to ask the teacher for more advanced teaching for my child

[NC43211234]

In a nutshell, is it appropriate to ask for a more advanced teaching level for my child and how can I go about this in the best way? I'm trying to not sound like an entitled arse. I'm aware that teachers have a curriculum to follow and that schools have to support the needs of kids of all abilities.

The specifics of my situation are that I have a bright DS who is 9. I get to see all the maths work he does in class and at home and its very, very repetitive and I know that he is not challenged by it. Homework takes about 1 minute. He asks me about more advanced concepts and I answer, but this is very ad hoc. I still want him to be taught properly, but at a faster pace.

Our schools do a form of testing that works on the basis that computerised questions get progressively harder until the child is getting 50% of questions right. So rather than testing if they just know what has been taught in class it tests where the child's knowledge level is. I really like this idea as it should work for kids working above and below grade level. It also gives a projected score for the child to aim for by the end of the school year.

My kid did well but was not exceptional, he was scored in the 88th centile for maths which in itself is fine. But if everyone is being given the same level work as my DS, does this mean the school are not providing work appropriate for approximately 15% of the kids? How is he expected to reach his projected score if the work he is being given is below his existing abilities?

Eventually the school will differentiate with different teaching groups but not yet. We live in an area where people value education and its not unusual to hire tutors. I think this may be affecting his placement in the centiles but I know it sounds presumptuous to suggest this. Do I need to buy into outside tutoring to make sure my DS makes the cut off for a higher level group in the future?

Obviously I will be speaking to his teacher about all of this, but I am asking here for tips on how to have this conversation go well. Has anyone had any success in asking their school for a more advanced teaching level for their child before the school wants to give it? Or any teachers that can offer insight into how this can happen? What are the pros and cons of asking for this? Thanks for any input.

Most schools can provide extension work for their more able students. I would ask whether the school does this. Also look for online programmes that support his learning.

I think if you want to design his maths curriculum, you need to get a tutor or home school. You can of course ask that the existing work is is differentiated for him, but there will come a point (and it sounds like soon) where the teacher will be doing all they can without designing a new programme of study around your child, which they won't do.

Hi NC,

Is your son 9 or in Y9? (If 9 I didn’t know that primary school did the MIDYIS-type tests!)

I don’t know if the school have explained the data to you, however, if it is then just be wary of the target grade recommended - as a head of department in a large school I can tell you that whilst the data is a good guideline to start conversations about targets, I would not base target grades solely on that data.

However, if your son is finding the work too easy then that is definitely something the teacher needs to know to differentiate accordingly. I am perfectly happy to receive an email from a parent saying that their child is finding the work a bit easy and could they be given something a bit harder to have a go at. If your son’s marks back your comments up I have no doubt the teacher would be delighted to arrange it! If the teacher has some doubts then they might share that with you and say yes he can but he first needs to work on X to make sure he will get the harder stuff.

I hope all goes well! 👍🏼😊

I would start by telling the teacher DS has been asking you about more complicated maths and you would like to discuss how best to support him rather than saying the current work is too easy, that way it sounds like you are asking for heir help rather than criticising them. If they brush it off then you can say about being worried about the work being too easy and him not being stretched, but don't start with that.

Absolutely. Say your son wants a challenge, and is whizzing through the homework. Ask for extra work or pointers for resources that'll help. Get a work book for the year ahead (so year 6, or 11+ work) and see if that adds a bit of challenge.

Thanks for your responses.

To clarify, he is 9, not Y9. He's in a state school but we are in the US. I didn't want to emphasise that as I'm hoping someone will have some advice about their experience that I can still apply to our situation.

Online is a good idea, as is a workbook for the year ahead - I will try these.

With regards the testing the data hasn't really been explained. It is just, he got a score of 205, the mean is 198, his projected end of year score is 215. How he should achieve 215 hasn't been explained thus far but I will be asking.

My only advice re: buying materials for content covered in an older year is that once the child gets into that year they’ll be in the same situation because they’ll have done it before. I’ve got a child in one of my classes that did the textbook we do this year last year and so I’ve had to come up with a virtually separate scheme of work for her to make sure she isn’t bored but at the same tome making sure she still covers the same material as the rest of the group!

Ahhh ok so it’s slightly different here - the number converts to a grade in each subject but the data isn’t always very useful especially in creative subjects like art and drama and music!

JBob5 - I can see that would be annoying, one child having covered the same exact problems before.

Related question though, at 88 centile and anecdotally the work is way to easy, pace too slow for my boy, there must a good number who are working at this level above the curriculuum? Are there disadvantages to not providing differentiated work for this number that I am not anticipating?

Acceleration is not advised for gifted students. They tend to learn in a fairly shallow way and it just creates more problems down the line. They should however be given problems at greater depth.
I'm not sure what it is with maths in primary schools but easy, repetitive work does seem very common. It's the same at DC's school.

You already gave your US origins away, OP, even though you tried really hard to disguise them by saying "arse" and "maths" instead of "ass" and "math". You know what did it? "grade level".

If you want to challenge him outside school look at things like the primary maths challenge.

Angelil - lol. I swear I wasn't trying to hide where we are. I am British, just wanted to make sure this didn't get derailed by being about a different education system as I'm sure its a universal question.

HomeMadeMadness - I'm very interested in your answer. I definitely want to avoid any problems down the line. And would you be able to give me an example of problems at greater depth as this is the sort of thing I want to be able to ask for.

There's much more initiative in USA to extend Gifted Kids [than in Britain, I don't think Mn is the place for you to ask your questions]. I'm surprised you're finding obstacles, OP, are you in a poor school district?

The other done thing is to move them up a grade, of course.

Personally if my kid was happy, I wouldn't rock the boat (I was bullied after being moved to the school with special programme for Gifted kids, so biased that social happiness matters over all else).

NC - it’s not really annoying, it just is what it is 😊 as a teacher you just adapt to the children in front of you.

It depends if he is 88 in that school or nationally? I imagine that the biggest disadvantages to lack of differentiation that I have seen myself are disengagement, increase of poor low level behaviour due to boredom and then falling behind because they become complacent once it becomes more difficult. The teacher will always need to check that the foundations are sound before stretching pupils.

If a pupil said to me “this is too easy JBob” I would give them something harder to do and if they got it right then fab but if they failed I’d say ok let’s take it back a bit to where you went wrong. 😊

I have a similar issue OP. Specifically with maths. Rather than put it on the teacher I have ordered work books off the Internet and DD and I work through them as and when she feels like it. I am aware I may be widening the gap further but I'd rather support her in her interest than worry about what the other children are doing.

Online resources, such as Education Perfect.

You need the school to broaden your child's experiences, in the case of Maths, work which applies their learning rather than learning more algorithms. Too many can't use their learning and they get into an exam situation and can't apply their knowledge. I likened it to a plumber knowing how to use each tool in his bag but not knowing which tool to pick up for a particular job.

I’m having the same dilemma with my 4 year old. He is exceptionally bright, and the work he brings home that he’s done in school he could have done before he was 3.
I don’t want to look like one of those pushy mothers because I’m not.
But my son is reading exceptionally well in 2 different languages and he can write. He is reading books designed for 7/8 year olds and he’s only in reception.
I’m just worried he’s going to get bored and don’t know whether to mention it to his teacher or just see how it goes and just do extra bits at home with him 😕

So we are not in a poor school district - actually the opposite. He is in the 88centile in the district but I imagine that would be a higher centile if taken statewide or nationally.

We aren't finding obstacles as such - I'm just trying to find the right way to ask for a bit more. I mentioned that I suspect, but definitely don't know, that other kids are getting tutored or have classes outside of school and this raises the bar. I want to make sure I avoid any pitfalls but that my kid can still clear the bar when needed.

I don't want him put up a grade for social reasons, which trump everything for me as well.

Ask about the Gifted Kids programme. They must have one. Or google in your area.

Is he a 3rd or 4th grader?

At 88th centile I'd say he should be quite happy in his math classes at the moment. If you're in a good school district I would expect that the teachers are already differentiating the learning for the different levels. How many are in each math class?

If he's bored in class you could mention it to the teacher so that s/he gives him some harder work to do.

At middle school I would keep an eye out, and ask for some extra testing. Depending on what your school offers he could be put up a grade for math only, he could do the math talent program, or there may be other options available to you. You might want to get him tested independently as he enters middle school so you have something to show to the school to demonstrate his need. I wish we had done this for DD1 who was very bored in middle school math classes, and only really started to be challenged at high school (she is now a 12th grader planning to study math at college).

I’d say speak to the teacher - I would genuinely want to know if I was pitching my lessons too low - and ask if they recommend any books that might complement the teaching or challenge him at home like lengthier/abstract problems.

I’d look at broadening and deepening his maths world if he’s interested. Hunt down some physics for kids books that will encourage him to experiment with applying maths. Look at ways of using maths in the real world, if it’s knowledge he’s after he’ll find all that stuff deeply satisfying.

I’d mention to the teacher - it may be that repetition to secure the basics is a deliberate strategy at this stage, it may be that your son hasn’t demonstrated his aptitude in class. If you trust the school, give them your thoughts and ask for their perspective.

hi OP, I am a secondary Maths teacher and I would be very surprised if your DS's school didn't differentiate however there is no harm in telling the teacher he is finding the work easy. Don't mention the percentile thing though, other children are not relevant and the teacher won't appreciate being told she/he is failing 15% of their class! It doesn't need lots of analysis just ask them to have extension available.

I agree that rich tasks are better than accelerated learning. It's best that your DS has a deep understanding rather than just covering the content more quickly. Try this website:

nrich.maths.org/