Should I skip a grade?

Skipping a grade in school isn’t necessarily as easy as deciding the material you’ve been given so far is too easy for you. If you jumped from 4th to 6th, you might miss some crucial tidbits in that 5th-grade year. To see if you’re ready, you need to have a meeting with your parents and your guidance counselor. If 6th grade is the beginning of middle school in your district, you’ll probably have to meet with counselors in that school, as well.

There are other things you should consider besides schoolwork, sweetie, like your friends. If your BFF is stuck in 5th grade while you jump forward—possibly into a different school—you might lose the connection you once had. As a younger student in your new grade level, it might also be a bit more difficult to make new friends. Is this a trade-off you’d be willing to make?

You might also want to look into accelerated programs that’ll give you more of a challenge but keep you in the same grade as your peers. Once you reach middle school, you’ll likely have the opportunity to take a more challenging course load thanks to honors-level classes.

BY BRITTANY TAYLOR ON 3/31/2011 2:10:00 PM

POSTED IN school, advice