ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF GRADE SKIPPING

In Ghana, Primary education lasts for 6 years, which consists of a 3-year Lower Primary phase and a 3-year Upper Primary phase. This stage of education is widely characterized by grade skipping. During primary education, the curriculum places an emphasis on reading, writing, arithmetic and the development of problem-solving abilities.

Compulsory school starting ages vary a lot around the world, mainly from age 3 to 7 years, USA (5years), United Arab Emirates (4years), just to mention a few. In Ghana school starting age is 4 years and starting primary school is pegged at age 6.

These days, parents will be struggling for the child to be in primary 1 by 4 years old. By 8 years, the child would have completed primary 4, expecting to proceed to primary 5. This same parent will now try to skip primary 5.

Some will even insist on double promotion from primary 3 to primary 5, thereby cutting a year off, and not caring about the mental growth of the child. The parent will insist that the child proceeds to JHS 1. If the school refuses to cut corners, they change the school. Most educators don’t agree to grade skipping due to the following reasons.

👉    The pupil advanced academically, but not physically or emotionally.

👉   Keeping a child with her age group is the safest way to go.

👉Psychological adjustment difficulties, including social skills, maturity, peer acceptance, motivation and persistence.

👉 Childhood is short enough as it is. Why hurry kids any more than you need to?

👉 Most of the time, the learner will find himself lying about his age so that he can belong.

Those on the other side of the debate see a larger danger in letting kids languish in classes that are far too easy for them. For a few notable examples, civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. and Prof Elsie Effah Kaufmann (NSM Quiz mistress) were skipped ahead of their classes. Some argue the following, 

👉Many high-ability, under-challenged kids float through school, growing accustomed to underachieving.

👉A recent report from John Hopkins University shows that, about two out of every seven children are ready for higher grade curriculum. These children are not learning something new each day and are likely bored in class.

👉Gifted and talented students stay engaged in school when skipped to a more challenging class.

👉It’s difficult to predict if skipping a child ahead will create problems down the line.

👉Unchallenged students can lose their joy of learning, leading to underachievement.

Conclusively, parents of gifted children grade skipping can be confusing. How do parents and teachers decide whether or not to skip a grade?  The answer to these questions depends largely on the degree to which students are bored in school and whether they are mature enough to be able to interact with older peers. Grade skipping is not recommended for all gifted or high ability students.

What are your thoughts and experiences of grade skipping? 

Do you agree with skipping a child?

Share your thoughts in the comment below