joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 How do you decide what grade to place your child in? I realize they can be working at whatever level in each subject that suits their skills best, but I mean grade level for testing or legal placement. Do you find out how your state places them and go off of that? Or do you go off of what level work they are doing in MOST subjects? Or do you go by your own judgement? I thought my son should be in 4th but now I am seeing many other homeschooling boys his age are in 3rd. A while back I thought about holding back a year but never went through with it... Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 How do you decide what grade to place your child in? I realize they can be working at whatever level in each subject that suits their skills best, but I mean grade level for testing or legal placement. Do you find out how your state places them and go off of that? Or do you go off of what level work they are doing in MOST subjects? Or do you go by your own judgement? I thought my son should be in 4th but now I am seeing many other homeschooling boys his age are in 3rd. A while back I thought about holding back a year but never went through with it... Any thoughts? You don't need to worry about grade placement for things like history and science, not really even things like grammar or writing. What you want to know is math and reading skills, and even those aren't necessarily "grade level." If your homeschool laws require you to specify a grade legel when you notify or or report or whatnot, that would be based on your child's age and the cut-off in your state, and that's it. IOW, if your state's cut-off is September 1, and your ds's 8th bday was before then, he'd be "in" third grade. His academic level has nothing to do with it. You're just playing the state's game, that's all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learningmama Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 We go by the state's age cut-offs too for official paperwork,etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 We go by state cut-offs as well. If I had a child who was slower to mature, I might have redshirted him, but that hasn't been the case here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Without knowing your state's cutoff or your child's bday, it's hard to say. However, if it helps, my 9yo is in 4th. She will be 10 in about 2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Χά�ων Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I give my son's grade as what his age is for most things, currently he is in 3rd grade, or would be if he was in school. But, he is large for his age so I tend to flex his grade as needed. Last year DS wanted to play basketball but they only had a league for K-1 and 3-5, nothing for 2nd graders so I enrolled him as a 3rd grader. When he was in kindergarten he took a preschool art class. It all depends on the situation and if it will be a good fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Age in September minus five equals grade level for 99+% of kids regardless of whether they are doing work three grades ahead or three years behind that. I may adjust if absolutely necessary around 8th grade. By then, we will be through the ages kids just have greater developmental ranges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 We always go round and round with this topic, but in our area whenever I meet someone and get to know them well enough to ask, they have inevitably red-shirted any boys born April or later. The red-shirting rate is over 30% in our area, so I play by the region's rules and red-shirt. After all, these are the same boys we will be competing against in sports stacked by grade, and competing with for scholarships and admissions in the future. If we moved around a lot perhaps I would feel differently, but we have no plans to move and our area has effectively decided that the cutoff for those who can afford it is not Sept 1., but sometime in Feb or March. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 You go by your own judgement. If unsure, go by the state's guidelines. I held my two September babies who barely made the cut-off. Why? They shouldn't have been born for two more months which would have landed them squarely a grade behind, no questions asked. Imnsho, preterm babies should be placed according to their due dates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Thanks for the comments. My son's bday is July31st, he was a preemie and has had a hard time catching up size wise. He isn't having a hard time doing 4th grade work though. I feel that if he was in public school though it would be really hard on him for sports and such because of his size. He doesn't even make it onto the percentile chart the docs use for his weight and height. That is the main reason I question what grade to place him in. Does that even make sense or am I just being an overprotective mom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 You go by your own judgement. If unsure, go by the state's guidelines. I held my two September babies who barely made the cut-off. Why? They shouldn't have been born for two more months which would have landed them squarely a grade behind, no questions asked. Imnsho, preterm babies should be placed according to their due dates. Ha! I was typing my comment telling how he was premature at the same time you were typing this. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 When we were homeschooling, I placed both kids at their grade-by-age levels even though both were working well above level in all subjects. When they went into school, the older one remained in the same grade, but we bumped the younger one up one grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Joyful, had you sent him to school, when would you have done so? Kinda sounds like you wouldn't have held him back. And some of us just have small kids. My boys were born a bit early and were 3 lbs 12 oz and 4 lbs 1 oz. But their biological parents are both fairly small. They still aren't on the growth chart either. They both have bdays at the end of the school year also. However, they are bright kids, a little "ahead." Why would I hold them back? They'd be small a year behind too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Joyful, had you sent him to school, when would you have done so? Kinda sounds like you wouldn't have held him back. And some of us just have small kids. My boys were born a bit early and were 3 lbs 12 oz and 4 lbs 1 oz. But their biological parents are both fairly small. They still aren't on the growth chart either. They both have bdays at the end of the school year also. However, they are bright kids, a little "ahead." Why would I hold them back? They'd be small a year behind too! This is true. I don't think at that time I would have held him back and yes he would still be small if a year behind as well. He does do fine with all his 4th grade material.... idk I guess I just wonder if it is the right decision sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joyfulhomeschooler Posted October 18, 2012 Author Share Posted October 18, 2012 Joyful, had you sent him to school, when would you have done so? Kinda sounds like you wouldn't have held him back. And some of us just have small kids. My boys were born a bit early and were 3 lbs 12 oz and 4 lbs 1 oz. But their biological parents are both fairly small. They still aren't on the growth chart either. They both have bdays at the end of the school year also. However, they are bright kids, a little "ahead." Why would I hold them back? They'd be small a year behind too! I just noticed the ages of the kiddos you were referring to. Do you think you would still feel the same if they were older? The thought never crossed my mind when this child was younger, I only started thinking about it this past year... Most premature babies catch up by the time they are two. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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