Transition Year - WWYD?

[arcara]

Hi,

 

I've been planning to have my oldest dd start 9th grade in the fall. She has an early Sept birthday and will only be 14. She's very smart and mature, but I wonder if I should give her one more year before high school. I don't want to hold her back just because I want to keep her another year, but I wonder if I should just give her more time before she has to go out into the world. She doesn't have any plans for the future yet.

 

Here's what she has just finished for this school year to give you an idea where she is academically:

 

AoPS Intro to Algebra

AG Season 3

IEW SWI B

Physical Science

Modern world history

Second Form Latin

 

Here's what I have planned for next year:

AoPS Geometry & Intermediate Alg (alternate days)

AG high school review

WttW

TEE

Biology with Kolbe's LP

Ancient history or geography

Third Form Latin

Italian

 

Thoughts?

Thanks so much!

[8filltheheart]

What does she think?   Our rising 10th grader has a late Sept birthday.   We lived in a state with a Sept 1st cut-off when she was K age.   She also has a congenital heart defect that we thought at the time was going to require surgery around the age of 12.  So, we made the decision back then to keep according to state guidelines, especially if she might fall behind due to health issues.

 

Fast forward to today.   Her heart is doing great.   She is very advanced.   Near the beginning of this yr she asked if she could skip forward a yr.   But, by the middle of the yr she decided she was happy staying in 9th grade.   She has so many things she wants to study and losing a yr would put a serious cramp in her exploring less traditional sequence topics.

 

I would not hold a strong student back unless it was their idea.   

[regentrude]

Why do you need to make a decision now? Your student looks academically strong. I would simply continue where she is with her coursework, keep meticulous records, and postpone the decision whether this is "9th grade" or "transition year". You do not have to decide yet; the hard date to decide is when to declare Junior year for the PSAT. I'd keep the options open and ultimately let the student decide. She may not have goals yet, but she may have a definite opinion two years from now.

[SkateLeft]

I personally don't believe in "holding a child back" just because of their age. My older three all have late birthdays. If they're capable of doing the work, I don't see any reason to retain them on paper.

[Ellie]

You're not making a decision about her forever life. You're just making a decision about what she can handle academically. Can she do what you listed? If so, then do it. If not, modify it. In any case, if she would be "in ninth grade" in the fall at the local public school, then that should be her Official Grade.

[kiana]

I would not hold her back on paper at this point. Her 8th grade looks strong and her 9th grade is definitely competitive.

 

As regentrude says, if she gets towards the end of her sophomore year and would really like an extra year, you can alter it then.

 

Also as 8fill says, I wouldn't hold her back unless SHE strongly wanted to take the extra year.

[arcara]

Thanks everyone! I think I'll talk to my daughter and let her know that the possibility exists of taking an extra year at some point if she chooses. I can just adjust her transcript to reflect her last four years.