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There is a lot of pressure within the educational system for children to get to and stay on grade level. But how important is this, especially within the homeschool environment? Is it necessary? Do we need to keep our kids on grade level? And if not, what do we do instead?
While the educational system prioritizes kids being on grade level, it’s really a very arbitrary term. Outside of the system of public school, it actually isn’t necessary.
How do kids develop?
Kids just don’t learn in a linear way. Their education doesn’t always go from A to B to C or in a straight line. Sometimes it jumps around up and down, backwards and forwards. It pauses and leaps ahead. Sometimes it moves very quickly and other times it crawls along. This is actually normal!
Kids tend to develop at a similar rate, but they don’t all do everything at the same exact time. Think about when kids learn to walk. Some do this at eight to nine months, others don’t walk until 18 months or later. This is normal! And it’s the same way for learning to read, to add, or anything else.
What’s the purpose of grade level?
So while standards in education can serve a purpose, their main purpose is actually for the system. They are designed to help large groups of move along together at the same pace. It makes it easier on the teacher, to be teaching 25+ kids the same content. In a homeschool environment, this isn’t necessary. Kids don’t have to move at the pace of the other children around them – they can move at their own pace.
This means that while your child might technically be in third grade, but they are doing second grade math and fifth grade reading. They may be late to begin reading but then “catch up” quickly within a short time frame.
What’s the goal of education?
The goal of education is not to reach a specific grade level. The goal isn’t to check off the list of “shoulds.” The goal is to make progress and move forward. The goal is to educate our kids well. The goal is for our kids to understand the content – if it happens at eight instead of five, they have still learned it.
So what does this mean for you practically? As the homeschool mom?
Well first, this means that you can take a deep breath. The pressure you feel to keep your kids moving at the pace that everyone is moving? You can let it go. You don’t have to live under that pressure.
It means that when everyone is pushing you to get your five year old to read, but he isn’t ready, you can confidently say “he’ll be ready when he’s ready.” It means that you can rest a little easier when your child isn’t doing the same math that their same age neighbor is doing. You don’t need to freak out about your child being on grade level.
It’s good to know that your child is progressing. It’s important for your child to move forward. But the pace at which they do it? It’s not going to be the same for every child! And this is why we homeschool. So that our kids can work at their pace, not the pace of another child. Or the pace that the state says they should move.
Is there a time when we should try to keep our kids at grade level?
If you are only homeschooling for a short time and know you are sending your kids to school soon, you may want to keep grade level standards in mind. Because if your kids are going to go back to public school, they will be held accountable to those state standards. And if they aren’t quite meeting the standards, the school will have different expectations and want them to move at a different pace than they could move in your homeschool.
Does this mean you should constantly worry about keeping your kids “on grade level” and push your kids to work at a pace that is too difficult? NO! It just means that it could be something you want to keep in the back of your mind.
When should we be concerned that our kids are behind?
So if we aren’t following the state standards, how do we know if our kids are “behind” and need extra support or intervention? The state standards for grade level can give us an idea of how our kids are developing. We shouldn’t put them on a pedestal, but they can give us a general idea of where we should be headed.
If your child isn’t reading “at third grade level” in third grade, is that reason to throw up the red flag? Not necessarily.
Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Is my child making any progress? Slow progress is still progress. Can you look back six months from now and see they have grown in this area? If they are moving forward, even slowly, this is good.
- Is there anything going on at home that could be contributing to their slower growth? A stressful family event, the birth of a new baby, etc. could cause your child’s development to slow down, stall, or even stop for a time.
- Are they actually struggling with the skill or is it something else? Is it reading itself or is it the curriculum? Do they need some help with fine motor skills to progress in writing? The video in the post Help! My kids won’t do their work! goes into this in detail. Often, changing the methods you’re using can make a huge difference.
Trust your gut – if you feel like your child needs an additional evaluation or you need to hire a tutor, you know your child best. But if you are doing so just because your child hasn’t reached grade level standards, I encourage you to think deeper.
Allowing your kids to work and progress at their own pace is an amazing gift! Don’t let the system’s ideas of where your child should be put pressure on you to move them faster than they are able or ready to move.