Does everyone declare grade levels?

[Mandylubug]

Am I the only one that isn't truly claiming grade levels for my kids? ;) I enjoy reading all the x grade threads but honestly we don't try to cram anything in within a year but seek to find curriculum that fits them where they are and then we progress forward. If we aren't finished by the end of the official "sent to the school board" date of the school year; we continue on next year. I suppose I just prefer to continue on and progress forward until we are ready for the next level of curriculum whether its mid school year this year or halfway into the next school year. We also don't take a summer vacation. We take a more relaxed schedule because all of their cousins are PSed and they love the ability to go on playdates, etc. but we just keep on trucking. Perhaps, I started out this way since we began homeschooling mid "school year" last year and had just purchased curriculum to finish off their "current" years. I use a mixture of grade level works matched to the needs of the individual child. For instance, my oldest is on the fifth grade level of reading but math on 3rd grade level, 4th grade science, 3rd grade spelling... I mean what grade to you "put him in" when you define as such? When asked what grades they are in by strangers I always reply they are homeschooled and name their ages.

[kristinannie]

I will say that my kids are in the grade level they would be in for PS, but I don't really care when we finish things. We school year round and I don't plan to have one specific time where we have all new curricula. It is very fluid for us. When I report, I will just list whatever we are doing at that particular time.

[momto3boys]

I'm just beginning my homeschooling but I plan on going year round and just declarIng grade by what they would be in ps. Then I'll just be using curriculum at whatever level they require and following their pace. (at least that's my plan!)

[Dmmetler]

We have to have a grade level for our cover school, but DD is all over the place as far as skills, and we just go to the next step when she's finished with the previous one.

[boscopup]

I do the same as you in my schooling (use materials at appropriate level and keep on trucking), but I do give a grade level based on age. Many here do that.

 

So yes, my son is in 2nd grade. Most of his subjects don't have a '2' on them, but that's still his grade. And he knows that he graduates after 12th grade (unless we have some compelling reason to graduate early).

 

The last week of 2nd grade and the first week of 3rd grade may be somewhat indistinguishable, but we'll take a 3 week break between. :)

[3Blessings]

My children are currently in a private school and are already assigned a grade. I think it would be difficult to get away from that now as we begin our homeschool journey.

 

Having said that, I agree with a pp: I think about where my kids would be if they would be in private school next year, BUT I haven't been preparing for only that. In fact, for the sake of my children, I would like to try to get rid of that in their minds. My dd6 can do many of the things that my dd8 can do, etc. I am happy to combine them when possible.

 

At the end of the day, does it really matter unless they are planning to go to a non-homeschool setting again? Not sure. :tongue_smilie:

[Ellie]

I only do it for things like Sunday school or sports teams or grandparents. :-)

[Embassy]

I make a big deal about going into the next grade. My kids know and identify with their grade levels. I give them whatever level of work is appropriate regardless of grade level though.

[silliness7]

I function in my actual schooling similarly to what you have described aside from schooling year round.

 

However I find it very helpful in communicating with people and for various out-of-the-home activities to just state the grade they would be in if they were in school. It makes things simpler. It doesn't mean I push them to finish their 4th grade math book because school is almost over and we want to start with te 5th grade book.

[sagira]

I function in my actual schooling similarly to what you have described aside from schooling year round.

 

However I find it very helpful in communicating with people and for various out-of-the-home activities to just state the grade they would be in if they were in school. It makes things simpler.

 

That's what we do. People seem to want to know.

[NittanyJen]

I don't use grade levels-- I even check off 'ungraded' on state forms. This year in Sunday School I let my older son choose what room to be in based on which kids he wanted to hang out with and knighted him into that grade.

 

When others ask, I shrug and say we don't do grade levels at home, because I can keep track of two kids without all that red tape :)

[luvnlattes]

I only do it for things like Sunday school or sports teams or grandparents. :-)

 

:iagree: and the neighborhood kids used to always ask what grade the boys were in so we needed an answer for them :) .

 

They have their grade based on their DOB and what grade they would have been in PS. However, that doesn't mean they are specifically doing that grade work in everything like you mentioned. One of mine is a grade ahead in math and a grade behind in spelling. Also, many of the curricula I use are for a variety of ages. For example Write Shop is recommended for use beginning in 7th or 8th grade but can be used for high school students as well. TOG separates history into levels that cover multiple grades, so it's definitely not as straightforward as it sounds.

 

As for strangers, I usually don't want to get into a discussion about homeschooling with them, so I just say the grade (or the kids do) and leave it at that.

[GoVanGogh]

As for strangers, I usually don't want to get into a discussion about homeschooling with them, so I just say the grade (or the kids do) and leave it at that.

We don't use grade levels at home and most of our outside activities go by age not grade. I have always tried to teach my DS what grade he would be in, just for those times when strangers ask and I don't want to get into the homeschooling conversation. Problem is: My DS cannot for the life of him remember what grade he would be in. He will say, "Um. I don't know. Kindergarten maybe?" :tongue_smilie: He did that again the other day. Yeah. He would be 4th grade. :lol:

[Samiam]

I do because everyone else in the world does. Everything, from church, sports, even homeschool co-op groups by grade level.

 

Not to mention, although we school 11 months out of the year, I think it's a nice achievement for the child to hear "you've completed this grade and now you get to move up". Silly perhaps for an adult, but a nice milestone for a child.

 

Grade labeling doesn't mean we have to stick to a grade level in a subject. Move up when you need to move up, go lower if you need to.

 

It's also a good starting point. I mean, if I am new homeschooler with a say, 1st grader, I would start to look at 1st grade curriculum. If I am savvy, I look closely and I may find that my child needs a K curriculum or an 2nd grade curriculum...but not using any label...where do I start? Just pick up any old level of curriculum and dig in? then wonder why it's soo hard or sooo easy?

[Radish4ever]

Regardless of where we are in school, I just go with declaring to strangers or recreational organizations or whatever whatever the child's placement in PS would be.

[ChandlerMom]

I use grade level, mainly for when people ask and a bit to check where my ds are wrt state standards. I don't feel any need to follow those standards, or use "at grade" materials, but I figure I should at least know what the ps kids are expected to be doing. It's a tool and convenience, nothing more. For me it isn't some deep metaphysical or philosophical thing. :D

 

Many states require testing/reporting at certain "grades".

Edited February 10, 2012 by ChandlerMom

[sewingmama]

enjoy reading all the x grade threads but honestly we don't try to cram anything in within a year but seek to find curriculum that fits them where they are and then we progress forward. If we aren't finished by the end of the official "sent to the school board" date of the school year; we continue on next year.

 

I do this too BUT we have to report an official grade to the State so I just use whatever grade my kids wold be in by age. My DD is officially K by age but is already doing some 1st grade work and I anticipate that by halfway through the year she will be all 1st grade. (we school Jan-Dec). So when she finishes up K we will just move on the the next level whatever time of year it is.

[rocketgirl]

Yes! By age! We are 1st, 2nd, and 6th and my kids know it. However, my 1st is currently reading a 4th grade book, my 2nd grader is just finishing 4th grade spelling, starting 3rd grade vocabulary, and my 6th grader is doing 9th grade spelling. But they are still 1st, 2nd, and 6th. Our ambiguous one is our just turned 4 year old who is doing preschool, even tho she isn't "old enough" to be in preschool by our state's laws.

[chepyl]

I call my son a first grader for dance, theatre, church, and other outside activities. He does mostly second grade work. We work at his level, but do grade by age.

[GoVanGogh]

It's also a good starting point. I mean, if I am new homeschooler with a say, 1st grader, I would start to look at 1st grade curriculum. If I am savvy, I look closely and I may find that my child needs a K curriculum or an 2nd grade curriculum...but not using any label...where do I start? Just pick up any old level of curriculum and dig in? then wonder why it's soo hard or sooo easy?

But you don't have to declare a grade level to know what grade your child *would* be in in school and use that as a starting point. We haven't used grade levels in our 5+ years of homeschooling, but I have always known what books were appropriate or what to shop for, curriculum-wise. That grade is "in the back of my mind" when I am shopping or researching, whether I declare a grade or not.

Often homeschool curriculum is offered with a range - grades K-2, ages 9-12, etc. Some are offered as a certain level, like All About Spelling. I think the only things I have on my shelves that are actually listed by grade are public school-type workbooks.

[Zebra]

My DS cannot for the life of him remember what grade he would be in. He will say, "Um. I don't know. Kindergarten maybe?" :tongue_smilie: He did that again the other day. Yeah. He would be 4th grade. :lol:

 

:lol:

 

;)!

[MeganW]

We definitely do, b/c my kids have some developmental challenges.

 

We do work that fits their abilities, and have assigned a grade that fits that. I would much prefer to register them for Sunday School, sports, etc. based on grade (which is where they fit) rather than age.

 

I know my kids progress at a normal rate, they just have always been about a year behind everyone else. So knowing where everyone else at our grade level is helps me to see gives me a benchmark to compare to, so I know if we need to seek additional evaluations and so on.

[beaners]

I think on this particular site, the threads about particular grades are a good way to get a variety of viewpoints on material for that age. I think most of the time you will get a response based on the age of the student, but occasionally people post if they have younger or older children working at that level too. It would be complicated to ask what every other parent with a child reading these books and with those math skills who already learned about that time period will be doing. Asking about children who are normally at a certain age and often working on a certain level is convenient. Others have more than adequately covered the real world uses of grade designations.

 

I don't think those posts always mean that people use a program specifically within the traditional school calendar framework, especially if it wouldn't be in the best interest of a child. (Cramming without understanding, etc.) I posted on a different sub-forum about our plans for next year. My plans are based on what material we are using now and what comes next after that. It is where I anticipate us being if we just keep on keeping on. Some people don't do that, which is okay too. :001_smile:

 

I might be reading too much into this, but it seems like there is a bit of a snippy tone in the OP. I don't think that was the intention though, so it might just be me.

[mytwomonkeys]

it's easiest for me (and them) to say a grade. it doesn't mean we can only work within that realm though.

[FO4UR]

I only do it for things like Sunday school or sports teams or grandparents. :-)

 

:iagree:

 

 

 

I do school much like you do, planning and working at the child's level regardless of age.

[Daisy]

We have to declare a grade level when we fill out the yearly paperwork in our state but I just go by their age and not by the actual work they are doing.

[Tigger]

I do because so many outside activities have grade tied to enrollment, things like scouts are grade dependent.

 

Just because DS is declared second grade doesn't mean he has to work only with second grade material - he's all over the place, some first, some second, and some third-fifth - I just have him work at his level since for HS, it really doesn't matter; what matters is that he works at his level, not what his grade designation is!

[ErinE]

I think on this particular site, the threads about particular grades are a good way to get a variety of viewpoints on material for that age. I think most of the time you will get a response based on the age of the student, but occasionally people post if they have younger or older children working at that level too. It would be complicated to ask what every other parent with a child reading these books and with those math skills who already learned about that time period will be doing. Asking about children who are normally at a certain age and often working on a certain level is convenient. Others have more than adequately covered the real world uses of grade designations.

 

I don't think those posts always mean that people use a program specifically within the traditional school calendar framework, especially if it wouldn't be in the best interest of a child. (Cramming without understanding, etc.) I posted on a different sub-forum about our plans for next year. My plans are based on what material we are using now and what comes next after that. It is where I anticipate us being if we just keep on keeping on. Some people don't do that, which is okay too. :001_smile:

 

I agree with the above. The Grade XX posts are interesting. I like to see what others are using so I can investigate and see if it's something I'm willing to add. I don't use it for comparison or measurement. For most subjects, my views on what my kids will do next year haven't changed from what I expected at the beginning of this academic year. I did note what people were doing in foreign language and science. It's nice to see in one place what curriculum many children around my kids age are using.

[Mandylubug]

 

I might be reading too much into this, but it seems like there is a bit of a snippy tone in the OP. I don't think that was the intention though, so it might just be me.

 

Oh no, don't misunderstand me. I am enjoying everyone's responses! I should give a little background of why I spin my tires on this subject. My kids all started out in PS. My son seemed "normal and fine" to me until PS and I was told he had issues, ADHD, etc. I was in denial of the ADHD and he does have it that is for sure. But those first two years were rough on us as a family. I had to FIGHT tooth and nail to have him held back in kindergarten. His teacher wanted to promote him into first because she thought he would be a behavior problem if he remained in kindergarten a second year (even though he couldn't do most of the bench marks in reading and math) So, he ended up, finally by my fighting, being held back and in the same grade as his younger brother. Then my husband joined the military and we moved three times in three years and school gaps became evident. He has now overcome SO much and is advanced in some areas, behind in others. Therefore, by his age he would be considered 4th grade. To the state, he is considered 3rd. To him, he WANTS to be considered 4th, even though in math he is just now in 3rd grade math but he is in fifth grade levels of other subjects.

 

My other kids are following the same path. None of my kids seem to reach the same academic benchmarks of a specific grade level as one cohesive movement but are on different grade levels for individual subjects, etc. With us starting PS, holding one back, then pulling him out and HS and moving him up in some subjects because the lower subject was way too easy is what I was referring to as confusing.

 

I was honestly just wanting to hear others opinions of declaring grade levels. At church, he was so excited when he was "allowed" to attend 4th grade service.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

I do give my kids grade levels based on their age (though oldest dd misses the cut-off by 10 days, and was put in the older grade), but teach to whatever level they are at. We just continue the curricula until we are done, then switch to the next level.

[DawnM]

Well, the problem for us is that they are involved in outside activities where a grade needs to be specified. Sunday School, youth group, scouting, art classes, etc.....

 

Now, my oldest has some learning disabilities so I hesitate to say he is actually in 8th grade and I don't care if it takes him an extra year to finish high school at all, but for the above purposes, he is 8th grade.

 

The other two are more at or above grade level but I still use their corresponding grade levels to explain what grade they are in.

 

Dawn

[Ellie]

I've never heard anyone refer to it as "declaring" grade levels :) but when I owned/administered an umbrella school for 16 years, I learned the hard way that when it's necessary to put a grade-level label on a child, it's best to stick with the one according to his age and the cut-off date in whichever state you start out in. For schools, it's mostly a way of grouping children by approximate age and, presumably, approximate abilities.

 

When people enrolled their dc in my school, and the dc had been held back when they were in school, I encouraged the parents to specify the grades their dc should have been in, because once they were enrolled, I wasn't going to change it so the dc would catch up, so to speak.

 

For us homeschoolers, it has nothing to do with the actual level of academic work they are doing. Most of us still have to contend with outside, non-homeschooling activities (such as sports and church classes), which do go by grade level and not age, and it's better for our children if we know our dc's "grade levels;" it's a game we have to play until the dc are all grown up and on their own. Very few adult activities group people by their ages, and there's certainly no grade level. :D

[Mandylubug]

Well, the problem for us is that they are involved in outside activities where a grade needs to be specified. Sunday School, youth group, scouting, art classes, etc.....

 

Now, my oldest has some learning disabilities so I hesitate to say he is actually in 8th grade and I don't care if it takes him an extra year to finish high school at all, but for the above purposes, he is 8th grade.

 

The other two are more at or above grade level but I still use their corresponding grade levels to explain what grade they are in.

 

Dawn

 

I hestitate to claim my oldest is in 4th as well. We will have to administer a standardized test this year and naturally, I am going to make him test on the 3rd grade instead of 4th grade level being that the school system would consider him third in regards to his records with them..I have no issue with him graduating later either.

[nmoira]

We have to declare to the state, and I choose the grade of their grade peers. On these boards, I'll answer "grade level" questions with reference to DD the Younger because she is more age-typical academically than her (technically fourth grade) sister. However, I meet both children at their own level in every subject.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I function in my actual schooling similarly to what you have described aside from schooling year round.

 

However I find it very helpful in communicating with people and for various out-of-the-home activities to just state the grade they would be in if they were in school. It makes things simpler. It doesn't mean I push them to finish their 4th grade math book because school is almost over and we want to start with te 5th grade book.

 

:iagree: I consider grades to be equivilant to ages, especially when communicating with others. Much of our curricula isn't grade-based, and my boys have various strengths and weaknesses. We most certainly don't do the grade-based packaged deal that must be completed between September and May at a specific age. When I state my plans for 5th grade, it only means that I have a son who will be 10 in September. :001_smile:

[LisaKinVA]

Our state requires we declare grade levels. The grade levels don't determine what curriculum I may or may not use. I use what they are ready for.

[HomeScholar]

I personally dislike the whole age=grade system of the PS. If the point of going to school is to learn, then a child should be in whatever group he/she is ready for. Insisting only the same aged students can be taught together is nonsense.

 

My DS was skipped 2 grades in PS before we switched to HS so his age/grade didn't match anyway.

 

Right now, if someone asks him his grade, he tells them he attends a skills based private school (HS in CA). That tends to lead to them asking what skill level he is at in math or science, which is more appropriate. If he ever wants to go back to PS we'll probably have to deal with the age/grade issue again, but it's not likely he will.

[abacus2]

:iagree: I consider grades to be equivilant to ages, especially when communicating with others. Much of our curricula isn't grade-based, and my boys have various strengths and weaknesses. We most certainly don't do the grade-based packaged deal that must be completed between September and May at a specific age. When I state my plans for 5th grade, it only means that I have a son who will be 10 in September. :001_smile:

 

:iagree: , only I have girls. :001_smile:

[momto2Cs]

I'm actually trying to get out of the habit. I don't declare it for my annual private school affidavit (I'm in CA0 - I just put ungraded, but it always seems easier to me if the kids have something to say when people ask them, rather than "I don't know" (which has happened btw).

 

My kids' work definitely reflects different levels, some higher, some lower than the "grade" level I call them.

[momto2Cs]

Right now, if someone asks him his grade, he tells them he attends a skills based private school (HS in CA). That tends to lead to them asking what skill level he is at in math or science, which is more appropriate. If he ever wants to go back to PS we'll probably have to deal with the age/grade issue again, but it's not likely he will.

 

I like this idea!

[abrightmom]

Our state requires we declare grade levels. The grade levels don't determine what curriculum I may or may not use. I use what they are ready for.

 

:iagree:

 

Grade levels are needed for church and activities outside the home. Our state considers a child to be entering 1st grade the year they turn 7 before September 1st. So, that's how we "label" the kiddo. I have found that it gives my children some wiggle room developmentally and I like it that way. :001_smile:

[Momof3littles]

I'm in PA where we need to test in certain grade levels. My son would be a 2nd grader based on age. He's doing more advanced work than that. I've debating having him enter as a fourth grader next year (our first reporting year).

 

Our dept of education has info on their site that the "parent sets the grade level" but then has other contradictory info saying "students may not skip grades." This is their interpretation and I can't really find much backing for that at all in the law as written.

 

A mom on a local group was told recently by the dept of ed rep that her DD can't "skip" third grade and report as a fourth grader during their first year of reporting. The mom has a third grade standardized test on file that was completed last year, but does not feel she should have to give it to the district because they were under the age for having to report at the time. HSLDA successfully stepped in a few years ago when one district told a parent they could not have their child skip a grade, and the statement was that the parent sets the grade level.

 

I find it very annoying, to be honest. My eldest does not fit neatly into a box for grade level at all.

[Leav97]

I'm in PA where we need to test in certain grade levels. My son would be a 2nd grader based on age. He's doing more advanced work than that. I've debating having him enter as a fourth grader next year (our first reporting year).

 

Our dept of education has info on their site that the "parent sets the grade level" but then has other contradictory info saying "students may not skip grades." This is their interpretation and I can't really find much backing for that at all in the law as written.

 

A mom on a local group was told recently by the dept of ed rep that her DD can't "skip" third grade and report as a fourth grader during their first year of reporting. The mom has a third grade standardized test on file that was completed last year, but does not feel she should have to give it to the district because they were under the age for having to report at the time. HSLDA successfully stepped in a few years ago when one district told a parent they could not have their child skip a grade, and the statement was that the parent sets the grade level.

 

I find it very annoying, to be honest. My eldest does not fit neatly into a box for grade level at all.

 

I thought they were having a problem in PA where parents were grade skipping past the testing years and then holding a kid back for a year. Basically the kiddo's were in 2nd for a year, then 4th for 2 years, ... The parents were trying to circumvent the testing laws. They were trying out a rule that you could skip to 4th if you wanted but, you still had to take the 3rd grade test first.

 

Someone from PA would have more accurate information.

[buram]

I have told my daughter that she is in Kindergarten because she gets asked by people young and old all the time. She is doing first grade work for most of her subjects but she turned 6 in September so in some states she would be in first grade. Now my second daughter was born in August so they are almost three years apart in age but will be only two years apart in school because the cut off is August 31. This should not bug me because I will let them work at whatever level they are ready for but it still does. I may just tell my youngest that she is in K when she is 6.

[txhomemom]

We have never been worried about grade levels, just keep moving with what curriculum we are using, however, this is easier to do in the younger years. Now that my dd is 13, it is time to get prepared for high school so I do have to worry about grade levels more. If I could go back in time and do everything all over again, I would have made sure to keep more on grade level starting with 6th grade so I could get a better idea of where we were headed.

[Mama Anna]

Dd8 is "in 3rd grade." She misses the local cut-off by 10 days, so she would be in 2nd grade in ps. However, she started reading really early and I was ready to jump right in with schooling her, so she basically began two years early. I figured it didn't matter until I realized her cousin who is 1 year older than her (from the "Homeschooling?:001_huh:" side of the family) was held back to repeat K in a switch between public and private schools. I wanted to avoid any hint of competition, etc., with his parents, so I decided to let her take three years to do the first two years of SOTW and then tagged her grade onto her history level. My decision was helped along by her lack of emotional maturity - she reeaaallly wouldn't work well in 4th grade despite her giant height. Maybe not in 3rd grade in ps. But she's doing 4th grade work in grammar, science, writing, etc. here at home.

 

I find it simpler for her to have a grade to give people so they don't have immediately know we're hs. Of course, she inevitably answers the question, "I'm in third grade, but I'm homeschooled," anyway, so it really doesn't matter . . .

 

Dd5 is "in K." She missed the cut-off by a little over a month, but no one really notices that (she's also really tall) and she's comfortable with the level of work, etc., so I figure it's fine. She loves to tell people her grade!

 

Mama Anna

[2_girls_mommy]

Am I the only one that isn't truly claiming grade levels for my kids? ;) I enjoy reading all the x grade threads but honestly we don't try to cram anything in within a year but seek to find curriculum that fits them where they are and then we progress forward. If we aren't finished by the end of the official "sent to the school board" date of the school year; we continue on next year. I suppose I just prefer to continue on and progress forward until we are ready for the next level of curriculum whether its mid school year this year or halfway into the next school year. We also don't take a summer vacation. We take a more relaxed schedule because all of their cousins are PSed and they love the ability to go on playdates, etc. but we just keep on trucking. Perhaps, I started out this way since we began homeschooling mid "school year" last year and had just purchased curriculum to finish off their "current" years. I use a mixture of grade level works matched to the needs of the individual child. For instance, my oldest is on the fifth grade level of reading but math on 3rd grade level, 4th grade science, 3rd grade spelling... I mean what grade to you "put him in" when you define as such? When asked what grades they are in by strangers I always reply they are homeschooled and name their ages.

 

Well, I call my kids the grade they would be in in P.S. That way in Sunday school or girl scouts and other places that are grade levels, not age levels, they fit in. They wanted that from the beginning, to know what grade they were in.

 

But as far as the work is concerned I do like you. We move at what pace and which level they need. See my list of curric on my sig? We have yet to start the physics study. We were so wrapped up in our Chemistry from last year that we just finished it. So physics was the plan for "4th" grade, and we will get to it this semester. But I don't care that we didn't start it in Aug. We have yet to finish a vol. of SOTW in an official school year term. It takes us a little over a whole year (through the summer) too. We do lite school in the summer, taking most of July off. But we start back full force in August too. I would venture to say that there are more of us like you than you think. We just assign a grade level. The kids text books may have different numbers on them though.

[Momof3littles]

I thought they were having a problem in PA where parents were grade skipping past the testing years and then holding a kid back for a year. Basically the kiddo's were in 2nd for a year, then 4th for 2 years, ... The parents were trying to circumvent the testing laws. They were trying out a rule that you could skip to 4th if you wanted but, you still had to take the 3rd grade test first.

 

Someone from PA would have more accurate information.

typing with toddler underfoot.

I understand what you are saying. My issue is that if you have a child homeschool third grade before they are of mandatory age to report, then why should you be obligated to submit the test score? It comes prior to the child being under mandatory reporting age. If a child transferred into HSing after completing 3rd grade in a private school that didn't participate in standardized testing, I would imagine they can't obligate that child to show test scores. Would that child be forced to redo third grade as a HSer even though they had completed third grade in a private school? I don't think HSing should be singled out.

 

I think the parent should test in third but be permitted to keep those scores private if third grade was prior to the mandated age for reporting.

 

THis is all JMO because I haven't BTDT yet, but it is what I have mulled over in my mind. I am not 100% sure that what I am saying is legally accurate, but it seems unfair to me to say the parent sets the grade but then say there can't be grade skipping.

[Donna]

I teach at whatever level dd needs. When communicating with people I just tell them, "She would be in X grade if she were in school."

 

Most people who ask are just trying to figure out how old she is anyway.

[elegantlion]

We use grade levels based upon age. Ds was in private school for prek and K, so we just continued with those. It's easier for relatives and groups when they ask.

 

His work is all over the board. Even at this age, his skills range all over. Now that we're heading to high school we do think about grade levels more in the admin/testing areas. We haven't had a specific grade level curriculum since 6th grade, however, and that was just one book.