No schools should be allowing any children to skip grades just because an entitled parent thinks they have the right to demand it. Schools need to stop caving in to these insane requests. They would never even entertain this at a school in wards 7 or 8. Your skin color doesn’t make you anymore deserving of having a demand approved than a black parent who might be economically disadvantaged.

Just because they are academically advanced does not mean they are socially advanced. It is not until HS that they have choices for classes, and can be taking the advanced academics they need.

However, in life, the social stuff is an important skill, as is dealing with those not as smart as you, many of whom will be your bosses in the future.

It may be worth it to keep them where they are, and continue to supplement at home

Our kid has a similar math score and our school has accommodated since PK by having them go to a higher grade level for math class. It has always been teacher-organized. Our kid’s reading score is above grade level, but not as high as your kids (only +2 grade levels up). Our school has enough somewhat comparable kids to do appropriate small groups and we’ve been happy with that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another thought from a parent with older kids who were advanced in elementary school -- make sure you have a plan for middle school, where it is much harder for teachers to provide differntiated work.

Start thinking about it now.

You may not be happy with DCPS for middle and might need something like a private. (We went with "the charter school that must not be named for fear of the trolls" and it's a great fit.)

SSMA?

Guessing it starts with a "B" and ends with an "s"

I don’t known what feeder pattern you are in, but Deal does offer many opportunities to move up to higher math classes depending on your child’s aptitude.

OP here - thanks everyone for the helpful insights.

Anonymous wrote:Another thought from a parent with older kids who were advanced in elementary school -- make sure you have a plan for middle school, where it is much harder for teachers to provide differntiated work.

Start thinking about it now.

You may not be happy with DCPS for middle and might need something like a private. (We went with "the charter school that must not be named for fear of the trolls" and it's a great fit.)

SSMA?

It's not out of line to ask. But before you do, you should consider whether there's any at her level in the higher class. And whether the teacher is good, and the general atmosphere. It won't benefit her if it's rowdy or the teacher is unskilled. Also consider your child's ability to write, do math in writing, and collaborate in a group in an age appropriate way. Sometimes little kids are super fluent readers but not as far ahead in writing and social skills.

If for reading, consider the content. Our DD was easily at the 4th grade level in 2nd grade, but they were reading Number the Stars and I just didn't think she was ready for it.

Try to pitch something that makes it easier for the teacher, not harder.

Do ask yourself what your plan is for math. If she does 4th grade math this year, and 5th grade math next year, then what?

Another thought from a parent with older kids who were advanced in elementary school -- make sure you have a plan for middle school, where it is much harder for teachers to provide differntiated work.

Start thinking about it now.

You may not be happy with DCPS for middle and might need something like a private. (We went with "the charter school that must not be named for fear of the trolls" and it's a great fit.)

The more students ahead of grade level, the less likely they will make personalized arrangements.

It's totally doable. Our DCPS Title I school offered a 2nd grade reading placement to DD in PK4, but she needed her nap and didn't want to miss out on the music, art, PE block, so we declined and she had a hallway 1:1 pull-out instead. We aren't at that school anymore but I do know there's a K group that reads with the 1st grade class daily. They also offered plenty of in-room differentiation. I do not think it's true that DCPS doesn't like to do this.

You really have to consider the logistics and time lost in transition IMO. Pull-outs or 1:1 time might be your best option. A skilled teacher will be able to do in-class differentiation and if you're not receiving that, you need to speak with the teacher and then the assistant principal.

This is school dependent. Our DCPS elementary did pull outs with the math coach and librarian to provide more appropriate work (and to skip lessons he knew) My child (also 3 -4 grades above but socially and emotionally a 3rd grader) is happy and growing.

It was all organized by the teachers and approved by the principal.

Schools have the discretion to do all of those things. Our school has done both moving up a year for part of the day and advanced pullouts/independent work at a higher level for specific students. The latter was very much parent driven- we had to supply the materials and generally oversee the progress.

But you need to think about what your goal is for your daughter. If she is that far ahead, what does she gain from being with the 4th graders? Is her time better spent with peers working on those social/executive functioning skills while being a little bored with the content?

You already answered your question in your narrative!
She is a 3rd grader on many levels, and for the extra brain stimulation that she needs, you are already proving the math supplementation. Keep doing what you are doing and let her be a third grader and go through her natural growth.

DD is in her second week of third grade, and for the third year in a row her iReady scores fell between three and five years above grade level - 570s in Math and 680s in Reading. The iReady chart puts both scores in the sixth-grade range since it is the highest classification for third graders, but if you move down the chart both scores fall into eighth-grade ranges. (She does competition math once a week, which is why she knows higher math.) It's not just that she is a good test-taker; the scores are consistent with her writing and the books and other materials (mainly history and science magazines) she reads outside of class.

With the exception of one teacher who was willing to hand out extra math worksheets, the school -- and to my understanding, DCPS in general -- does not like to differentiate among the materials distributed to students. And obviously they don't have AAP. Given all of that, would I be out of line to ask whether it makes sense to move her up a grade / have her attend certain subjects with fourth graders? Has anyone had experience with that in DCPS? I think it's important to note (and maybe this is the only thing that matters!) that when it comes to maturity and executive functioning, she is 100% a third grader.