If your child is working ahead, do you....

[Coffeetime]

... officially advance their grade level?

My DD is working some 2nd and some 3rd grade work this year. As we've gone through the year, we've realized that most everything she's doing is completely below her skill level and is absolutely boring her. She's just not being challenged. I knew she was advanced, but I didn't realize to what extent.

So next year, I will be advancing her to 4th grade, at least.

If you have a child working at least 1 grade level ahead, do you officially "call" them that grade, or do you "call" them the grade they *should* be in? I am hesitant to have her skip grades... mainly because I don't want to put undue pressure on her to feel like she always has to be ahead. KWIM? Thoughts?

[Embassy]

No, their grade level matches their age. Their work level matches their ability. I do not want my children to graduate before they turn 18.

[Donna]

Nope. I call dd the age she'd be if in school and she works at whatever level she needs.

 

Anyone asking what grade she's in is usually just wanting to know how old she is anyway.

[nova147]

I agree with the previous posts . . . but DS7 is in 2nd this year, despite the fact that he would be in 1st if he was in PS. He has an early October birthday and we live in a state with at September 1 cutoff. We we decided to homeschool, we started him in K the year before the school would have let him begin K. So, he's a 2nd grader, because this is his third year of school. (Ok, apparently I'm feeling wordy.)

[boscopup]

No, their grade level matches their age. Their work level matches their ability. I do not want my children to graduate before they turn 18.

 

:iagree: Though I'm willing to let my kids graduate early if that is the right thing for that child. I can't make that decision when they're young elementary though. My oldest is mature enough that I'll bet he'd be fine graduating a year or two early. My middle son... Let's just say I'm glad he has a November birthday. :lol: Though if he is really mature and advances greatly later on, I would be ok with bumping him up one level since he's reasonably close to the cutoff (Sept. 1).

 

DS1 is doing 4th grade math, reading at middle school level, 3rd grade grammar (and it's easy at this level - he could have easily done FLL4), 2nd grade writing. If I had to pinpoint a general working level, I'd probably say 3rd grade (and if I test him this year, I'm going to use the 3rd grade ITBS). But he's definitely "2nd grade". He knows what levels he's working in, and he knows that those levels have nothing to do with what grade he's in.

[Dmmetler]

No, but DD is officially 1 year ahead of her age-grade because her former school moved her into K when they felt she was too advanced for preschool. I don't plan to grade skip her any further.

[acurtis75]

DD would be in 1st grade if she were in public school and we generally put her down on official forms (like the spelling bee enrollment) as a 1st grader. She generally tells people she's in 2nd grade because she goes to 2nd grade classes at church and because well over a year ago she saw "2nd grade" on some materials I printed for a lesson. When we first visited the church we now attend they put her with her friend who is in 2nd grade and we never changed her back to 1st. She fits in well socially with that group and it's still very easy for her (.i.e. she's finished 2 books in AWANA class in the time most kids are almost finishing 1).

 

Actual work level is probably somewhere between 3rd and 5th depending on the subject.

[Grover]

It depends on what it's for. At home we don't call him any level at all. For the free dental service (which runs from year 1 to year 13) he's year 1, which is where he'd be at school. For the science group he wants to attend which is right up his alley but only takes kids year 4 or higher, he's year 4. For his maths competition that you have to be year 3 for, he's year 3. Lol... if you ask him he'll say "I'm five".

[blondeviolin]

I often hear Abby telling friends: "My mom says I'm in kindergarten, but really I'm in grade one." (She has that notion because she plays--for fun--an iPad app labeled first grade.)

[JenneinCA]

No.

 

Officially my kids are in 'ungraded secondary' and 'ungraded elementary' because I can do that on the form I fill out for the state of California. Unofficially I call them by the grade they would be in if they were in public school because when people ask for grade, it isn't usually a question of academic ability it is a question of age and social skills.

 

My ds7 is a seven year old who happens to work at a higher level in some academic subjects. He is still emotionally and socially seven. Same thing for my older kids.

 

In fact my dd13 refuses to do classes with a particular online provider because they do not sort by age. Life experience counts. She does not want to have a literature class with a six year old no matter how smart they might be. BTDT, she won't do it again.

[lmrich]

no - I want her around other 4th graders for dance etc.. It just get confusing if she says she is in 5th grade and in 4th grade Sunday school.

[AK_Mom4]

No - DD10 is listed as a 5th grader on all paperwork. Doesn't matter that she doesn't have any "5th grade" books. We want her grouped with kids the same age when she is involved in activities where they ask for grade.

[GoVanGogh]

No, their grade level matches their age. Their work level matches their ability

:iagree:

I do anticipate that DS will go to college early, though, because we have several good local options available to us.

[SunnyDays]

Not at this point. I could easily count my son as a 5th grader next year instead of 4th, but I want him to be with his age mates in church programs, art classes, and sports programs. As others have said, he may end up graduating early or doing college work in high school, but I'm not ready to make any decisions about that yet. Plus I just want him to enjoy being a kid.

[Mergath]

Nope. Most of what dd is doing is K level work, but I'm pretty sure that if I tell anyone we homeschool our three and a half year old and that she's in Kindergarten, they'll laugh us out of the room. ;) I just call her a preschooler. Seems more accurate, regardless of her academic level.

[Tarreymere]

We go with the age grade also. We don't have any community colleges in our area and I certainly don't want to think about any of my drama kids ending up in a college dorm before the age of at least eighteen. There is plenty of material to use to continue with home education until then, IMHO. IF we had a decent CC or other option for higher level study available to us or if any of the dc had solid plans I would certainly reconsider.

[LittleIzumi]

Yes, but mainly because her birthday is just after the cutoff so I really just bumped her up to her age peers. Even that was mostly because I wanted to put dd in a specific charter school at a closer grade to her ability (which bombed anyway).

[go_go_gadget]

I used to refer to their grade level as the average that they were working on (so I called my son a second-grader at the beginning of this school year and my daughter a first grader), though they're registered with our charter school as first and K, respectively. My son's all but finished all the second grade curricula and has started third in most of them, though, and he's still six. So to save confusion, I now just say they're in the grades they're registered for. I always referred to those grades when people asked, but when discussing them in a purely academic sense I would use the grades they were working on. But now I just stick with the one grade level until the school year refreshes.

[Coffeetime]

Thank you all for your replies! It sounds like my instincts were pretty much in line with what you all do.

[2smartones]

It depends on what it's for. At home we don't call him any level at all. For the free dental service (which runs from year 1 to year 13) he's year 1, which is where he'd be at school. For the science group he wants to attend which is right up his alley but only takes kids year 4 or higher, he's year 4. For his maths competition that you have to be year 3 for, he's year 3. Lol... if you ask him he'll say "I'm five".

 

This is the same philosophy I use. At home it's "I'm in ___ grade" based on how long they've been schooling and their weakest subject's level, but outside the home, it varies based on the activity in question. Social skills, motor skills, physical size, etc. sometimes hold more weight in a decision than intellectual ability does.

[Mommy2BeautifulGirls]

My oldest is one year ahead. We started her at 3-1/2, so if you count the years she's been in school, she should be two years ahead. But I called her 1st grade for two years. :)

[JeanM]

Until now we've been calling dc by their grade according to their age. They do music classes at the public school, and they participate in the age-appropriate grades there.

[GoVanGogh]

I tend to not even look at grade level and, more often than not, refer to what we are doing as "Year ..." instead. (AO uses years, not grades.)

 

But I have always heard the argument about keeping them officially listed for the correct grade, as so many outside activities go by grade. It had never applied to us, as most of our outside activities go by age, not grade. But then DS decided to play a team sport this past year and I had to list him by grade for the first time ever. Oh, my. :001_huh:

Red-shirting (holding back boys a year) is very common in our public school system. We found out later that many of the boys playing as fourth-graders were actually a year older and had been held back going into kindergarten and would technically be fifth-grader. Some of the match-ups were so uneven, based on size/age of the players.

I really doubt we will ever do another contact sport that is done by grade and not age. :tongue_smilie:

[SorrelZG]

I no longer use grade level for anything besides official registration purposes and that I base on age (whatever grade he'd be in based on age in our state).

[KAR120C]

If you have a child working at least 1 grade level ahead, do you officially "call" them that grade, or do you "call" them the grade they *should* be in? I am hesitant to have her skip grades... mainly because I don't want to put undue pressure on her to feel like she always has to be ahead. KWIM? Thoughts?

It's a perennial question, and there's no perfect answer that fits everyone.

 

My rules of thumb (to be taken with a hefty does of YMMV) are:

 

1. If you can get away with not declaring a grade, I would. With a little mismatch it's not a huge deal anyway, but with a big mismatch it just becomes more and more obvious that a neat little box isn't going to work, even if it's a higher-grade box.

 

2. If you can reasonably keep a kid at their age peers' grade, I would. A year or even two accelerated isn't out of the range of normal variability in a group of kids of the same age. Especially if the acceleration isn't across-the-board with all subjects, some variability is expected, some kids will be working ahead and some will be struggling (and some will be doing both to different extents...) which goes back to #1 and my point that grades aren't really the neat little boxes we'd like them to be.

 

3. If you can put off the decision, I would. Things change, priorities change, options change... it's hard to commit to something at 1st grade that can have ripples all the way to college.

 

4. If you don't get something for the grade change, I wouldn't do it. The "something" could be access to programs, more appropriate placement, etc. Be aware that claiming a grade skip might not fly with everyone - there could still be age cutoffs. It's worth looking into before you make a change.

 

5. Even in the shorter term, there are some downsides to accelerating. If your kid is interested (or may later become interested) in competitions, the higher grade may put them at a disadvantage. Kids competing in MathCounts, for instance, have to be in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Once you've started as a 6th grader (no matter what age that is) you're locked into a three-year window. There's no re-adjusting at that point. And you're up against kids who while they are enrolled in those grades, are likely working well ahead in math at least. So a 9 year old working at the level of an average 6th grader will be at a huge disadvantage against 12 year old 6th graders who are themselves working well beyond 6th grade level. I wouldn't make my decision solely on the basis of this of course, but it's worth looking into so you're not blindsided later on.

 

6. Be prepared to stick with the one grade level. It may never come up, but if it did, especially in competitions, it could be awkward at best, and result in disqualification at worst. So if you're a 6th grader for MathCounts, better to also be a 6th grader for spelling bees and science fairs.

 

With all this said, we did "skip" a grade with DS. It didn't change anything in our day to day work (and didn't open a lot of doors for outside classes or anything). In our case it was primarily a matter of competitions. Generally no one minds a kid playing "up", but in a few cases the grade had to be declared to match the groupings. So when he was 7 we declared him a 3rd grader, and we have maintained that skip since then. He's considering private high school in the next couple years, and we may "undo" the skip at that point. Or we may not. We'll see what the options are, and what the school we end up with prefers.

[Beth in SW WA]

I no longer use grade level for anything besides official registration purposes and that I base on age (whatever grade he'd be in based on age in our state).

 

Same here. Going by age is best. Dd8 fits right in with most of her same-age peers. She prefers friends who are 2 years or so older (since she doesn't like loud noises). Little people tend to be too loud for her. But that's another story...

[Crimson Wife]

I wouldn't have the foggiest notion what to call my kids if I had to pick a single grade by level rather than age. They are so asynchronous! The physical writing output would be the biggest issue.

 

DD will be using some high school curricula next year but I'm having to heavily modify them because while the content is fine, she's nowhere near being able to produce the kind of written output required. I'm listing them as honors middle school courses rather than as high school courses for that reason.

[Runningmom80]

At home he's in no grade, in public he is skipped one year, but he has a November bday, so it isn't even a full year. :001_smile:

[nitascool]

I have mixed feelings about grade skipping. We chose not to grade skip our boys but rather to go through each grade level at an accelerated pace in relation to academics. For state purposes the children are at the grade level they would be if they were typical children (except dd).

 

If my oldest were in PS he would have necessitated at least 3 grade skips. First he would have been allowed early entrance into school at age 3 and skipping K. He was accepted into a science/math magnet PS for 1st after testing at age 3.2 years. The state we lived in at the time had no min. age requirement but did have a vigorous entrance exam. He tested 3rd grade but we were told that a child could only grade skip one year when entering the school system.

 

At 6 he tested and was asked to enter 4th grade at a different magnet PS for highly gifted children, but he had already completed the level of work being offered for the 6th graders at that school.

 

We then moved to another state and was told that he would have to enter at Level K if he were to go into PS. At 9 ds had completed the equivalent of what our local PS is teaching 9th grade honor students in all areas except for math.

 

We have had many issues with age/grade related situations. Obviously academic situations have been an issue, but so have more social situations... such as interest based clubs, church and library activities and sports weather using age/grade or actual level ds usually does not fit well into group settings. Multi-age groups work best for him.

 

My second ds is 2e so his output/input ratios are mismatched making any grade inappropriate for him. His output is at least a year below his age grade while his input levels very between 5th grade in Math and College levels in Science. If he were in PS he would have to have an IEP and aide. When tested at 5 for K entrance we were told that he would have to go into a special education Preschool and likely do two years of PreK after that. He was reading on a 4th grade level and doing 3 digit multiplication in his head at the time but could not draw a line or stand on one foot.

 

My 3rd ds's birthday is in Sept. so he would be the oldest for grade (entering K at age 6). At age 5 he tested at 3rd grade level. The state allows early entrance into K as long as the child will turn 5 during that school year. So ds would have had to go into K even though he was doing 3rd grade work. Our district does not allow the skipping of 1st grade. So he would be in 2nd this year if in PS (if we would have skipped) but would skip 3rd and go into 4th next year.

 

My dd will be 5 in April. She qualified for early entrance into Kindergarten. At the beginning of this PS year dd was already able to do all things in the K curriculum that our local PS uses. She fits best socially with children her age at this time... but like her brothers is often perplexed at the lower vocabulary skills of her peers. She has already begun to "dumb herself down" (as ds11 calls it) to better relate to her age mates.

 

We have tried grade skipping for non-academic group activities and have tried to stay withing grade/age neither have worked out very well for any of our children. Ds11 has finally found art classes that almost fit. Ds10 has found Karate to be a good fit as there are children as young as 4 and adults of 40 in his class. Ds7 does best at age/grade because he hides his abilities in favor of fun. Dd4 is fine if she has a friend in whatever group she's in... but she is usually consigned to not learning anything new in a group setting weather it be church or ballet.

[MissKNG]

Next fall, I'll have to report to the state so my big girl will be officially a 1st grader. I call her a 1st grader now because I made the *mistake* of calling last year K and she complained when I tried to call this year K as well. She told me that it "didn't make sense".:lol:

 

Handwriting is the only area where she is not working ahead.

Edited March 3, 2012 by MissKNG