I've gotta second Healthy on this one. I was totally surprised a few years ago when I heard a presentation on mental health research in which identical twins had differing rates of mental illness even growing up in the same homes.

According to the professor who gave this presentation, it turns even identical twins experience their womb (prebirth) time differently. Hard to comprehend.

It may be helpful for you to address this issue as a difference between your children no matter what the source. Just a thought. :)

Hi-

I've got identical twin girls who both have learning disabilities. But having said that, they have some very real differences. This is probably the case with your boys as well.

If you aren't content with one of the teachers, by all means switch them to the same class. But this might not significantly change things. Or at some other time, or other subject, the lower reader may surpass his brother.

What grade are they in? First? If the lower reading boy isn't catching up within a few months, then ask to have him evaluated for learning disabilities. I would worry far less about "labeling" holding him back, but be more concerned with getting him whatever help he needs. Sometimes you need a label to do that. A teacher's expectations can affect a child's performance, but poor reading skills will affect him far more.

Hi. I know there's a poster here on Greatschools, drjohnson, who is the mom of twins at different ability levels. You might want to send her a private message, if she doesn't see your question in the next day or so.

My opinion, if you can easily move the "lower testing" twin to the other class, it might be worth trying. On the other hand, even identical siblings aren't identical learners. I have identical triplet nieces, now in high school. Throughout their education, two have always been "closer" in testing than the third. They all started out in the same classes for K-2nd grade. While the third isn't "dumb," her strengths appear to be more in the creative and language arts, while the other two seem to be stronger in math/sciences.

I don't think anyone, to this day, knows how much nature vs. nurture play in a child's development, so please remember, even though your children have the "identical" label, they are still individuals, and their needs/abilities may not be exactly the same.