Stories of Acceleration

Parents and educators have shared comments about the Templeton report A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, the report that eventually led to the formation of IRPA. Many of these comments refer to personal experiences with academic acceleration. We invite you to read these comments here in addition to the Stories of Acceleration below.

Numerous case studies of acceleration have appeared in gifted education publications. For a list of articles and abstracts through 2004, click here: Nation Deceived - Case Studies (pdf). For a 2006 case study of two accelerates, click here: Muratori - Case Study (pdf).

Ohio has been a national leader on acceleration reform. The Ohio Department of Education website has 7 stories of acceleration that can be accessed here.

I am the parent of three gifted children, the oldest of whom has been accelerated in two ways. First, our public school system has a mentoring program for highly gifted students which allows one hour per day with a qualified mentor. My daughter has had a mentor in language arts beginning in second grade and it has been a terrific experience. We struggled throughout elementary school with the non-mentor hours of the day, though. Although language arts is her strongest area, she is just all-around quick so that her other subjects moved too slowly as well. She has consistently been against a full grade acceleration and I have respected her opinion about that. This year, however, she started middle school and found more of the same, particularly in math. She has been in differentiated math classes since 2nd grade but we really found that 6th grade diff math was involving a lot of repetition of material that had been covered in 5th grade. I began advocating for her to skip to 7th grade math in October. I met with considerable resistance and defensiveness from her teachers. Finally, with help from our District's Gifted Program Chair, I was able to get her tested for adequate yearly progress and then moved to 7th grade math. It is working out great for her- she's still easily the top of the class but she's learning new material and even needed to ask me for further explanation of a concept the other day! This track will have her taking Algebra next year, in 7th grade which is two years ahead of the usual schedule (the diff class she was in was already a one year acceleration of the schedule). She will take calculus in 11th grade. She has a summer birthday and started school just after turning 5 and so is currently 11 years old.

Parent in Nebraska
1/29/08

Our son has accelerated six grades and loves it. It certainly takes a combination of both academic and social giftedness to accelerate so much, but in the end there is not much of an alternative. After skipping third grade, he went on to complete fifth, but then skipped ahead quite a bit. He supplemented high school with part-time community college classes for a year, but then was released from the school district and attended community college full time. He just turned 14 last month, has a 4.0 GPA in college, and he will earn his AA degree in May 2007. He has already been accepted to UC Irvine as a junior transfer student for Fall 2008, and he has applied to other top schools as well. More difficult than grade skipping has been our son's disability: severe dysgraphia. Using a laptop to take notes and written exams has alleviated much of the difficulty, but pre-calculus and honors calculus required a scribe for all in class work, quizzes, and exams which the college provided. All future math and physics classes will require the same, and learning orally without the ability to write your own work is certainly a disadvantage to overcome. Nonetheless, he has a great attitude about it and continues to thrive. While he enjoys the advanced material, he is not one to study much and does the minimum to get by. He spends most of his free time playing with friends, playing the piano, or reading. His neighborhood friends are all his same age, plus or minus a year or two. Only recently has he started to wish he could have a more same level friendship with some college buddies: primarily to work on elaborate projects too advanced for his neighborhood friends. While we have offered many alternatives to acceleration for him, including remaining at community college another year, he has turned them down. Only in college has all of his frustrations been assuaged and his passions allowed to show. It is hard to hold back gifted kids. Even though we would not pay for piano lessons, he practiced hours a day and taught himself how to play. People think that parents push gifted kids, but the kids are the ones pushing the parents to enroll them in every learning opportunity available. In a school system which ranks so poorly against other nations and is not friendly to the gifted, acceleration is the only choice. The key to success is not just high intelligence, but advanced social maturity as well.

David Ehrenberg, Parent
Irvine, CA
12/02/07

My son was accelerated into First grade about halfway through Kindergarten. I identified that this might be the best path for him after reading a book recommended by his gifted teacher called Genius Denied. I received the book for Christmas and in February, my husband and I began talks with his gifted teacher about accelerating him. He attends a public school in a district with a pull-out program for exceptionally gifted children (top 1% in the testing they give them).

The school had experienced other children who had accelerated, children who perhaps should not have been, for they did not do very well. This soured the teachers and principal on acceleration since they had never seen it work out very well. In addition, my son was very young for his grade, not turning 6 until mid-May (we have an Aug 1 cut-off). I really REALLY felt that the earlier we could do this, the better it would be for my boy and our gifted teacher agreed. She had an idea and proposed it to us.

It was not unusual for gifted readers or math students to leave their classes at reading time (or math time) and attend the next grade level up for reading or math at a more accelerated level. The gifted teacher suggested that if the reading was going well in first grade after a week or so, then perhaps he could attend that class whenever reading was taking place, even if it was not his group's turn for "reading." In this way, he would be participating in the other activities that the first graders do every day, but not REALLY be in their class. After 2 weeks of that, we would meet with the principal, first grade teacher and gifted teacher and discuss how he was fitting in. If he seemed to be adjusting nicely, then at that point we could move him into first grade. If he was not, we could just continue with the accelerated reading and perhaps add math.

Well no surprise to us, he fit in nicely with the older kids and they actually enjoyed having him in class. He was still reading beyond almost all of the other kids in that class (there was one other exceptional reader), but we felt that just one level of acceleration was best in his case. We moved him into First grade and at the request of the kindergarten teacher, my son and I went into that class to explain why he was changing from Kindergarten to First Grade. We took great pains to explain that he was doing the work of a first grader and that he was in that class all the time anyway. We were sure not to emphasize "smartness" as the reason he moved. Certainly the children inferred that for themselves, but with us explaining it the way we did, no one felt dumb. He is still friends with the kids in that class today, now in Fourth Grade.

At first, our son was very upset that when birthdays would happen, classmates would be turning an age that was so much older that he was. I reminded him that even if he had stayed in his old class he would still have been youngest. Someone has to be. I also asked him to think about how weird it feels to be the child turning a year OLDER than everyone else, as one child did. We see many more kids entering Kindergarten later so that they will be more mature and will be more successful in class since they will be older. No fun to be turning 8 in first grade though, when everyone else is turning 7. My son was surprised thinking about that and ever since, age has ceased to be an issue.

We did agonize over this choice when we thought of our sweet little boy graduating High School just barely having turned 17. He will be so young when he goes off to college. Our gifted teacher pointed out to us that most of her kids end up wanting post-graduate degrees so the earlier you can get started on that, the better. Indeed, my husband, who is a surgeon, told me of his complaints when he was in his 20's that it seemed he would be all OLD by the time he finally finished medical school and residency. So, we decided it was better for him to not be bored and lose interest NOW and that we would just have to handle possible future issues as they come. IF they come.

Other children have followed this model since to success at both ends. One friend's child started attending second grade for reading and spelling but really hated it. Found it too challenging and his parents realized he was not a candidate for acceleration. But another child who came along the next year, was very much like my son and so was quickly identified as a possible candidate for acceleration. It went well for her, and she is currently thriving in third grade.

I recommend asking the school for a small step first, they way our teacher recommended, to ease your school into the idea of "breaking the rules" for your child. Schools HATE breaking rules, in general. If you can keep that in mind and kind of soothe them as you still do what is best for your child, you might have an easier time. At least it is something to TRY anyway. :)

Kappy Hodges, Mom
St. Joseph, MO
11/11/07

My story isn't about a child I know, but rather about myself. I was a gifted child, but if anyone else was aware of that fact, I was never informed. I was, however, outperforming my classmates all throughout school, scoring as low as the 97th percentile and as high as the 99th percentile in standardized testing, and constantly being talked down to by teachers (and my parents) for being too sensitive emotionally.

School (elementary through high school) was hell for me. I had trouble identifying with my peers and got along better with the people who were old enough to understand me intellectually or young enough to understand me emotionally. Teachers were either frustrated by my learning the subject faster than my peers needed to go at or were so pleased by learning ability that they'd spend more time trying to challenge me than making sure my peers didn't fall behind (which further alienated me from them).

While there was a special needs teacher, the only time I was ever placed in a program that recognized I was above average, it was for seventh-grade math (my lowest scoring subject on the standardized tests) and the special needs teacher was busy trying to teach the below-average students. I was left to play games on a computer the whole period provided I finished the same math homework my peers were doing. Obviously, it did no good and no further attempts were made.

It wasn't until I hit college and was allowed to test out of most of the freshman level courses that I was finally challenged. Even then, I tended to pull easy As with minimal studying - I never did learn proper study habits. And now I'm an adult who feels like she got gyped in the long run.

Gifted adult in Greeley, CO
11/05/07

I have taught high school at two larger districts in this state, and my experiences at both have been largely negative when it comes to acceleration. Among teachers, the prevailing argument is that younger students (especially girls, which is another issue), do not belong in classes with older students. It's harmful to the younger student--I guess because of the influences of the older ones--and it's demeaning to the older students.

Among administrators (and not just principals), the prevailing argument tends to fall along the lines of, "If we do this for your child, then all of the parents will want the same thing for their children, and there is no way that we can effectively deny everyone's requests." Of course this is incorrect: there are standardized tests in place to determine a child's readiness for acceleration. Any parent can certainly request to have their children take these tests; administrators simply needs to be ready to tell parents no when their children don't qualify.

It is an uphill battle to advocate for gifted children, but it is not a futile one. The trick for me is to walk the fine line between recognizing the general ed. classroom teacher's needs and recognizing the need of the child. I find that working on behalf of one child at a time has been much more beneficial, though certainly slow-going, than advocating for a group of children. One day, one child at a time, I hope that teachers and administrators will slowly break down some of their barriers.

For parents, I recommend finding a strong, sympathetic teacher, counselor, and/or administrator who will help you through. The easiest way to do this is to visit your child's school and feel out the teachers. Unfortunately for many parents, it's been my experience that the parents who expect immediate results will encounter the strongest resistance. Here's my bit of Zen-like wisdom: be like the stream flowing through rocks; you will be the stronger one in the end!

Teacher in Iowa
10/12/07

My child is currently an 11 year old in 7th grade (who was accelerated one full year) who also takes Geometry Honors at the High school with 9th graders. The decision to accelerate was made by forward thinking central office administrators who were willing to look at the individual child rather than "how it would be looked at by other parents and teachers". I believe that the consideration of acceleration was made as a result of my providing a copy of "A Nation Deceived" to the School superintendent.

I constantly hear from teachers how surprised they are that my child socially copes with the Middle School (and High School) experience. They have not had this experience seeing other kids being accelerated and I hope because it has been working out positively with my child the option would be available for other children who would also benefit from acceleration either by a grade or subject-matter.

Despite my efforts, I have still not seen a new school board policy for acceleration which includes the options given to my child but I have been told these are "being worked on". I hope you can get the publicity you need to spread the word that acceleration is a viable option for kids who need the challenge to keep learning. Thank you for all your efforts on behalf of these kids.

Parent in NJ
10/11/2007

We live in Canada and have a nine year old son who is on the Minister's list of gifted children, and went through the drama of having to decide whether or not to accelerate him a couple years ago. Upon our insistence, he was moved from grade 2 to grade 3 at spring break and following the completion of that school year he/we decided to continue his education in a home-based environment to try and rekindle his interest and enthusiasm for learning. It seems to have worked and he recently enrolled back into the same public school, this year in grade five. We will take one year at a time with regards to future decisions on his education, and feel fortunate to live in a jurisdiction (i.e. British Columbia as education is primarily a provincial responsibility in Canada) which allows flexibility in terms of how education is delivered. There are excellent online supports available to ensure that our home-schooled curriculum and content met government standards and prescribed learning outcomes so re-entry into public school is easily accommodated.

Good luck with your work - I have also requested a hard copy of the study and will share this with our peers in the gifted and education community.

Parent in Canada
10/11/2007

I have witnessed acceleration in a few forms. First, as a fourth grader in an enriched reading group with four other children. We would be called out of class to go discuss fantastic books like Bridge to Tarabithia. We would all sit on the floor of the teacher's office (pretty cramped in there, actually) and chat about the book, and sometimes to brain puzzles.

This teacher seemed magical to me. She was so smart! She knew everything! And she cared so much about us, but she wasn't mushy and motherly like the other teachers, she was serious and professional. I liked that about her. It made me take myself more seriously and inspired me to have higher personal standards.

But acceleration wasn't always an inspiration. In fifth grade, I was put into the advanced math class. At first, I understood the concepts. But soon, it was overwhelming. I didn't ask for help from my mother, because I felt too old to do that. So, I made a C average by mid-term time and was told that I had to go back to the "normal" class. How embarrasing! Back with the normal kids? They'll all know what a failure I am!

I got over it. I kept pressing myself to do better, so I continued attempting (with no success!) advanced math courses through middle school and high school. I took AP English (but got kicked out because I didn't do the summer reading). I played the violin; I became a great painter; I was in community theater; I taught myself guitar; learned fiddle music; joined a rock band; dropped out of highschool to live with my 26 year old boyfriend!

Finally, after attempting to juggle rock n' roll with college (and failing!), then becoming first a violin repair person, a violin teacher, an arts administrator, and a mother (!), I decided to become a school teacher. I returned to college almost 10 years after my first try with greater ambition and wisdom, not to mention time-management and study skills.

I also have a passion for my mission:

Provide service to gifted students so that they feel compelled to stay in school, and make the school their second home. Be sensitive to the unique emotional issues that come with being gifted. Provide gifted kids mentors and personal inspiration. Be honest with them about how the world works and what careers they might have. Care for them as if they were your own children.

I am still inspired by this teacher, and I hope that someday we'll meet again. Gifted adults need mentors, too.

Parent and student in Maryland
10/11/2007

Last year, in first grade, my daughter transferred to our local public school from an area parochial school. At the parochial school she was subject accelerated for reading and spelling. If she had stayed, we were assured that she would also be sent up to the next grade the following year for math (they did not offer this for kindergarten). Unfortunately, with our second child starting school, we could no longer afford the private school and decided to send our children to our local public school. They do not offer acceleration of any kind. We met with strong resistance from both the teacher and principal. It is just "not something they do." As a result, my daughter essentially repeated the first grade material last year and is losing interest in school.

Parent in New York
10/04/2007

My son was accelerated in math a year ahead by the third grade (he'd completed third grade math in second grade.) At that time he switched districts and went to a district where we had been given great PR about their TAG program. The TAG teacher failed to screen him for math, even though we specifically asked for that. He was put back into regular grade level math, where his motivation and performance dropped significantly because he was so demoralized. In addition, he was reading at 6th grade level by the end of 2nd grade, and in the new district, all students were put into the same reading books by class, as well as spelling, etc. It required several conferences and some battling to just get him a slightly higher spelling list. This did not continue into the next grades. The reading and math issues were never addressesd. They truly thought we were just typical idiots who would tire of the school runaround.

By the fifth grade, it had come to where we were forced to schedule extra meetings with the principal, teacher, counselor, TAG teacher, etc, and it was virtually a battle zone. (In the fourth grade, we were actually told by the teacher that she could only use worksheets (8 per day for the entire class) in reading class because there were NO BOOKS AVAILABLE for the students to read. This was, of course, a complete lie.) Finally, 2 days before Christmas break in the 5th grade, we were told that only 1-2 students per grade level were ever identified for the accelerated math, and that these students were identified in the second grade, and no later than third. (Remember, our son had been there in third, but they failed to screen him for math or to place him.) So, we were told that our son was supposed to sit at the computer, navigate several different web sites independently, monitor all the benchmark objectives on lists there, and teach himself all the accelerated math he had not received in the last 2 1/2 years at this school district. IF he was able to complete the math teacher's own personal version of a qualification test after Christmas break (whatever happened to normed and standardized data?!), then and only then would he be allowed into the accelerated class. Apparently, it is not the school's job to provide the necessary instruction to cover the gaps that they themselves created. Since our son failed the section on algebraic vocabulary and equations, he was not allowed into the class. The TAG teacher made the comment, "He did fine on all the sections he'd had instruction in." DUH!

Even if it were our son's responsibility to teach himself TAG math (that the state mandates since it is part of the district's state proposal), it would not have been possible since he was not available to sit at the computer during Christmas break. We had two sets of family flying in from out of state, and our Christmas vacation was not structured to be the district's instructional make-up time.

He is now entering 7th grade. We just received his schedule which showed he was going to be in 7th grade general math. I happened to put in a call to a counselor about the completely separate issue of getting a study hall for our son and I just happened to inquire what it takes for 7th grade kids to make the 8th grade (prealgebra) math class instead. Turns out our son did qualify, but no one bothered to tell us, his parents. Essentially, we had been frozen out and no one had any intention of letting us know that he qualified for 8th grade math--all that was needed was our permission or request. But hey, if you don't tell the parents, then you don't have to give their kid any services!

There is terrible leadership for TAG in this district, and worse classroom instruction. Teachers are not held accountable for any type of differentiation whatsoever, even in regular reading or spelling classes. A couple of teachers make all decisions about TAG students, and the administrators have had no TAG training, and have never even seen a copy of "A Nation Deceived." I am mortified at the way this district has fumbled the ball for so many students. It would appear that unless you have a certain last name or letters behind your name, you children cannot receive a proper education there. This district excludes so many students that it has become systemic. Only privileged students, or those whose parents refuse to be intimidated, are ever included in proper programming.

Parent in Iowa
9/10/2007

Our daughter's third grade teacher suggested that she skip fourth grade, but as parents we feared she'd be struggling to catch up. We, like our daughter, had gotten accustomed to her good grades and we worried about the social-emotional aspect also. She was already a young student with a birthday in August.

We did not know the first thing about giftedness and that struggling would be more helpful to our daughter than not being challenged at all! The teacher did not explain why "not accelerating" her could turn out to be damaging, as it would prove to be.

In Junior High, after years of perfect grades she got her first B for geometry. From then on, underachievement set in. She still did well on tests, but stopped doing meaningless, rote homework which affected her grades so much that she failed several classes because of homework not done, not because she did not understand the material.

Long story short, she quit school in tenth grade while in the IB program. She felt that IB was too much busy work instead of a real intellectual challenge. She was able to get a diploma through the Work Keys program at 16 at the community college, but did not pursue higher Ed until she was 20. Her academic self-confidence and her self-esteem were shot.

When she was failing in 9th grade, in part because of being depressed, I requested Special Education for her, hoping she'd get the differentiation she needed. It was all too late and too little, but we did find that on the WISC she had tested in the 99.9 percentile. No wonder that to her school seemed meaningless.

Now, at 23 she's graduating summa cum laude with a major in philosophy and a minor in environmental studies. If I had to do it all over again, I would have decided to homeschool her. School was mostly a waste of her time and has done a lot of damage. At least with homeschooling there would have been more opportunity for her to learn while being interested!

Conny Jensen
GT Advocate
Greeley, Colorado
9/10/2007

Hi. our son was in a gifted program when we lived in Pennsylvania. Then we moved to New York state, and the district has no program for gifted and talented students. However, our son skipped two grades. We entered the district when he was in 4th grade, and he had already done 6th grade math for two years in PA, independently on the computer. As a fourth grader in NY, he was permitted to attend math class with the 6th grade class. The district suggested to us that he go into 6th grade and skip 5th . We agreed, and he had a successful year. The district then suggested that he skip 7th and go right into 8th. We agonized over this decision, but agreed. Now he is a 14 year old finishing his sophomore year in high school. Because he has an IEP, with an autism spectrum disorder, he can spend additional years in high school. We know already he will have at least 3 more years there. He can have more if he needs them.

Parent in New York
9/10/07

When my daughter, B, was in kindergarten, her teacher recommended B skip to second grade. Testing was done and the skip approved just before we moved. The new school-- an international American school overseas, claimed their students were all quite advanced and denied the skip. Our daughter attended school with pull-out gifted programs in every academic subject for 1st and 2nd grade, but became more and more unhappy. By the end of 2nd grade B refused to go to school at all. I began homeschooling B at the begining of her 3rd grade year. She took a placement test for math (Saxon) and tested in the 6th grade. I was shocked, but by June B had completed 7th grade math despite another international move. Her acceleration took place at home, and was in all subjects. Her favorite author was Shakespeare. She loves his plays and memorized several sonnets. The acceleration made all the difference for her. She became happy, talkative, and interested in life. The only difficulty has been talking to others about her grade level. Many people assume B is accelerated because she is homeschooled, when in reality she is homeschooled because she needed to be accelerated.

Mother in Virginia
9/10/07

When my oldest child, B., was small, we lived in New Mexico. Believing him to be bright, we briefly looked into enrolling him in Kindergarten a year early, but were told it was out of the question. He was one of When my daughter, B, was in kindergarten, her teacher recommended B skip to second grade. Testing was done and the skip approved just before we moved. The new school-- an international American school overseas, claimed their students were all quite advanced and denied the skip. Our daughter attended school with pull-out gifted programs in every academic subject for 1st and 2nd grade, but became more and more unhappy. By the end of 2nd grade B refused to go to school at all. I began homeschooling B at the begining of her 3rd grade year. She took a placement test for math (Saxon) and tested in the 6th grade. I was shocked, but by June B had completed 7th grade math despite another international move. Her acceleration took place at home, and was in all subjects. Her favorite author was Shakespeare. She loves his plays and memorized several sonnets. The acceleration made all the difference for her. She became happy, talkative, and interested in life. The only difficulty has been talking to others about her grade level. Many people assume B is accelerated because she is homeschooled, when in reality she is homeschooled because she needed to be accelerated.

Third grade passed, and fourth grade found us living in a small town in Wyoming. Following our negative experiences with public school, we didnít even try to enroll B. there. Instead, we looked into the small private Christian school in town. We wanted him to have some time with peers, especially as we were new in town. We enrolled him in fourth grade there half time, and for the subjects in which he was most accelerated we continued to homeschool.

By the end of 4th grade, B. had finished 6th grade math and was ready for pre-algebra. He was rapidly outpacing my ability to teach him. I approached the private school about his skipping 5th grade and going to 6th there full time the next year. His 4th grade teacher, the 6th grade teacher, the principal, and the school board all agreed. But when he got to 6th grade, the school still made him do 6th grade math, which he had completed the year before. He was actually the only 6th grader in a combined 5th and 6th grade class, so it seemed to us it would have been simple to allow him a 7th grade curriculum, but the principal refused. Also, B. complained of pervasive boredom. I had him tested, and the tests showed his ability was still several grades ahead of his placement. In December of 6th grade, I took him out again, and homeschooled him as best I could.

In 7th grade, at age 11, we managed to get him enrolled in one class at the nearest community college. It was an online course in music theory, and he earned a B. However, the college was highly resistant and in allowing credit for the course, said he could not enroll in any further courses there until he was 15.

Desperate, my husband and I began to think of moving again, this time to a place that might actually be able to meet his academic needs. We chose Denver, Colorado, and enrolled him for 8th grade in a public magnet program for highly gifted children (97th percentile and above). Unfortunately, the transition to a large urban middle school in the last year of their program proved difficult for B. He was bullied, and while he excelled academically, his social difficulties drew the attention of the gifted coordinator at the school. She finally looked at his paperwork, and discovered that he had been enrolled with his two grade skips intact. She was incensed and accused us of trying to deceive the schoolóshe thought we were pushy parents who had given him his grade skips on a whim when we were homeschooling. Her perspective was that since it was a gifted program, and the curriculum already three years advanced, no-one needed to skip grades. But B. did. With the grade skips and the advanced curriculum, the academic program was a great fit. He made it through the year with band class as his solace and high school lay ahead.

For 9th grade this past year, he qualified for a place in an International Baccalaureate program at the nearest high school. He is still socially wary, but is making strides. Five kids signed his yearbook this spring, and he finished out the year in the top 3% of his class. We know he could accelerate further, but we feel that he needs time to mature. As it is, he will graduate at 16. He is very sensitive about being ìyoungest,î but also proud. We have given him opportunities over the years to take back a grade skip or twoóthe middle school wanted to put him back in 7th grade when they discovered his ageóbut he wants no part of that.

This summer, at age 13, he will attend the Davidson THINK Summer Institute at the University of Nevada with kids his age. It will probably be the first time in his life that he will study with peers who are both his own age and his own ability. Weíll be interested to see what thatís like for him.

Amy Van Vranken
Parent
Denver, CO
9/10/07

I completed the fifth and sixth grades during one year of public school. The grade acceleration was a positive experience for me, and I remain grateful to the teachers, principal and my parents - all of whom did their best to ensure that it was a smooth transition. I do not recall having any particular problems socially, and certainly had none with the academics. And being younger than my classmates was never much of an issue. If I had it to do over again, I would have lobbied for further acceleration and entered college much earlier.

I now homeschool my son. When I discovered he was reading at a sixth-grade level when he was five years old, I knew that it was extremely unlikely that the local school would provide him with an appropriate education (they refuse to even test for giftedness until the end of second grade).

We are now beginning our seventh year of homeschooling. We pay little attention to grade levels, and choose or adapt materials to suit his abilities and interests.

Parent in Maryland
9/10/07

I have a niece who finished high school in three years. It was with a lot of negative attitudes from her teachers. Though they did allow her to do it. Many conversations were spent extolling the virtues of spending another year in High school. She has a younger sister who was tested in 6th grade, about mid-year. She was moved to 7th grade immediately, and they wanted to put her in 8th grade, but mom said no. The reason was she had 2 siblings in 8th grade and they would make life very miserable for her at home. They are being home schooled not, so it is possible that she will finish before them now, but it won't be as obvious since all classes are on-line.

Teacher in Texas
9/10/07

My daughter "missed" the school entrance cut-off date in North Carolina (Oct. 16) by just one week!!!! It was quite clear, however, that she was ready to enter kindergarten with the rest of her playgroup and preschool peer group. Our child was happily socialized in a preschool setting and was even full-out reading, writing, and doing simple math problems! (Yes, she had a sister who was 8 years older than her, so that influenced her a lot!). Luckily, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School system had recently implemented a you-pay-for-the-testing program which would allow children who missed the deadline to enter kindergarten if they scored at the 98th or 99th percentile of each section of a standardized psycho-educational test, such as the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, and had an interview with the principal which demonstrated the need for the child to attend school early. This was an expensive way to get her in school early, but it cost less than an additional year of private preschool and it beat the alternative, which I was considering, of moving with my daughter to my parents' state (which had a later cut-off date), enrolling her in kindergarten there while taking temporary residence there, away from my husband and other daughter, and then "moving" back to NC around Thanksgiving. The things we think of to help our children! I was SO SURE, though, that she was ready for school. I was NOT, however, so sure how she would do "taking a test," as this is certainly not an everyday activity for a 4-year-old! Luckily, we approached it like a "play date" with a grown-up (the psychologist) and it turned out relatively fun and easy for her -- and her scores proved that she was, indeed, ready to get started in kindergarten. In fact, in the first few weeks, of school, the teacher and principal approached us and asked if they could accelerate my daughter to the 2nd grade for "reading," but after much discussion, we decided that the social-emotional needs of a kindergartner are so much different than a 2nd grader, so it was better to simply enrich her reading and writing at home and let her be amongst her peers the rest of the day! We were extremely fortunate for the following year, however, when our state approved the charter for one of the country's only public charter schools specifically designed to serve highly gifted children! Our daughter attended this charter school for the next 6 1/2 years with much success and about a 2 1/2 year acceleration pattern in most subject areas. She currently attends a private school, which also meets MOST of her educational needs and, in fact, does a better job meeting her needs now with creativity, social service learning opportunities, and other things that are important for adolescents to learn and understand. All in all, we are so pleased that we were able to get our daughter into kindergarten early!!!!

Marci Mroz
Parent
Charlotte, North Carolina
9/10/07

Before beginning Kindergarten, I had already learned to read, write my name, and count. I watched my siblings leave for school every day and waited for them to come home in the afternoon to hear about what they had learned. I couldn't wait to start school myself because it sounded so exciting. However, when I began kindergarten, I found myself incredibly bored. My dad tells me I often came home crying about how boring school was. I continued to read a great deal at home, and I enjoyed playing Math Blaster on our computer. My kindergarten year was the last year my home county gave Kindergarten TCAPs, and I got 90th percentile or above in all areas. My parents began talking to the school about having me tested for giftedness. By the end of my first grade year, testing was complete and I was to begin the GATE (gifted and talented education) class at my school the next year. My parents spoke to the principal and teachers about possible acceleration to the third (rather than 2nd) grade, but the principal expressed concern about my social-emotional development.Therefore, while in second grade I worked independently on the third grade curriculum (my teacher was wonderful and helped as much as she could, but she had a whole class of second-graders to teach) and attended GATE classes. At the end of this year, my parents again brought up acceleration, and while the principal continued to express reservations, the M-Team agreed to let me skip to fourth grade. I continued to attend GATE classes and received all A's in fourth grade. When I moved on to fifth grade, my father began working as librarian at two of the smaller schools in the system. He gave me the option of continuing at my current school or switching to one of his, and I decided to try the smaller schools. I went to one and encountered a teacher who really didn't know and wasn't much interested in how to best meet my needs, so I went to the other school. There I found two amazing teachers (team-teaching) who encouraged project work and whose style of teaching naturally met students at different levels. The next year my dad got a job in Kingsport City Schools; the middle school there had an excellent "advanced track" program already set up, where I made many friends and had a great educational experience; once again, I made straight A's. My family decided to return to Jefferson County the next year, and I was ready for subject material not available in JC until high school. My father had been in contact with the middle and high schools and believed things were worked out so that I'd be able to go straight into the high school when we returned - that it was just a matter of signing off at an M-Team meeting. However, when the meeting was held one of the team expressed concern that I would be sexually assaulted at the high school and that therefore I should not be allowed to go on. My parents were adamant that I receive the education I needed, and in the end I was homeschooled for a semester before going into the high school. Most of the classes even at the high school presented only minor challenges and I graduated in 2003 at the age of 14. I turned 15 that summer and began classes at the University of Tennessee in the fall. I told very few people of my age, and it was not terribly obvious. I just graduated in May with my Bachelor's in Special Education and am now a Resource Teacher in Cocke County. I would not argue that acceleration (especially in the form of grade-skipping) is right for everyone, but it can be very effective. It is a decision that the student should be involved in - my brother, who has similar abilities, had no desire to skip a grade and leave his friends. Grade-skipping should not be pushed on a student who has no interest in it, but should be available for students who are interested and who need it.

Joelene Goff
Teacher
Jefferson City, TN
9/10/07

When my daughter was 3 1/2, she was reading basic books (Bob Books) that were phonetically correct and easy to sound out. By 4, she was reading books to her preschool class. I tried to get the district to let me put her in Kindergarten at 4, but they said no way (she's a March birthday). So, we went to Montessori and Preschool of the Arts for her early years. Then, in kindergarten, she was in a K/1 blend but in the K group for reading sitting on a rug saying, "C-C-C- CAT" with the rest of the class. After many meetings with the TAG coordinator and the teachers, the teachers agreed to let her do academics with 1st grade, but they said she still had to do specials with the Kindergarteners. So, it was a given to me she'd go from K to 2nd. The teacher thought it was a bad idea (socially, although she was very mature; she was also worried about gaps in learning...hmmmm). The TAG teacher said she had a lot of enrichment at home and that likely, other kids would catch up eventually. So, we had outside testing done and her IQ and achievement abilities were 2 standard deviations above the norm, and the private psychologist said, hey, accelerate her two years. We went with one, and she's done great-actually it's been a cake walk until 6th grade and she switched to a private school and realized that she had to study a bit, which she'd NEVER done. She also was accelerated two more years in math and is doing Algebra as an 11 year old 7th grader! In addition, she is really well rounded-has lots of friends since the move to private school, loves music and dance, participates in theater and has a great, happy personality! Overall, our public system put up barriers every step of the way, does little to no support for individual students and complains more about the needs of the kids with behavior challenges and closing that achievement gap. The private school has much higher expectations to begin with, and it's a given that students should be with academic peers, regardless of age.

Parent in Wisconsin
9/10/07

When we moved from Chapel Hill, NC to a suburb of Memphis (Bartlett, TN), I was concerned that my son would not be challenged. The elementary school did not have a gifted program in the 2nd grade, and we had come from a district where the gifted program began in kindergarten. During 2nd grade, my son became morose with boredom and would lie on the floor and not want to go out the front door to school. He could not stand the repetition of information; he had learned it the first time he heard it and the same material was being presented over and over, as would be required for the average child.

When I saw how unhappy he was, I decided that something needed to be done. I met with the school and some attempts were made to give him more challenging work to do whenever he finished his work early. But, it wasn't enough.

Then, coincidentally, the books on acceleration were released at nationdeived.org . I ordered both and read them. Then, I got copies for my school and and asked the principal if she would be open to the Iowa Acceleration Scale. She said 'yes', and I ordered the IAS. I paid for it myself.

We met in the spring of my son's 2nd grade (principal, teachers, parents) to administer the IAS. The results came up that my son was a good candidate to skip a grade. However, the school teachers were against it because they thought my son was not socially ready. He tends to be a loner (borderline Asberger's, too). But, they did agree to subject accelerate him while he was in 3rd grade (he was already receiving 3rd grade math while in 2nd grade).

When he arrived in 3rd grade, he was therefore subject-accelerated in math and science. In the spring of his 3rd grade we had another IEP meeting. He had been happier and I was going to suggest that we add a little more challenge in reading. However, to my surprise, the teacher recommended that my son be skipped an entire grade! They also told me that they had experimented with him by putting him in both a 3rd grade and a 4th grade recess, and there was no difference in his behavior.

I do think the principal was very supportive on all of this and may have done a lot behind the scenes to effect all of this.

So, he skipped 4th grade (he'd had 4th grade math and science during 3rd grade).

During 5th grade, he made nearly straight A's. I think he was 2nd in his class. He was pretty happy. He also was on the student council and participated in soccer. He didn't make any real close friends, but he had a couple who came over the house. (This was no different than in prior years). He also was pulled out of his classroom every Friday for gifted education for 4-5 hours. He really looked forward to it.

My son's biggest complaint during 5th grade was the behavior of the children who seemed to not want to be in school in the regular classroom. They were rude and disobedient and disruptive.

This year, we moved into the city to I could send him to a public school where the children are grouped by ability. It is a homogenous group of gifted children in the 'optional' program. He is in 6th grade now. The only children in his classes had to qualify based on grades and test scores to be the cream of the cream of the crop in Memphis, TN. Basically, about 2 years ahead in every subject, on average. He is being challenged in every class and the children are all well-behaved .... they want to learn!

So, he is now in with intellectual peers, but he is a year younger than all of them due to his prior grade skip in a different school system. School has only been in session for about 3-4 weeks, but so far he has A's and high B's, and he's in a much more challenging environment. He has even received a couple of D's on various assignments (wow), but his averages are still high.

We were very fortunate to become aware of the acceleration study when we did. It was perfect timing. And, also, lucky to do a lateral move AFTER the grade skip into a program that is specifically for the gifted. I'm not sure we would want to do yet another grade skip with him unless he totally aces this year!

I am very grateful for the Nation Deceived studies and books, and the Iowa Acceleration Scale. Also, I want to thank Dr. Susan Assouline for talking with me personally and giving me advice before I met with the teachers and principal to administer the IAS.

Parent in Memphis, Tennessee
9/10/07

Thank you for taking a look at this issue. My oldest son is now enrolled in Rolla, an engineering school wanting to major in astrophysics, but his senior year was abysmal as far as grades and his effort. He was bored, and was anxious to move on with his life. It was more than senior-itis, it was that he felt the instructors were wasting his time and he had what he needed to move on already. He started working and the challenge of the job became more important to him than school. He had a great accelerated program until we switched schools in the 6th grade and right off the bat he was starting middle school all over again, and repeating some classes he already had. He really could have moved faster through the curiculum, but there was no provision for that to happen. In middle school one woman led a brave crusade to offer a challenging extra curicular accelerated studies for students like my son. After middle school at the 2nd school any hint of an actual program dissapeared. He did find some challenge through First Robotics and that was a blessing.

My 2nd son is having a totally different set of problems. He shows a higher IQ in tests than can be determined by his language skills. We went to the University of Iowa and had a full diagnostic done and the consensus was that he had a language based learning dissorder and perhaps attention deficit issues. He showed strenghths in math and problem solving. I've seen strengths in art, music and visual arts. There is no help to explore his strengths at the school. His freshman year they put him in self-contained classroom, I agreed to it because of the strong recomendations from his middle school staff. I realize now it might have been a mistake, he had other options, but I was never told of them and didn't understand the types of programs they offer. I feel very frustrated to find out he missed a whole year of regular, but modified classroom curiculum. It would be wonderful to have help getting Information on how a parent can force issues to get their child the best help and insure they succeed.

Parent in Missouri
7/20/07

As a parent currently dealing with a very uncooperative school system, my story is not one to warm the heart. My teenage daughter just finished her sophmore year in highschool. She has been in the most advanced classes that my husband and I could put her in (however, we aren't able to afford private schools), but she is still suffering from boredom in all of her classes. Her grades have dropped over the years as she fails to do homework that is assigned only as "busy work" to help reinforce material that she has mastered. However, we have yet to see a test she has gotten below an A on; even when she took the PSATs a year early she made it into the 85th percentile. When she took placement tests earlier this year when we finally managed to get her into a college math course, her scores four out of the five tests were perfect, and had the fifth score been perfect as well the community college would not have been able to teach her, because she would have tested out of all of their classes. The school refuses to look at this record, and instead points out that she her gpa is only tenth out of her sixty person class, and as the nine people above her have yet to complain, why should she? She is becoming depressed from boredom with life, because she centers herself on learning and learning has stopped. This is, ironically, the same girl whose grandmother was one of the pioneers in stopping homogeneous grouping, and so the school takes a firm stand against it to the point of not offering honors classes and not allowing students to test out of classes. Next year, the AP history class (which is one of the few honors classes that students at her school are offered), the harder two out of three possible science classes offered to juniors, and the foreign language class that she would take all conflict, disallowing any student from taking all of the difficult classes. we're hoping to work out an arrangement with the school guidance counselours, but who knows? I'm sorry for the long rant, but this story is to remind those who say that acceleration or skipping grades is bad that that may be true for some, but it needs to be an option. My husband and I never pushed my daughter, in fact, we are guilty of holding her back so that she could stay with her peer group. Her friends are still mostly in grades higher than her, she would fit in socially much better if she skipped. There is no reason to hold this girl back except for the school's stubbornness, and this is what I hope to change.

Parent in Massachusetts
7/17/07

When I was 4, my mother approached the school board in our town about allowing me to begin school early. The cut-off date for turning 5 was later than it is now, and my birthday was just a few days afterward. I could already read well above my age level and was driving my preschool teachers crazy. The school board refused to even consider allowing me to start kindergarten the year I was 4, even though at least 1/3 of my classmates would also have been 4. I spent another boring year in preschool.

By the beginning of 1st grade, it had became apparent that I was so far ahead of my classmates that my speed and accuracy was making te rest of the class so demoralized that they just gave up rather than try to keep up with me. The principal contacted my parents and suggested acceleration. After a couple of months of testing, both academic and psychological, and observation, the recommendation was made to move to 3rd grade at the semester break. My parents objected on socioemotional grounds, feeling that such a large leap at that age would be a mistake. The decision was presented to me as a chance to join the grade I should have been in anyway. I wish I had known at the time that I could have gone to 3rd grade, because I would have leapt at the chance.

From that moment, I was something of a celebrity at my school. Until the day I graduated high school, I had total strangers coming up to me at odd moments and saying, "Are you that girl who got 'highered up'?" I eventually found two other students who had also been accelerated--we knew who we were, but we rarely associated so as to throw others off the scent that we were somehow different. It was kind of like having a secret handshake.

Socially, I had trouble dating in high school because once the boys knew I was both younger AND smarter than they were, they were intimidated. Most of the boys I dated came from other schools. Academically, my worst experience was my 3rd grade math teacher. She apparently thought I would get a swelled head from being accelerated, so she went out of her way to humiliate me in front of the class for every little error. (Interestingly, the principal sent me to the 2nd grade classroom before the acceleration so I could learn to write cursive, which was required in 2nd grade--but no one thought to let me in on the math steps I was missing.) I quickly learned to avoid her and spent years struggling to recover the math skills I should have learned with her.

However--both of those issues were minor in comparison to the overall positive experience of being accelerated. I would do it again in a heartbeat, because I know how desperately I needed the additional academic stimulus. If I had ever again been offered the chance to accelerate later in my school career, I would have taken that, too.

Parent, teacher, and accelerated students in Illinois
7/11/07

My personal story of acceleration begins with my own grade skipping between 1st and 2nd grade in a co-educational private school. I remember being somewhat confused as to why my "visit" to the second grade along with a 1st grade friend ended in me staying there while she was allowed to return to the 1st grade class! In other words, no one ever told me I was an accelerated learner and what the move was all about. The work was not difficult; the school was mainly concerned about social and emotional "fitting in." This proved not to be too much of a stumbling block until I took a French course at the University level while I was in 7th grade. This caused significant cognitive dissonance and I did not care to repeat the experience due to the "feelings" of animosity I sensed there.

I did not think too much about acceleration issues again until I had my own children and my "young male Kindergartner" began to go through public school. There he experienced significant obstacles to "moving ahead", i.e. the principal noted that if he were subject accelerated, "what would the middle school have to teach him?" Finding this response rather bizarre, we began to seek out accelerated experiences on our own for him.

After my second child was ID's as a twice exceptional, and also received more individualized attention as a result, I began to consider the results of non-acceleration on my first child. He had become a significant underachiever, finding little of "value" in the school setting.

These experiences eventually led me to the doctoral program in educational psychology at the University of Virginia. Coursework and research have reinforced my own conclusions relating to the importance of affective education and the effectiveness of acceleration within the population of accelerated learners.

Thank you for all the work you are doing at the Belin-Blank center in this field. I look forward to reading your continuing research.

Jane Englund
Doctoral Candidate, University of Virginia
Arlington, VA
7/11/07

At the grade 7-12 charter school where I began my teaching career, there were parents who sought us out because charter schools were known for their flexibility in student placement. Each year, particularly in the seventh grade, there were several parents who wished for their child to skip a grade or be offered the chance to take higher-level classes. The appeal of a middle school student taking high school math classes in the same building was particularly important for some parents.

All students who were accelerated faced some kind of struggles, mostly social in nature. There were always some peers in their new classes that did not accept the accelerated students. The accelerated students usually struggled with building friendships and in boy-girl issues. Those who faced the most trouble were the students who skipped sixth grade, going from the elementary fifth grade straight to the junior high seventh grade. This is a significant social and behavioral transition. Others who faced difficulty were home-schooled children, again for the lack of social experience with their new peers in an older group.

Academically, some struggled a great deal as a result of the social challenges swirling about them. The more they cared about their social standing, the more they seemed to struggle. Also, students who were used to claiming the top grades with minimal effort sometimes became frustrated after having to work harder for almost-class-leading grades. The most successful students were those who found little meaning in occupying an important niche in the schools social structure, preferring to focus themselves on their learning.

The conclusions we drew from these experiences are few but significant. We did not feel that we should stop offering the chance to accelerate. If a student showed academic ability at a higher grade level, we would consider acceleration. However, we then focused on the childs emotional development and ability to cope with the challenges of being in the classroom, not of comprehending or completing the coursework. Once parents understood that we were looking for coping skills and not suggesting that the studentís academic skills were too weak to move ahead, and the challenges other students had faced before, we easily came to an agreement whether acceleration was best for that student.

Further, we felt that it would be best for the students if the acceleration took place in the earlier grades, where the social impact would be less pronounced than at seventh grade, which is a tumultuous time on its own. Unfortunately, early identification and action was largely out of our hands, since our school began with seventh grade students.

Lee Reay
Teacher
Peoria, IL
6/26/07

When my son, Scott, was 3, he figured out his own finger-math using place value which seemed to come innately to him. He could do math operations faster than I could put them into a calculator. He attended a college lab school that was used for two text companies as a place to try out their new materials. By the time we moved from PA to FL, he was in the 3rd grade and had completed the entire elementary math curriculum. By 6th grade, he had finished all middle school math, and by 9th grade he had taken all the high school math - including accounting and bookkeeping. The school district took him in a taxi from the middle school to the high school for those courses. For 9th and 10th grade, the district taxied him to the local junior college, and he completed their math courses by the end of 10th grade. So, his last two years in high school were spent working the last period of the day, and all afternoon, at an H&R Block office where he assisted with corporate tax preparations. They assigned him his math grade for two years. He worked at a more average level in other courses, and I thought it was wonderful that the district met his needs by accelerating him only in math. He has been a high school math teacher for the last 19 years.

Parent in Indiana
6/25/07

My son was very fortunate to go to a Headstart program. He had a wonderful teacher who could tell when he grasped a concept and then knew when to move on to challenge him. He just finished the 2nd grade and it has been a struggle sincer kindergarten. His first half of kindergarten was a joke - the teacher was doing more babysitting than she was teaching, and she was having him do things he already knew how to do (I thought the point of Headstart sending the packet with him was so that he wouldn't have to repeat things). When I approached her about this, she was not very happy and said he had to stay with the rest of the class. I fought to have him moved to another class, and finally the principal moved him. His second half was a miracle! His new teacher said that if he had been with her the whole year, he would have been a lot farther as he is smart. The first grade year he finally got to go to what I call ELP. I'm not sure if that is what it's called, but I had to fight to get him there. He gets one hour a week to go with another teacher and work on logic problems and math problems. His first grade teacher was not very cooperative and would not listen when I would tell her that he was bored. He just finished his second grade year, and [name withheld to protect individual's privacy], was somewhat helpful, but in regards to math (his strongest subject), he would prefer to keep him with the rest of the class since he was doing 3rd grade spelling already and going out of the class once a week. I continue to fight and to try to find teachers that are willing to challenge him and understand that when he gets bored, he talks. I definitely think that if all kids were tested, they would find that some of the "troubled" kids are probably just bored because they're smart. I would like to see teachers more accepting of the smart kids and try to find ways to enrich them.

Parent in Iowa
6/15/07

I had experience with grade-skipping in my own youth, and thus entered college at a younger than usual age. I don't think my own grade skip was a good idea, and in general I don't think grade-skipping in age-segregated schools is a very helpful educational intervention. Much better would be to serve up a more challenging curriculum to all learners. As it is, even most "accelerated" learners in the United States are behind below-average learners in some countries in some subjects, notably math, and low general curriculum expectations rather than limited opportunities to skip out of lockstep age-grading are the most severe problem in United States education today. But I do heartily agree with the idea that an able learner ought to be allowed to work on learning tasks that are challenging to that learner, and thus more enjoyable and developmental. On my own part, I homeschool my children, with considerable help from distance learning programs for gifted learners, so that they can go off to college at a more typical age, but meanwhile learn much challenging material that I never saw in high school.

Karl Bunday
Parent
Minnetonka, MN
6/12/07

I have 5 children, all of them gifted. We knew quite early on with these kids that there was going to be trouble. When the first one was capable of multiplication, on her own, at 4, we realized we would need a plan B. We tried to start her early in Kindergarten and were refused. Mid-year, we asked for her to go to 1st grade for Math and reading, and after a week they told us she wasn't adjusting well and refused to let her stay. For 2nd-4th grade, we placed her in private school for gifted children. It was during 2nd grade that her talents became obvious, and I spoke with the administrator about getting her out of 2nd grade and into their 3/4 combo class, which was home to all of her friends. Considering she had been doing another girl's homework and getting all A's (she had no idea she had been cheating!), we thought it would be an easy switch to make. Suddenly, we were met with concerns about her social life- she was already hanging out with these kids. She thought her class was full of babies! We were told if she skipped 2nd grade, she would have gaps in her education. We were told she would be at a disadvantage for sports teams later on. That a gifted school would tell me these things was appaling. After she took the PSATs and scored 10th grade or higher in every area besides grammar, they skipped her. She is now 12 and will start highschool next year. She was recently- and quite pleasantly-accelerated from 7th grade with her homeschool group.

Our 2nd son was clearly a math whiz, but both her and the last child, while obviously gifted in all areas of learning, also have difficulty with speech, handwriting, maturity, attention, and hyperactivity. We tried to find any solution for the 2nd child and no one would help us. The teacher put him in the "thinking" chair every day for poor behavior. Finally, we discussed it as a family, and when the original school wouldn't accelerate him, we moved to a new school district and enrolled him before his previous records had a chance to arrive. He still complains that the work is not hard enough, but he has a group of peers he can interact with.

Our 3rd child started reading early and at the beginning of K, knew hoe to read the word "thouroughly". That combined with math skills, and they sent her on to 1st grade with no problems whatsoever. It was refreshing. She is just finishing 5th and while slightly less mature in some areas, she loves school. I can't imagine the battles we would be having if she were doing 4th grade this year.

The 4th child is the one we have had the most trouble with. He too is gifted, reading at 4, memorizing the bones in the bod at 5 (not all, but most!), etc. Also a very strong number sense, and genuinely a well-rounded kid emotionally and maturity-wise as well. We thought we would get him accelerated out of 1st grade and let him move along like the others. Instead, the principle refused to place him with his intellectual peers (or at least a grade up) and told us how disadvantaged he would be due to his short stature. We fought every direction we knew how, by any means possible. We were denied for 2 years. Finally, this year, when he was accidentally given the 3rd grade tests and aced them without ever seeing the material, they grudgingly moved him up a grade. He's thrilled.

Like our 2nd, the 5th one will be a huge struggle. Unfortunately, we don't have the option of moving to a new school district. He is probably the smartest of them all, but he can't make his body do everything it needs to in order to show that knowledge. We will still put in the effort to get him accelerated at least one grade, since he is already showing off 3rd grade knowledge in many areas, but I will be surprised if we get anywhere. At least this time the administrator knows me and knows how adamant I am about these kids getting an education.

I have always felt that if you allow them to figure out that they don't have to do any work to pass their classes, you have lost them as students. Acceleration was always a means to keep them striving and not beign lazy.

Melissa
Parent in Temecula, California
6/11/07

Our son was accelerated this year into a second grade classroom. We were the ones who went to the teacher early in the school year and asked for him to be given work that would challenge him. His first grade teacher worked hard to try to challenge our son; however, it became increasingly difficult to do this within the classroom setting. At this point, we asked for a meeting with his 1st grade teacher and the principal. We wanted to ask that he be allowed to accelerate into 2nd grade math. During this meeting, it became apparent that it was going to be difficult due to scheduling purposes for this to happen. Then my husband asked if we could just place our son in the second grade class for the entire day. Wow! Heads definitely turned when he requested this. He did not have to say the word "whole grade acceleration, but we all knew what he meant. At that point, the principal asked the 1st grade teacher if she thought our son could do 2nd grade work. She agreed that he could! Wow! The first step, to this plan was actually working. The biggest concern was for our son emotionally. What if he didn't do well in 2nd grade? What would be "plan B"?

The end result was that our son would "test" out second grade by going to 2nd grade math for one hour per day. He would be missing 1st grade language arts, which meant that he may have work to bring home that the other students were doing in class. If our son did well in 2nd grade math, then we would have a discussion at the end of the grading period about full-grade acceleration. Well, our son did well. His behavior was BETTER in 2nd grade math than in his 1st grade classroom. And he had an "A" at the end of the grading period.

We called the principal towards the end of the grading period and asked for our son to be allowed to go into second grade beginning 2nd semester. The principal agreed that our son could do this. At the beginning of the 2nd semester our son became a 2nd grade student. He was SO excited!! He wanted to be challenged in the school work that he was doing. The biggest difference that we noticed was that our son was bringing home a lot more homework. This didn't even seem to bother him.

He just finished 2nd grade and the school year. We feel fortunate that he was allowed to accelerate into 2nd grade. We would like to thank his first grade teacher, [name withheld to protect invidual's privacy]; his second grade teacher, [name withheld to protect invidual's privacy]; and his principal, [name withheld to protect invidual's privacy] for giving our son, Jonathan, a chance to learn in school. To me, that is what school is for.....learning. Why go to school if you know the majority of what they are teaching every day? We just wanted our son to go to school to do what every student there should be doing daily....LEARNING!!

There were days when his behavior in 2nd grade was not good. These were the days that I questioned our decision to accelerate him. My husband was always unwavering about our decision, however, and he got me through these days. We believe that in the entire school year, our son was the happiest once he got into second grade & was learning at a more appropriate level.

Sure, we got the questions from other parents about why he was accelerated. I would always answer with "this is what we thought Jonathan needed in order to continue to learn in school." It has been a good experience and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again or suggest this to another parent who was in a similar situation. Parents need to be allowed to do what they think is right for their child. Parental advocating for a gifted child is undoubtedly the hardest job that I have had to face. It is not something easily understood by many people. It is also something that is hard to put into words. Many people are against whole grade acceleration for various reasons. But I will again say that all we want for our children is to be given the chance to continue to learn as the other students in school do on a daily basis.

Jill Mao
Parent in Indiana
6/11/07

Kathryn is the stereotype of the gifted child. She read early, was a teacher pleaser, and was passionate and driven. We tried to get her admitted early to Kindergarten, but were told that she tires too easily (Kindergarten was still only half day). By third grade she came home crying almost every day. We pleaded for help. They claimed not to understand. We thought they were the experts. Her fourth grade teacher was wonderful and differentiated. By the end of the year they were talking about her skipping a grade. Only then did we learn that her CogAT scores were 150-150-150. We didn't understand why they hadn't ever looked at them before. Though it was an extremely difficult decision, she skipped fifth grade. She was 1-2 years younger than most of the other students. It went well, with a few drawbacks. In seventh grade, at age 11, her ACT was 90th percentile overall, 99th in Reading. By eighth grade she was bored but administration refused to accelerate her again. We sent her to Central Academy and she thrived and graduated first in her class at Valley. This weekend she graduates from Dartmouth with a double major. She placed second for 2 yrs on a row in one of the national debate tournaments and was voted fifth best debator in the country!

Molly is not your stereotypical gifted child. As a child Molly never asked "why" though she often had "science experiments" going on in her closet. We thought she didn't read much until we discovered that she was a natural speed reader and had read most of the books in the house. Being extremely introverted, most of the reading took place under the bedcovers or in the closet. In third grade she snuck "Gone With the Wind" into school and read it -- and understood it. In fifth grade we were asking for math compacting, but teacher and principal refused. So we asked that she be accelerated. After a meeting with extraordinarily nasty and angry teachers and administrators (who thought that perhaps we were pushing her or not providing her with enough hobbies), they reluctantly agreed to do it. After 1/2 a year of fifth grade math and 1/2 of sixth, she was put into pre-algebra. After algebra, she went to Central Academy where she took 3 years of math in 2 years, and started Calculus in 10th grade. She has so far gotten all 5's on all of her AP tests, including Calculus. She still is not a model student, doesn't get straight A's, and doesn't put effort into things she does not find worthwhile. However, she has had an appropriate education for her talents and really hasn't had to work all that hard. And wouldn't she have had that same personality no matter what level she studied at? Last week she graduated in the top 20 percent of her class at Valley (and Central Academy) and will attend Tuft's University in Boston in the fall. I can't see any drawbacks to her acceleration.

Eileen has always been a perfectionist, smart and funny as can be. Although Eileen's test scores have always been high, Eileen has never loved school or reading the way that her sister's did. However, she is a deep thinker and her humor would impress Robin Williams! She is also my only social butterfly. Eileen never wanted to stand out (though you would never know it by her clowning behavior!), and hated everyone looking at her when she left for gifted pullout classes. Though she took pre-algebra early, she had never accelerated in any other way before high school. Since her sisters had such great experiences at Central Academy, we talked Eileen into trying it for one year in 9th grade. She hated it! She struggled with the study skills, perfectionism and advanced work. She worked like a dog, though, and started with C's and ended with A's that first year. Somehow she decided to go for one more year. Again she has struggled and received C's and even some F's. At the end of the year, all B's and C's. Again, claimed to hate it, but still signed up again for one more year. We are extremely proud of how much she has learned and how she has risen to the challenge. Did we push her? I don't know. She obviously is not as "school smart" as her siblings, but seems to have learned an incredible amount about what it means to study and work hard and suceed. I can't help but think that this will be incredibly helpful in college. What would have happened if she had never had to try hard? In the meantime, she has discovered photography and movie-making, and is incredible at it. I don't regret pushing her a little because she seems to have learned a lot in the process. But it might have been a disaster if she had not been willing to work so hard. I think I learned a lot also about listening to the student - she knew herself that she was not the typical Central Academy type. I think I learned that it is important to listen to the student.

Kristin M. Clark
Teacher and parent
West Des Moines, IA
6/08/07

My son was accelerated from the sixth grade to the eighth grade in most of his courses four years ago. It has been a positive experience for him and for our family. He was studying material that was new to him. The grade acceleration did not address the problem of the classes moving too slowly for him however. He moved out of the public school which accelerated him and returned to homeschooling. The following year he attended a private school which was more rigorous and he completed the eighth grade there with some subject acceleration to ninth grade. This worked well for him. He always related more to the older students that his age peers. Now he is entering his junior year just one year accerlerated but is taking classes more common for seniors. This combination of whole-grade acceleration combined with subject acceleration has been very smooth for him and has met his social needs in addition to his academic ones. He is socially mature and respectful but has been able to navigate through the antics of his grade peers without it bothering him too much. He is very grateful for his grade and subject acceleration. We can't imagine him in any younger grade.

Heidi Molbak
Parent
New Orleans, LA
6/04/07

My son attends a K-8 Parochial school. He was initially subject accelerated 3 years in mathematics (as a 3rd grader he attended math classes with the 6th grade) and then several months later moved up again (to 8th grade). When he was in 5th grade an English acceleration was added to 7th grade. So he is currently finishing 10th grade honors math at a local parochial HS, 8th grade English, and 5th grade for all else. He is 10 years old. We did not wish to whole-grade accelerate because of possible missed athletic opportunities and a sibling in the next grade. The current situation has worked well, the only problem being scheduling difficulties. All teachers/administrators involved have been extremely cooperative and my son is very happy.

I was accelerated at a fairly young age--I skipped first grade. The school district was very resistant to this move, but luckily my mother lobbied hard on my behalf. I'm grateful that it turned out that way, because it was a much better fit for me both intellectually and socially. It was a lot easier to feel comfortable being myself in the classroom when I was around kids that were more like me. I've always believed, looking back on my schooling, that if I hadn't skipped first grade I would have spent most of my time at school staring out the window, having already finished my work. As a teacher it's important to me that I meet each student's needs no matter what their ability level, and that is partly because I am thankful someone stepped up to meet my particular needs many years ago.

Libby
Teacher in Cedar Rapids, IA
5/31/07

Our two girls were accelerated almost at the same time in the same elementary school during spring 2005.

Our oldest daughter was in 3rd grade then moved into 4th grade in Feb 2005. She was a classic example as stated in the 'A Nation Deceived' report. Academically, she was happy (for a little while), but needed some social adjustment period.

When our second daughter entered Kindergarten, she was reading at about 2nd grade level. In March 2005, she moved into 1st grade with only 2 months of school time left. Academically, a bit challenging for her in math; however, she was still far ahead in reading. Socially, she transitioned smoothly into 1st grade since she is a people person, even though physically she is relatively tiny. Now, she is 7 _ years old and very well integrated into her 3rd grade class.

Based on our experiences with our two children, we strongly believe to always individualize the acceleration process. Bottom line, our two girls are happy in their new grades respectively and they couldn't bare the thoughts if they had to stay back in their old grades.

How many acceleration would be enough to a very gifted student but who is not at Einstein level?

Before end of spring 2005, we wanted to have our oldest daughter evaluated to take 6th grade math for upcoming fall 2005 school year. But the school recommended her to settle down in 5th grade for all subjects since she was just accelerated in spring 2005. It made sense, we thought. And, in modesty we decided not to pursue further.

That summer, she completed GRASP (summer program offered by the district) for 6th grade Math and Reading with average score around 90%. Yet, when the school began in fall, she had to study 5th grade Math curriculum. Three months later, she was bored again and started to read books under the table during class. By spring 2006, she became less motivated in school. So, when she moved into middle school, we requested the school to allow her to take the 6th grade pre-Algebra test. And, she scored very well.

Currently, our oldest daughter (10 _ y.o.) is in 6th grade with 7th grade Advanced Math (ie. with 8th grade pre-Algebra curriculum). She recently described her school experience, as "I love to go to school if I have new things to learn which is nothing much beside math. I love History, Science, English BUT they move way so slow that drive me nuts." She has been reading during class since last November 2006. Spring trimester is always hard to keep her motivated in school other than reading. Not because she couldn't wait for summer, but she desperately wants to learn new things. She is maintaining A's just because of the pressure we gave her at home.

We strongly feel that grade acceleration is the most cost effective solution for the school. We are so fortunate that our school district is open to it. But sometimes we felt that grade accelerations could come at a cost to our children... like their childhood times were cut short each time they skip a grade.

At the end of the day, we'd like to raise well-rounded children. It's true that gifted children are generally more mature than their age peers. But a true, well-rounded maturity comes from life experiences; and life experiences take time. Grade acceleration cuts short this time and reduces the students' growing time & other life experience exposures.

For example, our oldest daughter wants to join the Swimming team next year. At the same time, we also discuss the possibility of another grade skipping to resolve her current academic boredom. Yet, another grade skipping would put her to face much bigger, stronger, more experienced swimmers. Well, that sounds more like "grade skipping" is a design for failures to her competitive swimming desire.

Why can't the school educational program facilitate her rapid learning pace at her current grade level so she could enjoy other extra curriculum like competitive swimming or other sports? On the other hand, if she is "held" back academically, school is dreadfully NO fun when she doesn't experience the excitement and joy of learning.

From a parent's perspective, the 'A Nation Deceived' report had made a difference in our school district. A school principal whom we admire in the district posted the 'A Nation Deceived' insert poster on his office wall. We sincerely hope that the next report would help parents like us in how to address questions such as: How to balance between academic and well-rounded growing experiences/time/maturity? What are the best choices for our children? How to see the costs and benefits of the choices we should offer to our children? What happen when she wants to compete in sports too? Which one should we encourage her - sports or academics?

We hope this information would be helpful to your research.

Parent in Minnesota
5/29/07

Our son was five when he began 1st grade. He did not attend kindergarten as he was already reading at a 3rd grade level and doing 2nd grade math. To be truthful he had a few adjustment problems the first two or three weeks of school - school manners, waiting to be called upon, cutting and using bottle glue. (Simply put, things you learn in kindergarten.) Everything was corrected in a week's time once his teacher brought it to our attention. By the end of the year we found he probably should have skipped more than one grade but he had adjusted well to school and made many, many friends. His math skills could have been challenged much more but with in a year's time his reading improved by 3 grade levels. It also helped a lot that he was in a classroom that was ability grouped and that there were other boys in his class who were strong readers. Next year he will be in a gifted magnet with 3 others boys from his class this year. We are all looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that will bring! Acceleration was the best option for our son. We would do it again if needed.

Parent in Minnesota
5/29/07

I noticed my son coming home with pretests in math in the second grade. A large number of pretests he had passed. When I inquired what happens to a child when they already know the material I was told that more challenging work would be sent home for homework. I found that this type of work was very rarely given to my child.

At the end of 2nd grade during my son's triennial IEP (he has autism) I specifically asked for my son to be accelerated in math. He had been given the WIAT and scored 99.8 percentile in math. I was told that "the district does not approve acceleration".

The following year his classroom teacher agreed that she would accelerate him if he passed the pre-tests for a specific subject. The administration approved her request but told her she would have to personally pay for all materials and that he could not use district materials to accelerate. Instead of having the teacher pay from her own pocket I gave up and enrolled him in Stanford's EPGY math program. Within 3 months he had completed 2 grade levels. He was much happier.

Near the end of the year the teacher recommended him for gifted testing. He took the test with other kids and did not qualify. I asked for an appeal and expressed that they did not accomodate him for his autism. They asked for all his records so they can re-assess his qualification. I still have not heard back. In the mean time he qualified for CTY.

So my child is enrolled in EPGY and now qualifies for summer CTY but he does not qualify for GATE identification through the district and he is not able to accelerate. Next year will be difficult because he will be several years ahead thanks to EPGY but I have no options except to allow him to move ahead at home. I was insured that in middle school he will be able to take higher level classes. Well he is in 3rd grade now and that is a long way off. By then he will be doing high school math. We will still have no solution!

To say I am frustrated is an understatement.

Laura Kazan
Parent
Long Beach, CA
5/29/07

My name is Corinne Char and I am currently a Junior at a St. Louis County Public School. After struggling with private schools, I entered the Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students (PEGS) in second grade. The PEGS Program is a full time program throughout elementary school which morphs into a part time program in Middle school and a classification and resource in High School. Its admittance is based on IQ with the minimum set at 140. Within this program, most children will skip at least one grade. I skipped 5th and one year of middle school. The PEGS program was ideal because, within the middle school and high school, students are able to freely select courses from different grade levels and typically spend1-2 years full time at the middle school and generally 1 year split between the Middle school and the high school (they are bused back and forth). This is generally ideal, but I have often found that parents can be too pushy and compermize their child's social and emmotional development. I also feel that parents push gifted kids beyond what the child should have been aloud to skip to the point of great gaps in knowledge. For example, many PEGS parents opt to place their children directly in 8th grade foreign language class without the first year of it. Although this may work out in some situations, it is stressful and unfair to the teacher who must now teach a single student what should have been learned in 2 years while managing the rest of a class. When grade skipping is considered, it is crucial to insure that the student understands it is their responsibility, not the teacher's, to catch up on any missed material. Aside from skipping grades in my younger days, I also skipped 2 years of science and a year of french in high school. I entered frenshman biology and was board to the point of mental consequences. I thoroughly appreciate my school's willingness to work with me on this problem. Although they originally tried to keep me with the freshmen, at semester they permitted me to enter the second semester of biology 1 AP/IB. I did just fine in this course. This year I compleated Bio 2 AP/IB and Chem 1 AP/IB with little reprecusions of my skip. I think this type of flexible option needs to be avaliable to all kids in similar situations, but at the same time, I have seen this type of plan fail when students become stressed out in higher level science courses because they simply do not have the information they need to enter that class. Again, the decesion to accelorate students needs to be evaluated by teachers, students, parents and administration. Skipping is not always the solution and can have serious social concequences, but, given the situation and the child, grade skipping can be a God sent.

Corinne Char
St. Louis, MO
Student
Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students
5/27/07

Acceleration changed my son's life. He had a January birthday, so was older than most of his classmates in preschool and kindergarten, but got along well socially with everyone. However, in first grade, he started to put up a fight about going to school in the morning. He said it was boring. He started acting up in school. Every week there were calls from the principal over misbehavior and minor acts of vandalism. He was also leading other kids into trouble and misbehavior at the school. We had many meetings with school staff about how to impose 'consequences' on him. I had him tested and it turned out he was reading and doing math at a fourth grade level. I talked with the principal and teacher and asked them how they thought a typical fourth grader would behave if forced to sit in a first grade classroom all day. They dismissed me as an ignorant parent who didn't have their expertise. I filled out the Iowa Acceleration Scale form (my son was an excellent candidate for acceleration) and requested whole-grade acceleration. The school denied my request on the grounds that my son was immature. I transferred him to another school where the principal was more open to acceleration. The new school gave him a test and immediately placed him in the second grade with math and reading one year advanced. I was a little worried about him going from doing first grade work to doing third grade work. But he loved it. He completely changed. He had been a whiny, complaining kid who said he hated school and refused to do his homework. Now he looked forward to going to school in the morning, and would come home excitedly telling me, 'Guess what? I learned something new in math class today!' He did all his homework without asking, and at his first parent-teacher conference, all the teachers remarked on how his good attitude and maturity set an example for all the other boys. What scares me about all this is that I can see the path that a gifted child can be forced into if they are not given appropriate academic placement. My son could easily have ended up being labeled a 'bad kid,' and could have fulfilled that prophecy by becoming a juvenile delinquent or by dropping out in high school. Yet all it took to deal with his 'immaturity' and 'bad behavior' was appropriate academic stimulation. The answer was so simple, yet the administration and teachers at his first school could not see it.

Parent in California
5/26/07

I learned to read at age 3. When I reached kindergarten, I was reading The Adventures of Doctor Dolittle. In first grade, I tested at eleventh-grade level in science and was admitted into the gifted program. Fast-forward past 5 years of boredom (despite a grade skip) to middle school: After getting involved in the MathCounts program, my parents managed to get the school to let me take Algebra I in seventh grade. Over the summer, I finished geometry, working on it all morning every morning for a month (I spent the afternoons working at a college physics lab). When I started school, I planned to take Algebra II through an online high school. After an unpleasant incident in fifth grade in which the school system refused to recognize an online high-school science course I took because the provider "wasn't on their list," my parents were careful to find one that was approved. I toiled away at this during my math period and finished it in the first semester. That's when it got weird. I was informed that, although I'd already aced the final, I was going to have to go back and do every single chapter test in the school's textbooks because I hadn't used their same book. Effectively, I had to take Algebra II twice- despite the fact that I got an A both times and got a 1560 on the SAT when I took it for the Johns-Hopkins talent search that year. This included an 800 on the math section. Then, when I was trying to schedule classes for high school, I found that I was required to take the same science course I took in fifth grade. We couldn't accelerate me in science, or I wouldn't get a high school diploma. That's when my parents and I snapped. Now, I'm home-schooling for most of my classes, and I won't officially graduate from high school because I took AP Calculus AB instead of Precalculus (also done over the summer) and AP Biology instead of ninth-grade science.

Sometimes I really hate the school system.

Student in West Virginia
5/26/07

When we discovered that our daughter was highly gifted (reading and doing simple math at age 2), we contacted our school district about the possibility of early entrance into Kindergarten when she was still age four. She has an October birthday, so, to us, it made perfect sense to accelerate her 6-weeks. They strongly discouraged us from doing so, but offered us a packet about an inch thick to fill out as an application for early-entrance, but also told us they usually deny the applications. We discovered a private school, shortly thereafter, that was designed specifically to meet the needs of highly gifted children. Once enrolled in Kindergarten at that school, she was happy, but still bored. Her Kindergarten teacher encouraged us to pursue a grade-acceleration, but we were strongly opposed, as she was already the youngest child in her class. However, her 1st-grade year was very disappointing, even though she was in a 1st/2nd grade classroom. She had a difficult time focusing in class, had problems with her classmates socially and did her best to 'fit in', which meant she was not doing challenging work if they weren't. Our daughter was accepted into the Davidson Institute Young Scholars program, and we were encouraged to research grade acceleration further. When we approached her teacher and school administration about acceleration, we were shocked that they were strongly opposed to the idea for our daughter. Her Kindergarten teacher was the only staff member on our side. She is very tall and mature for her age, but they claimed that she would not be able to handle the mature social changes of older peers. We printed out various articles and book excerpts that literally proved how healthy a grade-acceleration would be for her, but they didn't even read them. They assumed that by being a 'gifted' school, they could easily cater to her needs if she was with her age-peers, which is presuming that all gifted children learn at the same level. Fortunately, we had the Davidson Institute on our side, and being a small private school, they wished to look good to the organization that might refer more students to them. So, they agreed to 'try' it. She is completing the best year ever in a 3rd/4th grade classroom, this year. She has come back out of her 'shell' and is very excited and eager to be learning new material. Her social skills are blossoming and she fits in wonderfully!! I wish all highly gifted children were so lucky!

Parent in Washington
5/26/07

After writing and implementing an acceleration policy, clear steps and the kinds of acceleration offered gave the process validity. Using the IAS gave the process a professional diagnosis for grade skipping when presenting results to an acceleration team. There are sometimes social relationship problems when grade skipping requiring teacher(s), parents, school counselor and gifted advocate to collaborate in order to meet the student's affective needs regarding the issue. This is tantamount for successful transition. It may take a semester for the student to acclimate but the end results are worth it. Overall, accelerating students in need using various acceleration strategies has greatly improved motivation, attitude, challenge requiring effort and overall more confident self-concept autonomous learners.

Bo Stueland, K-12 ELP Coordinator/Teacher
Tipton Commmunity School District
Tipton, Iowa
5/25/07

When I was a fourth grader in a parochial school, my teachers and school administrators approached my parents about subject accelerating me to ffth grade subjects and ultimately to skip 5th grade altogether. Having gone through the experience in a K through 8th grade school, I would still do it again, but the middle school years are especially challenging from a social standpoint. It wasn't until I graduated and went to a private school on scholarship for high school that I really started to come into my own. I didn't carry the stigma of being the "baby" from the lower class. I went on to take so many AP courses in my junior and senior years of high school that I was able to place out of 1 1/2 years of college.Wanting the 4 year college experience and having gotten a full ride scholarship to a well regarded university, I was able to graduate with a tri! ple major across 2 of the university's 4 colleges. Acceleration didn't hold me back. It allowed me to soar.

When the Montessori preschool that my children attended approached us about early entrance to K, I jumped at the opportunity to have my son start early instead of jump to catch up in the middle. We found that he needed further subject acceleration half way through first grade, but is currently at an approprate level of instruction now in his fifth grade year. Fortunately, our parochal school was receptive to him starting K at 4 with the recommendaton of an accredited preschool. We followed up with testing through the district when he was "of school "age" and confrmed his gifted abilities. The same scenario played out with my second son who has a very different personality from the first. He did not demand to have his needs met, but therefore, needed our advocacy even more than our other son. We will have my daughter tested next year and perhaps will be surprised to find that she is gifted in a way that is uniquely her own.

If there is anything I have learned from my own personal experiences, it is this. If acceleration is appropriate for a child and supported by the school, it can be the best way to help children achieve their full potential emotionally, socially, and academically. The earlier that a child is identified and evaluated, the better the probability of a successful outcome. When early identfication does not occur, it is still in the best interest of the child, if properly implemented and supported by the student's parents and teachers.

Parent in Pennsylvania
5/23/07

It has been an uphill battle for my family during the past 5 years of our two (2) gifted children being enrolled in the Pennsylvania Public School District. The school district had a meaningless field trip type gifted program which did not result in truly meaningful differentiated & more advanced concepts being taught at a faster pace than regular educational classes. After several years and several potential lawsuits (favorable results to us) which ended in settlements, the District is more willing to provide advanced classes. Unfortunately, our eldest child missed out on many acceleration options which his later-born younger sibling was able to take advantage of.

In the meantime, District Administration and I are slowly making inroads to "clustering" or "homogenous grouping of like ability children" but have met much resistance from the regular education teachers. It is a shame because our eldest is also talented athletically and he played three (3) varsity sports this year as a 9th grader. Unfortunately, some district personnel can not see the analogy between sports or music and intellect.

Parent from Pennsylvania
5/23/07

Our journey with our son (7-years-old, first grade) began in November 2006. We certainly knew that the occasional work that he was bringing home from school did not match his abilities. Our son's first grade teacher is "new" to first grade this year and had previously been one of his pre-school teachers. We hoped that as she became acclimated to the "new" grade we would see that she was actually teaching him.

However, things got worse! He no longer was enthusiastic nor excited about going to school. He had difficulty going to bed as he was dreading returning to school the following day, mornings were equally miserable. Eventually he was able to verbalize that the teacher was with holding recess from the entire class due to the misbehavior of a few. She also described our son as "shy" on his progress report, an adjective never before used to describe him. We arranged a meeting but felt that our questions were not answered, so we requested a reading evaluation and a copy of the curriculum that she was using. She did not have a curriculum, and his reading evaluation placed him at a fourth grade second month level. The day after the results were released he was taken without our permission as a "random sample" for a Reading Recovery evaluation!!! We notified the school that no further testing was to be done without our knowledge and consent. Scheduling a meeting with his teacher, the principal, and the director of student services proved to be a nightmare...postponements, re-scheduling, etc.

Finally, our meeting... we were told by the principal, "We're not obligated to do anything", and "we need to follow a sequence", although he was unable to define nor explain what the sequence was, we would all meet again in six to eight weeks!!! We absolutely disagreed because nothing was going to change, and the effect on our son was profoundly unacceptable. My husband contacted the superintendent after we left and she acknowledged there was not a "sequence", and that the principal would get back to us within a week.

When the principal contacted us he said he meet with the second grade teachers and they suggested giving him a math evaluation and if his scores were good that we should move "all of him to second grade"! His scores were consistent and strong.

Our son's second grade teacher is wonderful. He has great enthusiasm and an obvious love for his teaching and his students. At a subsequent parent meeting with him he said our son just assimilated into the classroom, and by the second day it would have been hard for anyone to identify the "new" student! Our son is overjoyed!!! His love for learning has returned! He keeps in touch with his first grade buddies and thoroughly enjoys his new second grade classmates.

Family in Massachusetts
5/23/07

My daughter had wonderful teachers in kindergarten and first grade, who understood her abilities. Second grade was very disappointing, and talks with the teacher didn't help. In desperation, I asked the principal to observe the classroom and let me know if he believed we were overreacting to our daughter's frustration.

I was not happy when he suggested accelerating her to fourth grade the next year, but we agreed to allow them to begin testing her while we considered it (my husband was pro, I was con). During the days of testing, she asked if she skipped third grade if that meant she could stop pretending not to know things. End of discussion. Her testing reports all listed her as highly gifted, we allowed the acceleration, and have never been sorry.

She is now a freshman in high school, and was just accepted at a residential math & science academy. Another hard decision, but again, she made the decision for us. According to her, we've been promising her whole life that school would get harder, and it's not. She'll be leaving in August.

Parent in Illinois
5/23/07

I began kindergarten in Chicago, IL when I turned 5 in Feb. 1953. When I moved to Palatine, IL, I was placed in first grade, but already knew how to read, so my mother insisted they advance me to the next grade. I was placed with a tutor for several months and admitted to second grade in the spring. I have always appreciated this, since I generally found school to be boring. I finished in the top 10% of my class in 1965 and began college in the fall of that year. I was successful at UIUC and finished my last year on the Dean's list. I can remember counting the holes in the acoustical tiles in the ceiling of the classroom many times.

Linda Wallin, Parent & Adjunct Assistant Professor
National-Louis University
Palantine, IL
5/22/07

I have been volunteering about 4-6 hours per week in my children's schools for 7 years. THis year, I have done two projects specifically to provide advanced content to students. In my daughter's public Montessori E2 classroom, I have pulled out 8-10 students once or twice a week to read classic literature with we read and discussed major sections of a 1909 translation of the Odyssey in the fall and winter. This spring we hvae been reading through and discussing Macbeth as Shakespeare wrote it. The students were reluctant at first to read these more difficult texts, but found that they really enjoyed the stories. Now, they want to perform a scene or two for the rest of the class.

I have been pushing and pushing the district to get high school courses offered in middle school, but nothing has happened yet. This year, my son is in 6th grade, so I have taught Chemistry once a week after school. These students are learning to handle academic challenge, study, do homework, and preparing to take AP Chemistry in college. The students have told me that they learn more in two hours of Monday Chemistry than in the roughly 32 hours of formal school. Gifted students should not have to reach college never having learned to study. I am preparing to teach Physics next year. along with the necessary math.

Margaret Pellegrini, volunteer teacher
Rochester, Minnesota
5/22/07

Two weeks into the start of second grade, my son's teacher approached me with her concerns that my son was not focused during the school day. She felt he was not recieving enough of a challenge.

My husband and I had a meeting with our son's gifted enrichment teacher. We explained to her the regular ed teacher's concerns. She suggested that our son might have ADD, and recommended that we have him evaluated.

After several ADD evaluations, it was clear the our son did not have ADD, he just was not being challenged in class.

Immediatley, we started to ask that our son be tested for his Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP). We were turned down by the Curriculum Specialist several times. He said that at the end of first grade, every student is given tests for the coming grade, and our son did not score well enough to warrent any further testing.

We scheduled a meeting with the Principal, after our conference in December. We discussed everything with her, and presented our case. She allowed our son to be tested for reading and math.

Our son's scores were not what the school expected. For math, he was into fourth grade curriculum, and reading, they stopped testing at an 8th grade level since they did not have anymore time to continue.

The second week of January, our son was accelerated to third grade. Our son shocked many of the faculty in our school, especially the Curriculum Specialist!

It was and still is rough for our son in class. The social issue has impacted him greatly. We have told him that our family is a team, and we will be by his side through everything.

I encourage all parents to be strong advocates for their children, especially for their education, and all necessary issues.

Parent in Pennsylvania
5/21/07

My daughter, aged 10, in the public school system in Sisters, Oregon, skipped 2nd grade. She took part in a blended 1st/2nd grade classroom, and the teacher was very supportive of having our daughter advance quickly at her pace through both years' curricula. She was well prepared for 3rd grade, and would have been bored stiff if she had had to essentially repeat 2nd grade.

Our experience has been nothing but positive for our precocious, highly-motivated 5th grader. Yes, some of the girls in her grade are now developing physically ahead of her, but she is just as emotionally and intellectually mature than her classmates. I highly recommend pushing for acceleration for capable students.

Parent in Oregon
5/21/07

Hi. our son was in a gifted program when we lived in Pennsylvania. Then we moved to New York state, and the district has no program for gifted and talented students. However, our son skipped two grades. We entered the district when he was in 4th grade, and he had already done 6th grade math for two years in PA, independently on the computer. As a fourth grader in NY, he was permitted to attend math class with the 6th grade class. The district suggested to us that he go into 6th grade and skip 5th . We agreed, and he had a successful year. The district then suggested that he skip 7th and go right into 8th. We agonized over this decision, but agreed. Now he is a 14 year old finishing his sophomore year in high school. Because he has an IEP, with an autism spectrum disorder, he can spend additional years in high school. We know already he will have at least 3 more years there. He can have more if he needs them.

Parent in New York
5/21/07

My child just finished 3rd grade at a SACS/SAIS accredited private school. She just turned 8 and received acceleratd placement at the private school. Even as the youngest child in the grade by 9 months, she won top academic (all A's) and athletic honors (Pres. Phys. Fitness award), one of only two to win both awards among 34 3rd grade students. Her IQ test from a local university places her in the 99.7th percentile. Local public school will not admit her to 4th grade next year because they claim "state law prohibits" her from entering a grade that is not "age appropriate." State Board of Education says this is not true and cites a ruling that requires public schools to accept credit and placement from accredited private schools, but defers to local districts for placement. The local board vests all authority with individual principals, who reject accelerated placement. We do not have public school choice, so we are going to be paying private tuition for the next 9 years even as we pay the high property taxes that support the public school that won't accept our child. It is ridiculous in a state that ranks in the bottom 2 or 3 in education every year that needs of gifted children are severely neglected even as the state government debates more programs, vouchers, and millions of dollars in spending for "special needs" children.

Parent in Georgia
5/21/07

My son was born on Nov. 30, which in California made him eligible for kindergarten at 4 3/4 yrs old. All the advice I heard then was to wait; hold him back; kindergarten is what first grade used to be; he's a boy and so energetic and doesn't even remember to use the bathroom by himself.

So, we waited. He had a fantastic year in a play-based preschool: lots of hours in the sandbox. He learned how to read at home. He began asking about "complicated math" and wanted us to teach him trigonometry. He settled for the multiplication table. He was happy and eager to start kindergarten.

For a few weeks. Our school is humble; most parents didn't go to college, and a good percentage of kids are English learners. There is occasionally a gifted program for older kids but not this or last year (!). With so few resources, he was immediately grade-accelerated, and began walking over to the first grade.

Anyway, by February the school agreed to move him into first grade. He's happier than he was, but still a space alien. The academics were good at first, but now he's beyond them. We're moving to a new town, new school, and wonder if he should or will be skipped again. Ironically, I think it will be harder to get approval for acceleration in the "better" school--because they'll just put him in some pullout weekly after-school thing that will be unsatisfying.

What I've concluded for my son: we were right to hold him back when he was 4 3/4, and we were right to skip him a year later. The less time he spends in the classroom the better... at least at 6.

As he says, "You know, Mom, you don't learn very much in school."

Parent in California
5/21/07

Very briefly, after much self-educating and butting heads with the school district, my eldest son skipped second grade. Now finishing fourth, he's done great. Still tops in his class in math and science and upper quarter/third in everythiong else. And, he is happy! Having survived this, we started our younger son early in first grade (also a huge effort on our part). He's also doing great and happy as a clam. I highly recommend anyone embarking on trying to educate gifted kids read Genius Denied and Nation Deceived ( at least the summary). These were instrumental in supporting our belief in what we were doing was right for our kids, despite much nay-saying on the admin's part ("I can think of only one child we've accelerated in the last ten years. ..) Good Luck and don't ever forget you know your kids better than anyone else.

Parent in Wisconsin
5/16/07

My sons were identified as highly gifted in kindergarten & 1st grade. My older son was also diagnosed as having asperger's. they both went to highly gifted magnets for 1-2 years, but the transportation & poor teaching outweighed the benefits of being with peers and being accelerated in math by 2 years. In middle school one took algebra 1 in 6th grade, & the other took algebra 1 in 7th. Both ended up repeating either geometry or algebra 2 2X in middle & senior hi schools. After they had left the highly gifted magnet, they were put in an HG group in middle school, but with teachers who had never worked with HG kids before. In math, where they were both accelerated by 2 years, teachers did not review basic math facts which they had never been required to learn in the first place due to the use of calculators, & they fell behind & developed major attitudes against school & math in particular. My older son dropped out of 10th grade in public school, dropped out of 11th grade in private, & then proceeded to do 2 years of work in 1 1/2 years at the local community college. He will be graduating with an AA at the same time as his same age peers graduate from hi school, & is transferring to tulane with a 2.98. Altho he is where he should have been academically, he paid a very hi price emotionally & could have achieved much more & have maintained a positive attitude toward school if the school district focused on the academic & socio-emotional needs of the hg, inc. having a consistent policy of acceleration for the hg. My other son is in the process of dropping out of the 10th grade also, & I guess we will be starting the cycle all over again.