Pros and cons to 4th grade student in a 3rd/4th grade combined class

My son is starting the 4th grade and I just learned that he was placed in a combined classroom. I'm very concerned as my son is a straight A student high honors student, presently reads at the 9th grade level, and he scored at the advanced levels in Language Arts and Math on his recent STAR student report, and is ranked in the 94 to 99 percentile range nationally. How could he possibly benefit from being placed in a combined classroom with more than half of the students in a grade below his?

Parent Answers to "Pros and cons to 4th grade student in a 3rd/4th grade combined class"

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One way he will benefit is by mentoring other students. If he's already bright and can work on his own, a great way to reinforce his knowledge is through helping other children. I was aghast when my daughter was placed near one of the quieter children who required a lot of remedial help. I was then pleasantly surprised to watch my normally quiet daughter reaching over and explaining and guiding a fellow student. It gave my daughter a sense of responsibility that as the baby in our family it's just hard to give her.

You might want to find out the reason for the split and then ask why he was placed in it. Perhaps he works so well on his own, he can be given limited supervision--something other kids can't do.

That said, I know there is a lot of concern and trepidation with splits, and you can read another perspective on them at community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/239414/Help-My-dughter-was-put-in-a-23-split-class-this-year-and-Im-not-sure-about-this-

Does your school district offer any G/T or GATE(gifted/talented) classes? If you were talking about a regular ability child in a combined class, I'd recommend looking at this recent similar discussion: community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/237857/My-5th-grades-has-been-put-into-a-combo-class-with-4th--5th-graders-Can-anyone-give-me-proscons
In your situation, I'd be hesitant, too. You might want to repost your question in the Gifted Group at community.greatschools.net/groups/11537

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