Grade+Skipping

Grade Skipping is a form of acceleration-- to the point of being called "radical acceleration" by some researchers (Brown, 1987). The benefits of Grade Skipping are along the same lines as subject acceleration, but in terms of academic growth, the results are greater. Rogers found almost a full years additional growth to occur when students are advanced a full grade ahead (Rogers, 1992, 2002, 2005) and Brown, in his report for the Toronto Board of Education summarized that no research to that point had found that enrichment or modification ever led to a higher academic growth rate than grade skipping. Why then is the option used so sparingly?

The socio-emotional concerns by parents, educator and gifted students is the foremost reason that this option is rarely exercised. Quinn (1991) wrote that Grade Skipping could "deprive students of valuable interaction with those in their age group." A survey by Southern in 1989 gave similar reasons for why school personnel especially were weary of having gifted students skip a grade. The survey showed that many school faculty members had negative attitudes about Grade Skipping (with general education teachers and principals more likely to express concern over gifted facilitators and school psychologists) and that those that did have negative feelings believed that students could handle the work, but would have a hard time adjusting socio-emotionally. What then does research have to say about the social and emotional effects of Grade Skipping on students that are gifted?

The answer unfortunately is still unclear. Early studies in the 1950s and 1960s, according to Brown, show a negative effect on students who skipped a grade. Because of sampling and methodological limitations, Jonas and Southern (1991) called these early studies into question. Kulik and Kulik (1984) in their meta-analysis did not find a wide range of research on emotional effect of Grade Skipping, but of what they did, skipping a grade did not appear to have any effect on adjustment, fitting in at school, or willingness to participate in school and extracurricular activities. Rogers (1992) also found that grade skipping had neither a positive or negative effect, but that this area still needed to be researched more fully in order to gain a better picture.

What can be said of Grade Skipping then? While obviously not a program option, skipping a grade appears to be an option that promotes academic growth. The team of staff, parents and administrators at a school need to carefully weigh the decision to have a student skip a grade, with the knowledge that while academic benefit is very possible, it could all be for naught, if the student struggles to adjust to their new setting thus making school less desirable.