Advancing grade levels "officially"?

[Isa]

I have a son who is finishing up second grade, and a son who is finishing up third. In many areas both sons are about at a fourth grade level which means that my second grader is performing two grade levels ahead.

 

I know it doesn't really matter as much now, but would you be inclined to "officially" advance a child one or two grade levels as they get to middle school? Grade levels don't really matter in homeschooling, but they do start to become important in high school and for some outside activities.

 

I'm really interested to see what you think.

[Melinda]

I would not move them up officially unless it was an extreme circumstance.

[Anne/Ankara]

We have decided not to advance the kids because then you keep the advantage of having time to get into myriad subjects (economics, govt, art history, biochemistry, music theory, whatever) as the kids go through middle and high school, and you're not rushed by the calendar to graduate. Does that make sense?

 

Also, there are a lot of people who hold back their kids-- maybe even a third of a class, so that a given eighth grade, for example, might have kids who are 13 (like my ds) and many who are already 15, depending on when their birthdays fall. If my ds skipped a grade, those peers would be almost three years older-- which can be a social issue.

 

The beauty of homeschooling is that you can customize education to fit the student, so hopefully there is no need to skip grades, unless you run out of educational opportunities in late high school-- but even then, there are a number of options that can help.

[chai]

When we first started homeschooling, I declared dd to be at the grade she where she is doing most of her work. This was mostly a hassle and didnt' provide any benefits. Later, I decided to keep dd officially at her age-grade for public school. I've decided that this gives me much more flexibility in the future years. It has already been helpful because we missed several months of school with our move. I could spend more time doing field trips and play dates in our new city. In the future, I will have more options for how I want to do high school--I can stick with age-grade and go into more depth or I can have her accelerate and skip some grades then.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

I don't have to report anything as far as grade level to the state. Our dd6 would be grade skipped in public school, so I have never used her "age grade". Grade acceleration doesn't mean a hill of beans as far as some academic programs go- I am not going to say my dd6 is in middle school, but she has taken some enrichment classes with middle schoolers. We use the acceleration primarily to make sure dd has a good time socially. There is no way I would ever place dd6 in a program for 1st graders, for any reason. I say just go with where your dc would be in public school as far as what "grade" they are in, place them in activities where they fit best socially, and educate them based on what they need today. If they need early college, deal with it when you get there.

 

Normal 15 year olds in EIGHTH GRADE!?!?!?!?!?! Yeesh.

[whisperam]

The beauty of homeschooling is that you can work at the level of your individual child. I too caution you on moving your child up a grade.

[nmoira]

I wouldn't do it unless there would be a tangible benefit.

[Reya]

I have a son who is finishing up second grade, and a son who is finishing up third. In many areas both sons are about at a fourth grade level which means that my second grader is performing two grade levels ahead.

 

I know it doesn't really matter as much now, but would you be inclined to "officially" advance a child one or two grade levels as they get to middle school? Grade levels don't really matter in homeschooling, but they do start to become important in high school and for some outside activities.

 

I'm really interested to see what you think.

 

No! *g*

 

Most outside activities are either specific to one subject area (math or language camp) or are more physical (like sports). For the ones that are more physical, grade doesn't matter, and for those that are specific, I'd answer what grade level they are working at in the subject in question.

 

This does NOT preclude early graduation, however. I'll just magically call the last four years the "high school years" no matter what grade they were really in.

[Laura Corin]

I'm not advancing my sons officially. I name their grade by age, and deal with any other opportunities as they come up.

 

FWIW I don't plan on early graduation - I'd like them to stay home until they are eighteen, taking university courses early and at home if necessary.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[summer]

There are lots of 15 yr olds in 8th grade where I live. Mostly, it is boys whose parents are desparate to have them on the high school football team. I think it is sick and should be illegal to do that....sacrifice their education in the name of football. The school sports would do well to give age limits rather than grade.

[summer]

Initially, because DD accelerated in public school, I had her as accelerated at home. She does use curriculum that is beyond her grade level. However, later I decided to call her by her age grade and just say she is advanced. She can always graduate early. This really opens up opportunities. She could potentially do the Spelling Bee an extra couple years and so on. Plus, most public schools have a gifted program that is 1 grade level ahead, some have gifted programs that are 2 grade levels ahead. I would rather have my child be a gifted/accelerated 7th grader than a very average 9th grader.

[Plaid Dad]

She does use curriculum that is beyond her grade level. However, later I decided to call her by her age grade and just say she is advanced. She can always graduate early.

 

This is our situation, too. Since we're homeschooling, we just use curriculum at the appropriate level for her. By keeping her official grade the same as her age-peers, she can join in classes and camps with kids her own age with no trouble. It also means that, should she slow down academically later, she won't end up "behind."

[Reya]

FWIW I don't plan on early graduation - I'd like them to stay home until they are eighteen, taking university courses early and at home if necessary.

 

 

Fortunately, we have a number of universities within commuting distance!

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

There are lots of 15 yr olds in 8th grade where I live. Mostly, it is boys whose parents are desparate to have them on the high school football team. I think it is sick and should be illegal to do that....sacrifice their education in the name of football. The school sports would do well to give age limits rather than grade.

 

 

Ahhhhhhhh. I share your opinion on that issue. My daughter plays recreational soccer in the "Pee Wee" league (6-8) and for that, the kids have to have birth certificates. You can move a kid up a little early, but not hold them back. Not only do I think radical redshirting is detrimental to the older boys' education, but it's extremely unfair to those good student athletes who lose a spot on a team because of this. I would feel differently if it were strictly developmental differences that held the older child back.

[Mommy22alyns]

I have Becca officially listed by her age level as well. I feel like it gives me a lot of freedom, especially in our first year, to go at our own pace without fear of getting behind in anything. I'll cross the middle/high school bridge when I get there!

[SkateLeft]

My oldest was legally grade skipped in kindergarten, and so has always been a grade level ahead. This past year, she was enrolled in our charter as an 11yo 7th grader, though she would have been a very young 6th grader (and with a late summer birthday, in some states she may have even been a 5th grader).

 

At the time, it opened up some opportunities for her to participate in classes at our site-based charter school. She was able to participate in our university talent search program a year earlier, and we've been able to advocate for her much more effectively. However, sometimes I realize how fast her education has gone and I lament the loss of that extra year! While I don't necessarily think it was the wrong thing to do, I don't know that I'd do it again.

 

I was given the option of grade skipping my younger daughter a couple of years ago, and decided against it.

 

I agree that unless there is a substantial benefit to doing so, I wouldn't grade skip a child officially. There are just so many factors to consider.

[Storm Bay]

I did that when I first pulled dd out of ps because she was so obviously ahead in all her subjects. However, that left us in a dilemma this year. Academically, she could sail through high school right now, but she isn't going to be ready to negotiate college life early. So I've had to give her an official 8/9 year so she won't think she's failing. She's not, but we're going to take the time to go much deeper over the next five years giving her time to grow up in other ways. She may well do AP courses or dual enrollment in high school once she gets through the throes of puberty, which she's crawling through very, very slowly but with more than the typical dramatic flair (she's naturally intense.)

 

I'm going to have to do this with my 10 yo later, too. Thankfully, I knew better by the time ds came along.

[StephanieZ]

I'm in no hurry to send my dc to college early, so I don't plan to formally advance any of them until they're close to college-age and ready to go early, if at all. Let them be brilliant stars among their age/grade peers. Why not?

 

I *might* advance my 5 yo a year sooner as she has an October birthday (and September is the cut off here), as she is so close to the cut-off. However, she is physically *tiny* and so I am in no hurry to do that anyway. Even for her, despite the fact that she reads at a 2nd grade level, is mid way through PM1 and is not yet "in Kindergarten", I'm not going to formally advance her for a long time.

[abbeyej]

Well, yes, I have. I suppose time will tell whether it was some sort of horrible mistake. As it is, ds is much happier in outside classes with kids who are 1-2 years older than he, and his best friends are all older than he. He's still "working ahead" even of the grade I call him in most areas...

 

And even testing up two grades, he's still testing as an "accelerated / gifted" student, so I don't have any qualms about it being the right place for him academically. In fact, we've tested over the last three years, and his scores have gone up (so more than a year's progress) in all but one area each year... So again, I feel that not only is it appropriate for him to be slightly accelerated (and I consider 1-2 years a pretty mild acceleration), but it's also appropriate for him to have a quicker pace even there.

 

I know this is an area of much debate among home schooling parents of accelerated students. But if my child were in school, he would be accelerated a minimum of one year, and even then he would require a lot of differentiation. Home schoolers often say, "I tell people the grade my child would be in at the local public school"... Do they mean by age? Do they mean that since my ds would be accelerated there, I should go with the accelerated grade? It seems silly to me to call him by a grade which is clearly wrong for him.

[saw]

are about to do a second grade skip and will be 10 in seventh grade of ps, which sounds horrible, but when you look at the school and the class and the guidance they'll be getting, is actually a really good thing. We will move in a year, they will be homeschooled and we'll have them "repeat" a grade or add in a gap year or do something so that they'll go to university when they're the usual age.

They won't be advanced for anything outside of school (Sunday school, sports, etc.). In fact, in sports, they'll play down a year because they're girls playing cricket on a boys team, so they'll be 10 in an under-9s.

We're taking it one year at a time, one activity at a time, because otherwise I'll go nuts.

[runningirl71]

I haven't advanced my kids either. My 7th grader has been doing 9th grade work in many subjects this year, but not all. My 5th grader could be knocked up to 6th as that is the level she is working at right now. I really don't want to rush my kids' education and would like them home as much as possible. Although my daughter is mature enough to be called 6th, I definitely wouldn't want my son to already be in "highschool" as he hasn't even fully gone through puberty yet and acts more like a 13 year old (that's what he is!) than a 15 year old. Also, I definitely teach for mastery and my kids are doing WELL in all subjects where they are at. I would rather have them be in their grade for their age, than advancing and not ready/grasping some concepts, even though they can do the work.

 

Although my son worked on a 9th grade level, he wasn't getting all A's, or I should say, didn't fully master some concepts, and we'll have to repeat them this coming year. HTH! :)

[Tess in the Burbs]

This has been an issue for me as well. Both my children are working ahead a grade level. I filed my son in 1st grade this past fall even though he was only 5.5 y/o. So now it's time to file both kids this year and what do I do? My biggest concerns have been if something happens to me and they need to go to public school that they be able to work in the grade level they are at. The schools here would only consider age, so I thought this would be the best way to prove they deserve to be there b/c they would have done the work already.

 

But then I realized my dd would be the youngest for her grade level and if I put her ahead and she goes to school she would be 2 years younger than the girls and 3 years younger than all the boys who started school a year later to settle down their hyperactivity. Ummm, no.

 

And my son is currently very small in statue. If he was in school by ability he would be the smallest. Ummm, no.

 

And add in the fact I can't remember what grade they are in when people ask at church and activities. The kids are confused as well.

 

So this year I am filing my kids with their ages listed. I noticed the state form did not ask for grade level. SO I am not listing it. The school will assume they are K and 1st. All our curriculum is ahead of those levels for each child. But when people ask what grade, they are asking how old.

 

It took me awhile to decide to stick with age appropriate grade level. I wouldn't send them off to college at 15. They will be able to do the local cc until mature enough. I am at peace. but it took time to get here.

 

But that is why I will now file as grade level appropriate for their age and not current ability. Good luck in your decision.