Skipping a grade...your thoughts experiences please...??

Background info - In Australia so- Kindy is a 5 day fortnight - very socially orientated - Starting ages 3.5yrs - 4.5yrs
-Preprimary 5 day, ‘start’ of school Starting ages 4.5 - 5.5
- yr 1, yr 2 etc etc

So my 4yr old has just started kindy and they have discovered his ‘reading’. They did a reading assessment on him and he has a reading age of 8yrs and 9months… of course their first thought is to put him up a grade :tongue: He is also writing at a level beyond his years and LOVES doing simple addition and subtractions.

I just dont really know what to think… This is what we have decided - to finish his kindy year as he is now, then next year go into a preprimary/yr 1 class but probably do most of the yr 1 work… and then the following yr go straight into Yr 2…??

What do you think?? He is not a loud boisterous boy, used to be really shy but just inthe last 6 months or so has really gained some confidence and is starting to be a bit of a leader, has lots of friends, and kids seem to ‘want’ tp be his friend if you Know what I mean…

hmm so many thoughts going through my head… I guess I am after experiences of kids who have skipped a grade, thoughts on when is the best time to move up, if its the best thing at all??

anything at all would be helpful… especially as I have a little girl who is 3 and will go into Kindy next year, and reads at the same if not a higher level than her brother…

Skipping grades is really a tough call. You have to first look at the maturity of your child. Not just what it is your child knows.
Also will he be the youngest in his grade? This seems to be a factor for boys. Especially when they hit the high school years.
I know right now my 4yr old just sees school as easy and fun. She reads well above any of the kids in her preK/K group but she still likes to go.
Also consider that even though he can read above his peers and do math and write there maybe other things that he hasn’t done yet.
Are they not able to accomidate the fact he reads well? Instead of bumping him up a grade just give him work he can do.

My daughter attend a Catholic school and they are one of few schools in the US that actually accomidate the children at their reading and math levels. For example if they have a 1st grader that can read at a 3rd grade level. They put that child in the class during reading. Then they go back to their 1st grade class when they are finished. And for example if they have a 3rd grader that struggles with math and needs to be with the 1st graders they let them leave for that class and return. They have the children work together in science and history at their original grade level. Remember that the older they are the more difficult the work becomes and they need that maturity to accomplish it.

I’m not telling you not to. But its really something to to really think about because most adults I’ve read about that have attended brick and mortar school and have skipped grades , didn’t struggle with their work but they really struggled with the social aspect of being the youngest in the group.
Now if you homeschooled that is a totally different story and I’d tell you to work at whatever level he works with.

I know with my 4yr old we do extra stuff here at home.

You might check out thewelltrainedmind.com forums under accerated learners. I know they have had this discussion there and it is very thoughtful with lots of studies cited.

Hi Mummamia,

Is there any chance your son could go into a reception/1/2 class. That way you get the best of both worlds. You can see how your son copes with the eception work if he gets bored or not but he also gets a chance to make friends with the older kids. If you feel he is able to ‘hold his own’ with the older kids than you might be more comfortable putting him up a grade.

I understand that there are other implications such as all of his older friends getting there drivers license first in high school being able to go to clubs before he does and other social things that come with turning a certain age rather than maturity. I know in the grand scheme of things they aren’t that important but at the time and especially in a teenagers mind it is but in saying that if he is going to be bored out of his brain I think that is worse becuase he may lose his interest in learning all together.

Kim xx

We were in a similar situation with an older dd. We chose not to put her ahead. We were concerned about her being mature enough as she got into the older grades. I really want her to be a leader, not a follower & the extra year of maturity really helped her in that regard. She finds school work very easy & it gives her more time to focus on other areas. She almost never has home work, leaving her time to pursue other interests. It is always a very individual decision, but we are very happy with our decision not to skip her ahead.

I would think about looking to put him in a blended class of the year he’ll be in next year and the next grade up so that he has a chance to ‘feel things out’ so to speak. You’ll see how he handles the course load (for both levels) and how he socializes and how he is received by the ‘big kids’ etc. You can talk to the teachers and get their opinions throughout the year.

I think that I would continue to actively home school, or after school him at home for various academics and let him stay where he is happiest at socially. Do you plan for him to receive a public education or to home school him sometime later?

If your going to pull him later for homeschooling I think I’d go with his advanced grade if its an option…

Hi there!

I skipped a grade, when I was a child. My mother thought me to read and write before school, so it was really easy for me the first few years. When I finished second grade, I made a test and could skip into the 4. grade. For me it was a desaster! Really… unfortunately.

I always was smaller and shyer than my classmates, but along the first two years I managed to have a few really good friends at school. For me skipping a grade brought nothing but much pain. The other children were not only one year older then me, but also more mature and a loooot bigger. I had difficulties to find friends.

Later on we moved to an other county and because I didn’t know the language, I did the 6. schoolyear twice. So in the end I didn’t “win” anything.

A more positive example: my sister also skipped a class, she went from 1. grade directy in 3. For her it was ok.

Hi,
my elder one grade from 6th to 8th,but he is old enough to adjust with other students. If u have any Montessori school nearby they put the child according to their mental ability and age.please check the schools especially ur child should enjoy and they should not feel bore in their subject.Finally child should have happy schooling.

Good Day, I have a 7 year old boy who did not make our education cut off by 9 days. So if he were in public school he would be grade 1. He was moved up one grade at his private school and doing year 3 work… The good thing is that they work to their ability and do not hold the children back. At the moment he is working on fractions (adding , subtracting, multiplying , etc) pre-algebra, long division, for reading he is doing 5th/6th grade spelling and reading comp. They once again placed him up a grade and now he is in 4th grade. This school is NOT the norm … My child loves school, is always challenged and is thought to think outside of the box. If I did not have this school I would choose to homeschool him. I know everyone does not have the choice to homeschool but here in Florida there are just so many resources and support :slight_smile: I wish you all the best in your journey …

There are so many many things to consider when it comes to skipping a grade.

We all want our children to enjoy learning and being in a situation where everything is too easy is not a great start to enjoying the learning experience.

I’m talking from personal experience here as my parents decided that extra curricula activities would be of more benefit than skipping a grade or two at school. In many ways their decision worked out fantastically - I have many many skills in areas I am passionate about and the only reason I was able to do all of these is because school was so easy for me.

Having said that I never had any respect for education - in the school sense. It bored me senseless I felt I could do it all in a quarter of the time myself and have more time for more important things. Self education and my extra curricula activities were met with extreme discipline, stick-to-it-iveness, joy, passion and appreciativeness of the opportunity.

I hated, even dreaded, school. I had trouble conversing with the kids in my classes and by high school was tending to hang out with much older children and even teachers. My social skills suffered as a direct result of having no one in my classes who enjoyed what I enjoyed or understood what I understood. I played up in class and was almost constantly in trouble until I finally swapped to the public school system and was put into the gifted and talented and talent development programs. Unfortunately I was well into highschool by this point and never really learned to enjoy the classroom.

Had I been put ahead academically to a level that would have challenged me and with kids who were thinking at the same level as me I may have enjoyed school a lot more and had less trouble socialising as I grew up. I still would have coped with the extra curricula because I was naturally bright.

I believe if you are truly gifted (not just well coached and tutored) then you need to be with other children who think at your level.

So the things to consider, I guess, come down to what you know of your child…are they ahead because you have done amazing things and given them a great educational headstart or is he also thinking at a level above his age? Reasoning skills and conversation levels and imagination levels are all things you should take into account.

He does read and write well and does maths well but how are his gross motor skills? Did you also do the physically superb program? What kids does he like to play with children his own age or older children? Is he a leader or a follower - personally I would be reticent to put a follower ahead I’d let their achievement levels that will come from being ahead help them gain confidence and learn leadership skills. However if they naturally play and converse well and hold their own with older children then put them ahead in a place where they will be with children at their level.

Another thing to consider is when they skip a grade. Better sooner than later. Skipping kindy or year one is one thing but skipping year 8 is another. I’ve seen talented dancers skip grades and as a result end up with patchy dance education because every grade in the syllabus is designed to teach the foundations for the following grade. It is the same in school curricula. A friend’s brother skipped year 8 because he was talented but had as a result not been taught some of the work that you needed to know before your learned the year nine work so he ended up having to do double the work sometimes to fill in the gaps. Far better I think that they work at the right level from the beginning. Being able to cope cognitively with the concepts of the work is not the same as having good foundations laid for doing the work.

Good luck with it :wink:

Well,

I am daughter of a principal and when my yongest sister was in time to start the regular school, the laws in my country acepted to begin earlier if the parents wanted, then, as my sister was just reading she began one year before the usual, so in her case, I think she was imature to all that was presented for her, but it doesn´t mean that in your case will be the same, the minds are diferent and depend on your concepts. Analyse and good luck.