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OT: How does someone skip a grade in school? Like, what is the process? I was...

jsusc

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Aug 12, 2004
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helping a customer at work today and we got to talking about this and that and he was telling me about his daughter that has skipped two grades in school and will graduate high school next year at 16.

How does that work? Do they just say, this kid is really smart and move them up without the kid having to take the class? Do they have to take a test for the subject? Like, if they say the kid is too smart for 9th grade and want to send them to 10th grade, does the kid just not have to take 9th grade English? I'm just curious, because I never knew anyone that skipped a grade. I know we have some educators here that could probably answer.
 
helping a customer at work today and we got to talking about this and that and he was telling me about his daughter that has skipped two grades in school and will graduate high school next year at 16.

How does that work? Do they just say, this kid is really smart and move them up without the kid having to take the class? Do they have to take a test for the subject? Like, if they say the kid is too smart for 9th grade and want to send them to 10th grade, does the kid just not have to take 9th grade English? I'm just curious, because I never knew anyone that skipped a grade. I know we have some educators here that could probably answer.
It's usually done prior to High School because HS graduation is based on earning credits, x english, x math, etc. Unless they take credits in summer school, but that's not really skipping a grade. I am unaware of tests in HS that allow you to get credit for a course without taking it. I think their teacher has to make the recommendation based on the child reading/math skills above grade level. I had a friend skip the second grade.
 
I “skipped” second grade. In first grade the teachers talked to my parents and started having me do both first and second grade work at the same time so I would stop disrupting class when I was finished with the first grade work. The next year I simply started third grade.

Now a lot of kids accomplish this through summer school and earning the extra credits to skip a year.
 
In the 80's, in SC they started letting middle school kids take HS credits. This happened here right after I went to high school. Most of the kids who are college bound around here take courses at USCL or tech schools their last one or two HS semesters to get a head start on college. They could graduate college early as well. My daughter could have skipped if she wanted, but she didn't want to leave her best friends and she actually enjoys being a student.
 
One thing that's perplexing to me, is why kids are still in college for 4 years or more. As of last year, the average student still taking at least 4 years to get a degree. So many kids take college credits in high school and go into college as sophomores, or higher, but still end up taking 4 years to get a degree. What's the point then?

I know a couple kids in our family who recently did that and got great grades in college but said all fuss of taking college credits in high school was a waste of time in hindsight.
 
One thing that's perplexing to me, is why kids are still in college for 4 years or more. As of last year, the average student still taking at least 4 years to get a degree. So many kids take college credits in high school and go into college as sophomores, or higher, but still end up taking 4 years to get a degree. What's the point then?

I know a couple kids in our family who recently did that and got great grades in college but said all fuss of taking college credits in high school was a waste of time in hindsight.
I've heard that credits from USC-L might not transfer to private institutions. Kids need to choose wisely. My daughter starts the Governor's School in Greenville this fall. They're a two year schedule so she'll take classes right up to graduation. She says she's in no hurry to not be a student anymore.
 
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In the 80's, in SC they started letting middle school kids take HS credits. This happened here right after I went to high school. Most of the kids who are college bound around here take courses at USCL or tech schools their last one or two HS semesters to get a head start on college. They could graduate college early as well. My daughter could have skipped if she wanted, but she didn't want to leave her best friends and she actually enjoys being a student.
Today’s public school 6th grade curriculum is 1960’s 3rd grade curriculum.
 
Today’s public school 6th grade curriculum is 1960’s 3rd grade curriculum.

I dunno what's going on, but I talk to my sister (Simpsonville) who has kids in 7th and 8th grade and she showed me a catalog of classes. It legit looked like the course catalogs I had when I was in college. The courses they offer are crazy. And our kids are still doing poorly in math and sciences, so I'm not sure what the benefit is offering all these classes...robotics and such.
 
I've heard that credits from USC-L might not transfer to private institutions. Kids need to choose wisely. My daughter starts the Governor's School in Greenville this fall. They're a two year schedule so she'll take classes right up to graduation. She says she's in no hurry to not be a student anymore.
This is true. There are a lot of credits within the USC system that wont transfer out if it. Once in any USC satilight school, they really have you by the nads. You better have a darn good advisor.
 
I skipped 11th grade. For me it was because of very good grades in English. I was permitted to take English I (9th grade) while I was in 8th grade. I was also afforded the opportunity to skip to Algebra I in the 8th grade, but I didn't think I was ready. (I was, but I didn't know it.) After getting the English requirement out of the way, it was just a simple matter of time management. Where other kids were filling out their schedules with study hall, I was knocking out all of my requirements. For the math requirement, I just doubled up by taking Honors Algebra II and Honors Geometry at the same time.

That had me celebrating my 17th birthday about 3 days before walking across the stage to get my diploma.
 
Not an official source, per se, but Smalls was taking, what was for me, HS level Algebra in 7th grade, Geometry in 8th, and Algebra II as a Freshman. He's taking pre-calculus as a Sophomore. That wasn't offered until you were a Senior when I was in school.
What I think that last post response to mine was implying is that curriculum has been dumbed down since the 60's. I don't know that to be true. Maybe he meant the opposite.
 
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Not an official source, per se, but Smalls was taking, what was for me, HS level Algebra in 7th grade, Geometry in 8th, and Algebra II as a Freshman. He's taking pre-calculus as a Sophomore. That wasn't offered until you were a Senior when I was in school.

This is the thing. They have kids taking these math classes far earlier in school, but American kids lag way behind other countries in math. Among industrialized nations, we're worse off the more have pushed more advanced math earlier.
 
I took a couple of credits after my junior year and skipped my senior year. I had good reasons for doing it that related to a couple of personal situations. However, I wish I had experienced a true senior year. Not having one did not benefit me.
 
I would personally advocate against anyone doing this. Yes it does challenge your kid with school work, but I think the social affects are not worth it. Yes you might be smart enough, but emotionally and socially you are still younger than your new peer group and it will cause problems.
Agree with this. I know someone who did not go to kindergarten at all and started first grade when he was barely five. He had all kinds of socialization problems. He also got married when he was really young.
 
I took a couple of credits after my junior year and skipped my senior year. I had good reasons for doing it that related to a couple of personal situations. However, I wish I had experienced a true senior year. Not having one did not benefit me.
Smalls will have all his HS credits by midpoint next school year. However, he's going to stay in high school, mixing random electives with dual enrollment at either USCB or TCL to get a few of the basics done. He wants to have a Senior year.
 
What I think that last post response to mine was implying is that curriculum has been dumbed down since the 60's. I don't know that to be true. Maybe he meant the opposite.
Yes, That’s what I meant. I did college fair visits for a couple of universities in the past and evaluated transcripts as part of my job as an academic dean. Although there certainly are outstanding students, by and large today’s students on average cannot read, write, nor do math anywhere near the level of the average prior generation students. In the name of equity, the academic standards have been lowered substantially so that more students can receive HS diplomas.
 
This is true. There are a lot of credits within the USC system that wont transfer out if it. Once in any USC satilight school, they really have you by the nads. You better have a darn good advisor.
Truth. I have a friend and customer whose kid played baseball for the Gamecocks. Transferred to a JUCO for one year, and then on to a D2 program. Son is probably going to have to take extra classes at the end because or the things that wouldn't transfer from Carolina. He's still a Gamecock fan, but he's pretty salty about the credits not transferring. It's insane and BS.
 
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Truth. I have a friend and customer whose kid played baseball for the Gamecocks. Transferred to a JUCO for one year, and then on to a D2 program. Son is probably going to have to take extra classes at the end because or the things that wouldn't transfer from Carolina. He's still a Gamecock fan, but he's pretty salty about the credits not transferring. It's insane and BS.
Dang shame. I've seen kid after kid have that problem. Majority I know are athletes. They are assigned advisors and in most cases the advisor is a coach not looking beyond one year.
 
In the 80's, in SC they started letting middle school kids take HS credits. This happened here right after I went to high school. Most of the kids who are college bound around here take courses at USCL or tech schools their last one or two HS semesters to get a head start on college. They could graduate college early as well. My daughter could have skipped if she wanted, but she didn't want to leave her best friends and she actually enjoys being a student.
A friend of mine finished one year ahead of me by going to summer school I believe 2 years in a row.We was in the same grade till the 10th.I graduated in 89, him in 88.
 
helping a customer at work today and we got to talking about this and that and he was telling me about his daughter that has skipped two grades in school and will graduate high school next year at 16.

How does that work? Do they just say, this kid is really smart and move them up without the kid having to take the class? Do they have to take a test for the subject? Like, if they say the kid is too smart for 9th grade and want to send them to 10th grade, does the kid just not have to take 9th grade English? I'm just curious, because I never knew anyone that skipped a grade. I know we have some educators here that could probably answer.

Some sort of aptitude test?

Had a fellow USAF brat buddy who skipped his last 2 yrs of high school. Hillcrest Hi, Greenville county.
@ 15 his parents thought he was too young to go off to college. Instead they took him to Germany on their tour of duty😜
This would have been ‘68ish.
 
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Smalls will have all his HS credits by midpoint next school year. However, he's going to stay in high school, mixing random electives with dual enrollment at either USCB or TCL to get a few of the basics done. He wants to have a Senior year.
My grandson is doing the same thing. He was a junior marshall at Lancaster's graduation this morning. Now he'll enjoy a full post-Covid senior year with a light load. These most recent two years have been terrible for students, especially the motivated ones, and especially high school upperclassmen. They have been robbed, particularly last year's seniors. By the way, this grandson's sister graduated in December from USCB. She's already teaching early childhood level at the same elementary school she attended in Lancaster. She got robbed her last two years of college also.
 
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I would personally advocate against anyone doing this. Yes it does challenge your kid with school work, but I think the social affects are not worth it. Yes you might be smart enough, but emotionally and socially you are still younger than your new peer group and it will cause problems.
As someone who could not get their driver’s license until two weeks before graduating high school I will 100% agree with this. At that age it’s rough when everyone else can have jobs and cars and you’re still peddling the Huffy home.
 
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I would personally advocate against anyone doing this. Yes it does challenge your kid with school work, but I think the social affects are not worth it. Yes you might be smart enough, but emotionally and socially you are still younger than your new peer group and it will cause problems.
I could not agree more. And once you do something like this, the ripple effect influences the rest of your life.
 
One thing that's perplexing to me, is why kids are still in college for 4 years or more. As of last year, the average student still taking at least 4 years to get a degree. So many kids take college credits in high school and go into college as sophomores, or higher, but still end up taking 4 years to get a degree. What's the point then?

I know a couple kids in our family who recently did that and got great grades in college but said all fuss of taking college credits in high school was a waste of time in hindsight.
I read that it now takes 5+ years for most kids to get a 4 year degree.
 
I went to school with a kid who skipped 2 grades. I think it mattered more for his parents egos than it did to him. I was an excellent speller and won the school spelling bee 4 years straight, and the district bee twice. He was in my homeroom 2 years, and I had to beat him in homeroom to get to the school bee. I felt kind of sorry for him because his parents expected him to always be top dog. Smart kid, much smarter than me. I just had a knack for spelling.
 
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I skipped my senior year of high school and went to college. I realized during the fall semester of my junior year that I had nearly all the credits I needed to graduate and would be taking nearly all AP classes and electives my senior year. I figured instead of taking classes for college credit, I might as well take actual college classes. I never missed my senior year of HS one bit and absolutely loved my freshman year of college as a 17 year old. But it's not for everybody, obviously.
 
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helping a customer at work today and we got to talking about this and that and he was telling me about his daughter that has skipped two grades in school and will graduate high school next year at 16.

How does that work? Do they just say, this kid is really smart and move them up without the kid having to take the class? Do they have to take a test for the subject? Like, if they say the kid is too smart for 9th grade and want to send them to 10th grade, does the kid just not have to take 9th grade English? I'm just curious, because I never knew anyone that skipped a grade. I know we have some educators here that could probably answer.
Skipped 4th. Had to do an evaluation during the summer after 3rd grade.
 
I would personally advocate against anyone doing this. Yes it does challenge your kid with school work, but I think the social affects are not worth it. Yes you might be smart enough, but emotionally and socially you are still younger than your new peer group and it will cause problems.

Yeah my ex wife is doing this with my kid. Though I agree with you I’m up $hit creek trying to stop it. My daughter will be going into 8th grade and very well could end up graduating not one but possibly two years early.

But as I’ve told my wife. What am I going to do. Spend a lot of money and time in court complaining my daughter is too successful? It’s a good problem to have but I worry about the next couple of years. Putting a 13 year old in a room with 16-17 year olds isn’t ideal.
 
I live in Aiken County. They have the Aiken Scholars Academy there (it's on the USCA campus) and. You essentially skip 2 grades going there. They take the top 50 students in the district that apply. My son just finished his second year there. You have to start in middle school by taking some advanced classes that count as high school credit. Then, when you get to the scholars academy, they essentially go at twice the speed. After that second year, you start going to college classes at USCA. So what would be your Junior and Senior years of high school are actually your Freshman and Sophomore years of college (and it's free). You still graduate from the scholars academy at 18, you just have 2 years of college under your belt. Now, if my son gets a 4 year scholarship, it will cover those last 2 years of college and then the 2 years to get a Masters Degree. He'll graduate college at 20 with his Bachelor's and 22 with his Master's.
 
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