Anonymous wrote:Our rising 8th grader is enrolled in 3 ninth grade classes (math, science, and social studies). Since we live in NY, he’ll have to take the Regents exams at the end of the year. Placement depends on how you do on certain standardized tests.

He’s a smart kid but has adhd and can be spacey, disorganized, unmotivated, unfocused etc. We often have issues where we discover that he missed a quiz or several hw assignments and never made them up and now it’s too late. It’s frustrating as his parent and neither of us have the time or inclination to stay on top of him and direct his homework and studying on a nightly basis. We’re still trying to figure out the right medicine and dosage. Since these are ninth grade classes, he’ll have to send them on his college transcripts.

In our situation, would you want him to take the more challenging classes? Most likely he’ll get Bs or A-s in class and As on the finals. I don’t think colleges care if you have adhd. They’ll just look at the Bs.

He’s not gunning for Harvard or the like but I would like him to go to college. What do you think?

If he is an 8th grader taking 9th grade classes, I don't think those grades will go to the colleges...only the classes he starts taking in 9th...check with your college counselors to be sure. But that is how it worked for my senior...she was in hs level classes 7th and 8th ...none of those grades were included in her transcript for college.

Anonymous wrote:Grades matter but so does course rigor. Colleges want to see students challenging themselves, which is why a B in an AP class is better than an A in a regular class.

Is it better or the same?

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He tested in with math back in fourth grade and his 7th grade science and social studies teachers recommended him for 9th grade classes. There’s a bunch of kids who do this so they’re grouped together in the same classes. I do like the idea of him being with these presumably harder working kids.

We live in ny. Is this not commonly done in the dc area? I figured it was a standard middle school thing.

Yeah, it’s common. Certain kids, especially in math and science, are advanced to 9th grade classes otherwise they won’t get in both AP calculus classes and AP sciences. Both my kids took Biology and Algebra, 9th grade classes, in middle school.

But they didn’t have ADHD or any organization issues. They were ready and responsible for these classes. If you do let your son advance, you will have to help him stay on top of his work and teach him to be more responsible. It’ll be a lot of work for you.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. He tested in with math back in fourth grade and his 7th grade science and social studies teachers recommended him for 9th grade classes. There’s a bunch of kids who do this so they’re grouped together in the same classes. I do like the idea of him being with these presumably harder working kids.

We live in ny. Is this not commonly done in the dc area? I figured it was a standard middle school thing.

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No it's not done in the DC area because here, every kid is "gifted"

OP here. He tested in with math back in fourth grade and his 7th grade science and social studies teachers recommended him for 9th grade classes. There’s a bunch of kids who do this so they’re grouped together in the same classes. I do like the idea of him being with these presumably harder working kids.

We live in ny. Is this not commonly done in the dc area? I figured it was a standard middle school thing.

Anonymous wrote:Your son doesn’t sound emotionally ready to handle the high school classes. Give him another year to mature and work on his learning to organize his time and school work.

+1

I'm not sure if "emotionally ready" is the right term, though. It sounds as if he could use another year to work on organizational skills, especially with ADHD and in a situation where he really does need to organize himself (mom and dad aren't going to do it for him).

OP, am I reading you right? He'll take these 9th grade classes as eighth grader starting this fall, so at this moment he's just finished seventh grade, right?

I'm asking this without judgement (because you can't hear my tone in a post, Im' saying that): What is the reason the school is giving for having him in these classes? I'm figuring the school is allowing (or encouraging) this because he's smart, as you say, and maybe these are his wheelhouse subjects. Is the school where the idea originated or did you as parents plus son decide to do this, or a combination--? Is the concern that he'll be bored in the 8th grade version of these courses? Has someone at school assured you, or better yet demonstrated for you, that he will not be having a tough time at first, having effectively skipped an entire grade's worth of subject matter by going right to the 9th grade math, social studies and science? I would have some concerns that he'll have skipped over some foundational materials that the other ninth graders will have and which teachers have to assume he either has or can manage without. What have you discussed about the fact it's effectively skipping a grade of material in those classes, not merely "taking 9th grade classes"?

I'm NOT saying it's a bad idea; you know your son and I don't. You know whether the school, the counselors, the teachers have discussed with you and him what happens when he skips ahead by an academic year. Maybe you covered all that in detail. Did you talk to the ninth grade teachers he'll have, not just his seventh or eighth grade teachers who think he's ready/think he could be bored in eighth grade versions of the classes?

I'm just noting that if he forgets homework assignments and misses quizzes sometimes -- your own word here is "often"-- that could be greatly magnified in ninth grade courses, especially if it turns out he has to play even a little catch-up on material or on study skills.

And study skills are so, so fundamental at this stage. You're focusing on his grades in these classes re: transcripts and college, and that is an important place to focus for sure. But also bear in mind that middle school into high school is when students really have to up their game on learning how to learn, and that includes organizing their schedules; not missing quizzes or homework assignments; knowing how and when to make up missed work, and not missing the deadlines for make-ups or extra credit; being able to break up studying over time so you're not cramming the night before a test; planning longer projects in advance enough that you're not writing a paper or trying to do a science project two days before it's due, etc.

If he takes these ninth grade classes, I would be prepared to do more of the "stay on top of him and direct his homework and studying" that you don't have time or inclination to do, at least at the start of the next school year. At least to be sure he's getting a good start and not floundering at the outset. I'm not sure what the rush is other than he's smart and maybe you, or he, or some of his teachers, think he'll be bored in eighth grade classes. But did they address your questions about grades, transcripts and college?

Also, your question really belongs with the HS counselor who handles HS students' college applications and transcripts. I'd find that person over the summer ASAP and ask what you're asking here. You might get quite a different answer from the person who deals with college applications than from your son's 7th-8th grade teachers. (It's not "too early" to talk to a HS counselor either, not with this specific question.)

If you did all this discussion already, my apologies, and this is all moot! I'm just laying out some concerns I'd see in having your son in not just one but three freshman classes in eighth grade, when he doesn't seem to have strong, self-driven organizational/homework/study stills in place yet.

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I would put him in the most challenging classes. The truth is he’s unlikely to change in a year and if you wait until next year, he’ll be getting A- and Bs in the regular schedule, instead of the most challenging classes. The other thing I would do is spring for an organizational tutor. Have them meet with your kid at least once before classes start to set up folders and notebooks and, if possible, once a week to help them stay on top of their work. If you give permission, they could even contact teachers. Their job would be to help your kid stay organized and, if needed, show them how to study and adjust studying needs for high school level where there are usually more textbooks and the kids need to memorize more and write under increased time pressure.

- mother of three add kids who eventually went to top colleges

This. Parent the kid you have now with the most appropriate education for him now. Don't try to make a decision based on the possible effect of grades he doesn't have yet on a college application process 4 years from now. He's likely to have similar problems throughout HS and you have no idea what his best-fit colleges are going to be.

Perhaps you should ask on the Special Needs forum, OP.

My child is twice exceptional: he has severe ADHD, low processing speed and host of other issues. Also a high IQ. We've had to support his executive functioning deficits so that he could take the advanced courses he wanted. We've always been his organizational coaches.

It looks as if your child is way less impacted by his ADHD than ours, which is why you haven't yet had to help him, but for us it's been years of adapting to our son's needs. He's gradually becoming more independent, but college will probably be a difficult transition. He has such an extreme range of functioning between what he's academically capable of doing, and his organizational and other issues, that there's no perfect option: leaving him to his own devices led to failing a grade years ago, which for a child with an intellectual bent and a love of learning is really a crying shame.

You can perhaps hire an organizational coach, if you really don't have the time to step into that role. Just know they're expensive. But I think you should make every effort to further your child's academic goals.

He doesn’t sound up to it. Don’t do it.