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I think grade skipping is rarely going to be a great solution. The kids who are a grade level ahead are a grade level ahead because their brains work faster and they "get" the material faster. Their brains are always going 75mph while the rest of the class is at 45 mph. If they move up one grade they might be challenged for a bit, but then they're ready to zip on by again. I think those kids are usually better off having a fast track designed for them, either through AIG and maybe SSA (not too familiar with that since we're in CHCCS) or being around a peer group where everyone is going 75mph or more, which is what LEAP is in CHCCS.
I think grade skipping is rarely going to be a great solution. The kids who are a grade level ahead are a grade level ahead because their brains work faster and they "get" the material faster. Their brains are always going 75mph while the rest of the class is at 45 mph. If they move up one grade they might be challenged for a bit, but then they're ready to zip on by again. I think those kids are usually better off having a fast track designed for them, either through AIG and maybe SSA (not too familiar with that since we're in CHCCS) or being around a peer group where everyone is going 75mph or more, which is what LEAP is in CHCCS.
Yes, there's a lot of research out there to support what you're saying. If I was sure my kid was HG I think I'd be really looking at CHCCS for that reason.
yes, there's a lot of research out there to support what you're saying. If i was sure my kid was hg i think i'd be really looking at chccs for that reason.
"Highly Gifted" as opposed to regular old AIG. Usually the top 1% on the assessments, I believe, although different school systems probably define it differently. I have seen it based on IQ, too. I believe 145+ was "Highly Gifted" using that basis.
"Highly Gifted" as opposed to regular old AIG. Usually the top 1% on the assessments, I believe, although different school systems probably define it differently. I have seen it based on IQ, too. I believe 145+ was "Highly Gifted" using that basis.
Huh. Learn something new every day. Does anyone know if WCPSS differentiates HG and AIG? I'm just curious because if they use assessments, my oldest dd would have been classified as HG back during the testing in 3rd grade. But she's just in regular old AIG (along with 50% of her classmates).
Also, I believe that standards are district wide as far as qualifying for AIG, skipping grades, etc. But I often wonder if gifted kids get noticed more often when they are in schools with fewer gifted/highly gifted classmates, and wind up getting challenged more (pushed ahead, advanced a grade, etc.). Whereas in a school where 90% of the kids in 6th grade are capable of doing 7th grade math, the school isn't going to advocate for 90% of a grade to skip that grade. They'll just adjust the teaching.
"Highly Gifted" as opposed to regular old AIG. Usually the top 1% on the assessments, I believe, although different school systems probably define it differently. I have seen it based on IQ, too. I believe 145+ was "Highly Gifted" using that basis.
Yes, sorry. HG for Highly Gifted. Going from memory here, but I think 145 is the IQ cutoff I've seen. It's a popular term in some of the books/articles on the topic.
WCPSS doesn't have an HG type of program, but that's not unusual... the LEAP program in Chapel Hill is the first one I've seen that differentiates between G/HG, though I'm only familiar with a few different school systems. It is a little unusual that WCPSS doesn't have separate AIG classes in elementary (similar to LEAP but with G/HG kids mixed), but I'm hoping that's because there are so many kids working above grade level that the AIG kids can be reasonably challenged in the standard classroom. I haven't seen it in action, I guess I'll have a more informed opinion in a few years!
CHCCS doesn't have a separate AIG class, either. Just LEAP is separate and that is across all elementary and middle schools. Kids are pulled out of their schools and sent to a different classroom in a different school. The gifted kids in CHCCS just get pull-outs & differentiation.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Originally Posted by poppydog
CHCCS doesn't have a separate AIG class, either. Just LEAP is separate and that is across all elementary and middle schools. Kids are pulled out of their schools and sent to a different classroom in a different school. The gifted kids in CHCCS just get pull-outs & differentiation.
Well, the gifted (but not highly gifted) kids can get put in compacted math and compacted language arts in middle school, so they are in different classes for those two subjects.
And to be clear - for the Wake folks reading - LEAP for highly gifted children doesn't start until 4th grade. So if your kid is highly gifted or just plain gifted, he or she is just getting pull out and differentiation from K-3rd grade.
True. LEAP is 4th grade through 8th grade, so 5 years in all if you want to do all of them. A lot of parents just put the kids in it for middle school, too. I know my daughter did have one classmate who has gone on to do it this year (5th grade) and I think had one who did it last year. She has a friend who tested into it, but decided to stay with her class this year and maybe do it next year for middle school (6th grade). I have another friend who put her son in it in 4th as well. In elementary school the gifted offerings are just pull-out or differentiation.
Yes, sorry. HG for Highly Gifted. Going from memory here, but I think 145 is the IQ cutoff I've seen. It's a popular term in some of the books/articles on the topic.
WCPSS doesn't have an HG type of program, but that's not unusual... the LEAP program in Chapel Hill is the first one I've seen that differentiates between G/HG, though I'm only familiar with a few different school systems. It is a little unusual that WCPSS doesn't have separate AIG classes in elementary (similar to LEAP but with G/HG kids mixed), but I'm hoping that's because there are so many kids working above grade level that the AIG kids can be reasonably challenged in the standard classroom. I haven't seen it in action, I guess I'll have a more informed opinion in a few years!
There is a "separate" AIG class in elementary if that's what you're talking about (that's what everyone means when they say "pull out"). Still not sure exactly what they did in there. Could never get clear info from the AIG teacher (always told that a new curriculum was coming out), and getting info from my daughter was like pulling teeth. I do remember that they learned how to clean up an oil spill. And she came home from school last year (6th grade), complaining that they were teaching them "stuff we already learned in AIG last year."
Even in schools with a really high percentage of AIG students, based on my experience, you need to be pretty involved and vocal (basically a squeaky wheel) for your gifted kid to be challenged in the regular classroom. I'm not a good squeaky wheel, and I am worried that my oldest has made it to 7th grade without really being challenged. The problem now is that she's never really had to try to get good grades (3*or 4 in elementary and mostly As in middle). Eventually she's going to be challenged (high school or college), and I'm afraid she won't have the skill set to work through it. Of course, I could just be channeling my own fears, since that's what happened to me in college.
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