that she wasn't as good at subtraction because she skipped 2nd grade math. If anything, her "gap" has been psychological. My lesson learned: if you try to fill in the gap with workbooks, etc., try to make it compatible with the curriculum.

Thankfully, if a child is accelerated based on both achievement and ability (as the IAS suggests), the rapid learning that has gotten them to where they are will continue to allow them to catch up quickly. When DD subject accelerated and then grade accelerated there were gaps, I'm sure, but she was still way ahead of many students who were matriculated with their grade despite having gaps of their own. And she filled in the gaps with seemingly no effort. DS6 is going to be math accelerated this year (in 2nd doing 3rd grade math) and, based on the end-of-second-grade math test he took last year, the only concept he didn't know was rounding. It just hadn't come up yet. So, in the pool one day I took literally about 3 minutes to explain rounding and the gap was filled! [I should mention that none of the teachers we worked with in deciding on the acceleration was one bit concerned about gaps. I'm lucky to have a great school in this regard!]

Thanks, all, for your responses. Very helpful.

And Cricket, congratulations for making lemonade out of lemons. We will want to hear how it turns out.

DeeDee

No gap issues last year, ds8 skippd 2nd. Social worked out well also, but he is tall for his age, and DW has helped him on how to be more social. She set up play dates since K with a number of moms, and she has helped him learn how not to answer all the problems, brag, and even not to offer help unless asked. He is allowed to brag at home though. Writing has been the only issue, howvere minor, he is in the middle of his class when it comes to penmanship, no issues with spelling or grammer, he just likes to keep things a little short at times.

DD12 was subject acclerated in math in 4th grade to 6th grade and then again in 6th grade into Algebra I. In the first acceleration there was some gaps to fill in and some speed to make up that took her all of about two weeks. The acceleration happened over midway through the year and she ended up as top in the 6th grade class. I am not sure about gaps in the Algebra I class as she basically taught herself with one other student. I had a chat with her Geometry teacher who thinks they will be able to fill in the gaps, if there are any, over the course of the year. I am so excited for DD to have a proper math class. (Although very nervous that this beautiful 12 year old is going into a 10th grade class with a bunch of 15 year old boys. She does not look 12) In fourth grade she was also subject accelerated into 7th grade spelling and vocabulary. She is not a perfect speller now but I am not sure what she is supppose to be able to spell in the beginning of 7th grade. I am also not that concerned as there is spell check and she can spell well enough!

This is all helpful info to me, as DS6 is skipping 1st this year, but also is supposed to be getting 3rd grade math and reading. We said we'd work on math facts with DS (he doesn't have them down pat) and also with handwriting. Well, every time we tried to get DS to do anything was a huge failure this summer. DS won't do work for us, and I suppose we just weren't tough enough. We've still got 2 weeks to get it all in though.... I'm expecting a bit of frustration with writing and slowness the first couple of months, at least.