"Gifted", grade skipping success (university, private school, quantitative, principal)

[Casgrl]

Hi all! Let me start by saying, I'm not so much a fan of the term "gifted" even though it is the technical term for that particular IQ level. It sounds snobbish to me or something. But anyway! I have read so many forums on this and see people asking for actual failures or success stories of grade skipping. I have a success story that's fresh and would be happy explain what started it, what tests were done, how we transitioned him, and how great he's doing this year. I understand this isn't the case for every child who skipped. And I'm not going to give my opinion on what you should do... I just think it's important for those who have limited options for their advanced children to have a story to compares theirs too, so they can make the best decision for their them based on negative and POSITIVE experiences. Feel free to message me on here if you want the details.

[Momma_bear]

I have not seen many success stories with grade skipping. All of my kids were in gifted classes in elementary school and we switched them private school in 6th grade.

A few classmates of theirs had skipped grades when they were young and it was great for them at the time of the switch. However, when the kids got into the upper grades it was often difficult for them to participate in the activities they wanted because they were physically behind their peers. It was most noticeable when the kids wanted to play sports and were younger, smaller and less coordinated than their grade mates.

It can also be a problem with they start dating. Many parents of 13 year old high school students think they are much to young for the social scene in high school once they get there.

I am sure skipping grades works for some kids but I haven't seen much evidence in favor of grade skipping. My kids are 23, 21, 18. The oldest graduated from college and is working. The middle is a senior in college and looking for a post college job right now. The youngest is a freshman in college. I can't see what benefit there would have been to skipping them a grade.

[Clevelander17]

In lieu of full-grade acceleration, single-subject acceleration may be an option for many gifted and advanced students.

Full-grade acceleration is generally not appropriate for the vast majority of students. But for some, it can be the best way to serve their needs. However it is important to do a broad assessment of students' academic abilities and social-emotional state before any decision is made.

For those interested, the Acceleration Institute at the University of Iowa has been doing research on various types of acceleration for decades.

[Oldhag1]

As someone who lived it I would never recommend it. Never. Academically, it probably was good, but there is more to learn by going to school than just academics. It was fine at first but by high school the social implications of being younger than everyone else became a clear problem. Bad as that was, it was nothing compared to being put into adult social situations as a far too young teenager in college, it was almost disastrous. Meeting my husband was probably the only thing that saved me from ruining my life.

[Ivorytickler]

Dd's grade skip was a success for about 2 years and then it was a dismal failure. If I had a do over I would have said no to her skipping 4th grade even though she was academically ready for 5th. Being ahead now does not mean you'll still be ahead 3 years from now. By the time dd was in high school it was more important that she be with her peers. She wasn't developmentally ready for the classes she was taking even though she had passed the prerequisite classes.

[ClaraC]

Casgrl appears to be gone, but I'd be curious to know the age of her son, but it does appear that he's skipped this grade this year, and it's now only November. So yeah. Too soon to tell.

[phetaroi]

As a former principal, I don't know the answer, but let me tell you of one experience I had. Our school had a large and well respected gifted program and some students were allowed to skip certain math classes. Then one year a group of principals had a meeting at the regional high school for science and technology. They gave us an ear full about how that skipping of classes was leaving skill gaps in most of the students who had skipped classes, which then needed to be taught or retaught in other math classes, thus slowing down progression.

[Cdarocks]

I hope it works out for this poster, I really do.

We had the opportunity to do that with one of ours and we did not go ahead with it, trying to keep the big picture in mind. I am so so so glad we didn't. We had teachers who gave extra, more interesting things to her and when she was able she started taking all the advanced classes she could, while sticking with her age group. She's doing great in college now. I've got another little one who is just wicked smart, but there is no way grade skipping will be an option.

[BlessedLife]

I knew as soon as this was posted that the nay-sayers would come a-runnin'.

Personal experience on an anonymous internet board means squat in relation to one's own journey in this area. For anyone reading this and considering single-subject or whole-grade acceleration, I'd encourage them to look into the Iowa Acceleration Scale. It was developed to give a quantitative value to a child's potential needs for acceleration, while incorporating things like birth position, family support, etc that are also important. The University of Iowa has done a ton of research on this topic, as has a long-running Johns Hopkins study, and quite frankly the hand-wringing is overdone. Most of these kids, *if the acceleration really is appropriate,* do great in life.

There is simply a huge, vast difference between someone who might seem pretty bright at a certain age and a child who is profoundly gifted. Whole grade acceleration might be too much for the bright child, especially later in school years. But to hold a profoundly gifted child back at the grade of their age peers when they are literally intellectually years ahead is cruel and leads to poor outcomes for those children. Those cases are more rare but they are not somehow less real.

[gentlearts]

My only question is why? What is to be gained? As others have said, there is more to school than the material being taught. Emotional development is important too. I wouldn’t do it.