{"id":13779,"date":"2016-10-01T07:30:46","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T14:30:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ieadev.wpengine.com\/blog-gifted-child-skip-grade\/"},"modified":"2024-05-15T12:13:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T19:13:38","slug":"blog-gifted-child-skip-grade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/blog-gifted-child-skip-grade\/","title":{"rendered":"Should My Gifted Child Skip a Grade?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Nicole LaChance, Marketing & Communications Coordinator\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a question almost every parent of a gifted child struggles with at some point: should my child skip a grade (or more)? For many gifted children, grade acceleration is beneficial. Students are placed in classes where they are truly challenged and with peers more on their intellectual level. But, for some children, skipping a grade can be harmful to their social and emotional development. Being away from age group peers and automatically viewed as the \u201cwhiz kid\u201d has the potential to lead to bullying or other emotional damage.<\/p>\n

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. (Frustrating, I know.) However, there are some common pros and cons to guide you as you make the decision.<\/p>\n

Pros<\/strong><\/p>\n

Academic Satisfaction
\n<\/u>Several studies have shown that children who accelerate do not suffer academically. In fact, their grades are often higher than their peers who did not accelerate and on par with older students in their grade-level, according to SENG<\/u><\/a>. Accelerated students also report increased interest in and enthusiasm for school, leading to a higher rate of academic satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Community of Intellectual Peers
\n<\/u>Several studies have noted<\/u><\/a> that, when students are among intellectual peers, they feel better socially and perform better academically. Allowing a child to skip ahead places them in learning environments with students who, while not their age, are on par with them intellectually. This community is invaluable for all children, but can be particularly meaningful for gifted students who have never before experienced it<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Reduced Behavior Problems
\n<\/u>Behavior teachers see as trouble-making is often boredom for the gifted student.<\/u><\/a> These students spend up to 50% of their class time waiting for other students to catch up<\/u><\/a> and grasp the material. As a result, they engage in activities to occupy their downtime, which can include distracting other students and disrupting lessons. However, when students feel challenged by academic material, they are less likely to cause problems in the classroom. Additionally, being appropriately challenged can help behavior later in life by building appropriate coping skills for encountering obstacles.<\/p>\n

Cons<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emotional Unpreparedness
\n<\/u>Since gifted children sometimes experience asynchronous development<\/u><\/a>, they may be academically advanced but emotionally immature. If a child is already lagging behind their peers emotionally and socially, acceleration into an older age group could intensify the problem<\/u><\/a>, especially if there are not many other accelerated students. While certainly not an issue for all gifted children, it\u2019s important for parents to consider their child\u2019s temperament and if they can handle the pressures of being the young kid in class.<\/p>\n

Unexpected Challenges
\n<\/u>Gifted kids who are being considered for acceleration are often used to being at the top of the class. When moving up, this may change and can present frustration<\/u><\/a> for some students. Parents should prepare students for this ahead of time, support them as they adjust to the new environment and ensure them they are not a failure if other students are above them or the arrangement doesn\u2019t work out.<\/p>\n

Bullying
\n<\/u>Bullying is an unfortunate reality in the modern school system, most notably for any child perceived as \u201cdifferent.\u201d \u00a0Ken Newman, who skipped a grade in elementary school and went on to attend Cornell University at age 15, recounts being bullied in high school<\/u><\/a> for being smaller and younger-looking than his classmates. This can be especially prevalent in middle school<\/u><\/a>, where the differences of gifted kids are most likely to be noticed. Luckily, incidents like Newman\u2019s are more outliers than the norm, but they still happen on occasion.<\/p>\n

If skipping an entire grade isn\u2019t ideal for your gifted student, there are other options.<\/p>\n

\u201cSkipping a grade isn\u2019t the answer for every gifted student,\u201d said Maureen Marron<\/u><\/a> of the Connie Belin and Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. \u201cAcceleration means matching the curriculum to a student\u2019s abilities. For one student, that may mean grade skipping; for another, it may mean acceleration in a single subject, like math; for other students, enrichment-based activities in the classroom are all they need.\u201d Other acceleration options include starting kindergarten early, enrolling in high school AP courses or advancing to college.<\/p>\n

At IEA, we believe every child has a unique set of needs, and whether or not grade acceleration is the right choice depends on the needs and personality of your<\/em> child. And no one knows your child like you.<\/p>\n

Like this post? Sign up for our email newsletter<\/u><\/a> to receive more stories, information, and resources about gifted youth straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This post is part of the Hoagies\u2019 Gifted Blog Hop Grade\u00a0Acceleration<\/a>.\u00a0Please click the image below to keep on hopping!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"gifted<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At IEA, we believe every child has a unique set of needs, and whether or not grade acceleration is the right choice depends on the needs and personality of your child. And no one knows your child like you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166,156,189,157,376,377,378,379],"tags":[177,190,307,3747,3748,1328,3743,167,3750,296,353,3742,3749,2365,2627,259,3751],"class_list":["post-13779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about-iea","category-blog","category-gifted-information","category-gifted-resources","category-grade-6-8","category-grade-9-12","category-grade-k-5","category-programs-services","tag-academics","tag-acceleration","tag-asynchronous-development","tag-behavior","tag-behavioral-problems","tag-bullying","tag-cons","tag-educational-choices","tag-emotional-unpreparedness","tag-hoagies-gifted-blog-hop","tag-nicole-lachance","tag-pros","tag-reduced-behavioral-problems","tag-seng","tag-skipping-a-grade","tag-social-and-emotional-development","tag-unexpected-challenges"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educationaladvancement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}