Grade skipping
Grade skipping is a form of academic acceleration, often used for academically talented students, that enable the student to skip entirely the curriculum of one or more years of school. Grade skipping allows students to learn at an appropriate level for their cognitive abilities, and is normally seen in schools that group students primarily according to their chronological age, rather than by their individual developmental levels. Grade skipping is usually done when a student is sufficiently advanced in all school subjects, so that they can move forward in all subjects or graduate, rather than in only one or  two areas. There are alternatives to grade skipping. Timing and other factors. Grade acceleration is easiest to implement through skipping pre-kindergarten into kindergarten or skipping kindergarten into first grade directly. By starting the child ahead, many of the problems associated with grade skipping, such as leaving friends behind or knowledge gaps, are avoided. Other key factors to a successful grade skip include the desire of the student, the receptivity of the receiving teacher, and whether a sibling is in the old or new grade. All these factors have been studied and organized into a survey called "The Iowa Acceleration  Scale" ("IAS"), which when completed yields a recommendation on whether or not to accelerate an individual student. The IAS also cited four critical situations in which grade skipping is not recommended. These conditions are: Cost-effectiveness. Grade skipping is one of the most cost-effective ways of addressing the needs of a profoundly gifted student, as it requires no extra resources and very little more than assigning the child to a different classroom, without the expense of special materials, tutoring, or separate programs. The cost of educating the gifted child in a regular classroom with typical same-age peers is  the same as the cost of educating that child in a regular classroom with typical somewhat older students, so using grade skipping is essentially cost-free to the school. Students may benefit financially from grade skipping, as recent research shows that children who skipped a grade earn higher incomes in adulthood than similar non-skipping students. Potential problems. Many school administrators and the general public carry misconceptions about grade skipping, believing that children are often harmed by being placed in an environment for which they are academically ready but emotionally or socially not. For the majority of gifted students, grade  skipping is beneficial both academically "and" socially. Knowledge gaps. The time that the student skips may create a knowledge gap if the child has not self-studied the material already taught to the students in the grade being entered. While the student is bridging this gap they will likely find the new material challenging. It may be demoralizing to leave a situation in which they are top performers into a situation where they are struggling with the material. Knowledge gaps are smaller in earlier school years. Students almost always successfully catch up to match their peers. Social concerns. Unless the  skipped students are already in a multi-grade class, students entering a new grade after being in school are usually taken out of their existing classes and put into new classes, with different students. Similar to what happens to students who change schools due to moving to a new home, spending less time with former classmates may disrupt some social ties, and there may be a period of stress while the students integrate into their new classes. Although this change is perceived as a potential problem by adults who think it is normal for children to only have friends of  exactly the same age, many gifted children find it easier to make friends with children their age. Students in the new class may view the skipping student as being different. This may result in additional social problems, such as teasing about being the teacher's pet. Aggressive teasing is less likely to happen to boys who are taller and athletically oriented. There is also a concern that a student could be ostracized for being accelerated. Alternatives. Alternatives to grade skipping include: Resistance. American schools may oppose grade skipping, or limit it to one or at the most two grades, regardless  of the student's academic and social situation. There is no research that supports these limits, and the decision to limit grade skipping is mostly based on the intuition of school personnel. Refusing to promote the student to an appropriate level can result in social isolation and educational underachievement.