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[quote=Anonymous]OP - we were in a similar situation. In 3rd grade, my kid's teacher told him all year (and me in conferences/emails) that he would be in compacted math for 4/5, that he had a "mind for math" etc. He did poorly on one benchmark/performance matters exam (that apparently the whole class did less well on than other benchmark exams). His MAP-M scores and grades were all good, but because last year they switched to a central district review, he was placed in regular grade 4 math.

I talked to his 3rd grade teacher and the math placement specialist. The 3rd grade teacher HEAVILY advocated for him but the math placement specialist wouldn't budge and said that they would reassess after the fall MAP-M and performance matters tests. On the advice of a fellow parent, I escalated to the principal. Due to the timing of the letter plus me trying to go through each channel and only use the principal as a last resort, we didn't get to talk until July. She agreed to let my son into compacted 4/5 math, but said they'd be monitoring him and put him down to grade 4 math if he was struggling. (She also suggested that some of the kids that are good at math do poorly on the benchmark/performance matters tests because they do too much "mental math" because it's a computerized test and they don't use scratch paper, which may be the case for my son).

Turns out he did fine, his grades were all good, and when I mentioned to his 4th grade teacher that we were worried about putting him in compacted math due to the recommendation at the end of the previous year, she immediately said, "Oh, he's DEFINITELY in the right math placement - he's really good at math!"

My point is that you know your child best and should advocate if you think it's the best course of action for him. I didn't want to wait until the fall and have him miss a quarter or a half a year and then have to catch up. I personally thought it was better for him to try it and then move down than be super behind if he had to move up. I probably wouldn't make the same choice for my younger child who would be devastated to be moved downward, but would be willing to work really hard to catch up.  [/quote]

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