This is the time of year when teachers have to make decisions regarding student placement for next year. This is a particularly sticky process in schools that have combined grade levels. For example some schools have kindergarten and first grade in the same room. Others have a primary level in which students can stay anywhere from 1 to 3 years.
In these classrooms teachers often need to decide if a student should spend one or more years in the room. Parents frequently assume that if their child is kept in a mixed level for a second year it is because he/she is not smart enough to move on. The truth is, it takes an exceptional child to spend only one year in a mixed level classroom. This child would have to not only be able to perform a full year above his/her age. He/she would also be expected to socialize at a level above his/her age. That is a lot to ask of a child.
Early on in my career, I worked at a private school that tended to bend easily to the will of the parents. During my time there, a parent insisted that her child be moved to a higher grade for math. The student was able to perform basic calculations, but had no idea when or why to apply them. In the end, the parents won out and the child moved up.
As a teacher, that kind of thing breaks my heart. Rather than seeing it as giving the child a head start, as I’m sure the parent must see it, I see it as putting them at an unfair disadvantage. Most of their peers were allowed to move sequentially from stage to stage in each subject area. In math, they would have learned and practiced several concepts over the previous year. A student not given the opportunity to move through the yearlong process is expected to perform at the same level as the other students without the benefit of practice or even much exposure in some cases.
I have yet to meet the student that is both academically and socially prepared to skip a year. I’ve taught a few students that have skipped and each time there were very frustrating friendship issues to deal with. That seemed to be the trade off for the kids. Students are offered rigorous academics, but as a result experience many challenging social issues.
I’m a big fan of slow and steady wins the race.
