What parents of gifted kids should know about grade-skipping
By: Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth
Tags: Gifted And Talented, Gifted, K 12 Education, Acceleration, Education

By Maria Blackburn

I’m from the Northeast. I walk fast and talk fast, and tend to think that fast is good and slow is bad. Except when it comes to accelerating my kids’ learning in school. Then I’m not so sure.

My son Nick was reading at 3, fascinated by U.S. presidential assassinations at 4, and plowing through the Harry Potter series (again) at 5. When he started first grade at our neighborhood public school, we worried they would want to accelerate his learning by having him skip first grade. We didn’t want his social and emotional development to suffer, yet we wanted him to have an appropriate level of challenge.

Instead of suggesting he skip a grade, Nick’s school proposed keeping him with his same-age peers, accelerating him within his grade by subject, and pulling him out for extra sessions with a gifted learning specialist. We agreed and the approach served him well throughout elementary school and beyond.

Happy kid, happy parents. The story should end here. And yet, I wonder if we did the right thing. What would have happened if we had pursued advanced learning differently? Is grade skipping the demon many parents think it is? What’s the best way to accelerate bright kids in school?

For answers, I turned to Linda Brody, who has more than 30 years of experience counseling academically advanced pre-college students and their families about a range of issues, including acceleration. As director of the Study of Exceptional Talent and the Diagnostic and Counseling Center at the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY), she’s seen a lot of changes in the understanding of what families and schools can do to challenge bright learners.

Opportunities for acceleration have evolved since Johns Hopkins psychologist and CTY founder Julian Stanley created the Talent Search some 50 years ago, she says. Stanley gave bright middle schoolers the SAT to measure their abilities and determine how to meet their academic needs. A number of students he identified entered college early because their high schools could not meet their needs for advanced content. “Today there are numerous options for accelerating in one or more subjects without necessarily accelerating grade placement or entering college early,” Brody says. “Online learning, summer programs, part-time placement in advanced classes, and dual enrollment in high school and college are some of the options students can consider.“

Whatever options a family chooses should be based on their child’s ability level as well as their content knowledge, motivation to move at a faster pace, and social and emotional maturity. It’s also important to evaluate the school’s curriculum, to consider whether it can meet a child’s needs, and consider if it offers the student access to an intellectual peer group. “Acceleration isn’t simply about speed or getting ahead of other kids,” she says. “It’s about providing the appropriate pace and placement to meet a child’s individual educational needs.”

Here’s some additional advice from Brody:

Recognize the signs. How do you know if your kid needs acceleration? “If your child shows the ability to learn at a faster rate than other students their age, or if their knowledge of a content area is already beyond their peers, they may need access to a curriculum that’s more advanced or moves at a faster pace than what’s typically offered to students their age,” Brody says.

Partner, please. To make a strong case for acceleration, Brody suggests, approach your child’s school as a partner with whom you can explore the available options.

Collect data. “Assessments, especially above-grade-level tests like those in CTY’s Talent Search, can provide valuable data about how a child’s abilities compare with other students their age,” she says. The results can help you advocate for appropriate services and advanced placement for your child.

Schools are like snowflakes — no two are alike. Know that options for acceleration can vary by geographic area and school, Brody says. “Some schools may be more open to subject acceleration, others to grade acceleration,” she says. “Some might have robust gifted programs, while others may not offer much that’s specifically designed for gifted students.”

Be realistic. When asking for accommodations, “Suggest alternatives that are doable in your child’s school setting,” Brody says. Accelerated online learning is a popular choice for schools and families of academically advanced students because it can take place anywhere, anytime.”

Have a plan. “Acceleration isn’t a one-time event; it should be part of a longer-term strategy to ensure that your child’s needs are met,” Brody says. Plan accelerative moves, including out-of-school learning, with your child’s school, keeping an eye on the short- and long-term impacts to ensure your child is learning and being appropriately challenged.

About that social and emotional adjustment… The fear that acceleration can have a negative impact on a child’s social and emotional development holds many people back from recommending accelerative strategies, Brody says. “In fact, there’s strong research showing that many accelerated students find beneficial social and emotional effects when they are placed in settings that are more appropriate for their intellectual needs.”

Part of what’s difficult when you have kids is knowing that you are making the right decisions. Sometimes, it takes years to find out how well you did or didn’t do. I wish I had had Linda Brody’s expertise years ago when we were deciding how to engage and challenge our then first grader, but with the help of our elementary school and our son’s love of learning, it all worked out.