Why Grade Levels are not Part of the Homeschool World
- rstinson10
- Sep 5
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 16
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Let's Talk about the Grade System
In the public school system, children are usually grouped together into grade levels (2nd grade, 6th grade, etc), corresponding to their age. This is an arbitrary system, fitting children into a grade level where they are taught materials that average children of their age level would be expected to learn, based upon all kinds of assumptions as to what a "normal" child of certain age level is capable of learning. The reason for this arrangement is fairly obvious: if a class has a size of 10, 15, or even 20 or more children, those children have to be taught the same materials together and so it makes sense to select a level of education for the majority of children.
But does this make any sense at all? Does it make sense on an individual level? Is it correct to assume that every child will have the same level of learning potential in all subjects?
No, of course not!
Every individual (adults and children) have strengths in some subjects and weaknesses in others.
Of course, homeschoolers don't have to do it this way. A huge benefit of homeschooling is that families have the freedom to deviate from this model if they choose to and we usually do. Homeschoolers can customize the curriculum and instruction to the learning level of each individual student. We have listed several reasons for this below.
In the Grade System, who sets these Standards?
Serious question: who decides what math is 2nd grade math and what science is 8th grade science? This system of grade levels is designed by bureaucrats; in fact, it was originally created this way to condition children so that they'd be more likely to become accustomed to being normalized, rather than excelling in their strengths. Before the public school system came along, society was entirely composed of individuals that excelled in certain areas and did not need to have a uniform level of education in all subjects. And while you may think this would result in a society with a lower level of education, the opposite was true. For example, the literacy level in colonial and post-revolution America was above 99%, and higher than it is today.
We can ask these questions: why do we force a future Mozart to pass a course in Trigonometry, when he or she could specialize in music and create beautiful pieces of music? Becsause the system says so. Why do we hold back a future Albert Einstein or Marie Curie so that he or she learns a foreign language, rather than going on to explore science? Because the system is designed to condition children into the average.
The truth is that most of the grade level standards and curriculum decisions are arbitrary. We are not saying that there should not be any standards. However, have you really stopped to think why 3rd graders learning this and not 4th graders? Why some grades learn about volcanos and other grades are not? None of it makes sense when considering that education should be individualized.
If a student can't do long division, they should not move up a grade where they will have to use fractions. They should keep working on long division until they learn it. Similarly, if a child hasn't yet learned to count, should they be moved up to learn addition, simply because they are a year older? No, of course not, but that's how the grade system works.
Many academic experiences can benefit other grade levels than what it is "designed for".
You would never say that the local history museum can only benefit 4th graders. The same is true for other educational experiences as well.
The same is true for other academic lessons and experiences; making a volcano, growing butterflies, cooking lessons and PE activities for example. They do not need to be funneled into one grade level or another. It is easier than people think to homeschool a family with different age groups because we can teach many educational activities together.
I recently showed a Youtube video about sentence structures and all 4 of our children were able to benefit from it in some way.
The current public school grade level model is not realistic.
The public school is the only place that children are expected to exist so closely with other people who are the same age for so long.
This is not the real world. Public school creates an artificial "Petrie dish" environment where children are expected to learn, relate, work together, befriend and be around people who are the same age as they are for long periods of time. This situation is not helpful to prepare children for the "real world": society is not segmented by age.
Your restaurant server may be younger or older than you. Even the extracurricular classes my children participate in generally have an age bracket of a few different ages. A typical work environment (whether it is a Taco Bell kitchen or a big engineering corporation) will have new hires who recently graduated working closely with adults who will retire in a year. It doesn't matter if the Vice President of a company is 20 or 40: it matters if they can do the job well.
AP classes, remedial classes, special needs classes. etc. Everyone is overly segregated in the school system. What if there was no class label for anyone and children did what they were able to accomplish, while still challenging them? Children with special needs or learning disabilities benefit greatly in a homeschool environment because they can go at their own pace.
When young adults graduate high school, they also break free from this overly secularized culture as well. Their peers are no longer people the same age as them, but instead, are at a similar life stage; going to college, having a baby, getting married and settling down or getting their first position in their chosen career. Friendship is also based upon having similar interests rather than sharing the same birth year.
As homeschoolers, we have the freedom to live in the real world like the one listed above. Our family plays, does school and interacts with people of all ages on a regular basis.
In the public school grade model, there is a bracket based on children's birthday.
Think about a 1st grade classroom. There is a gorup of children in each classroom that are the same age. However, they are not really all the same age. Some of them are a year apart or various ages based on the birthdate of the children. A "young" 6 year old child who just turned 6 will be the the same class as someone who is almost 7 and they will both be expected to read and meet the same academic standards of excellence.
A 10 year old may be more mature and grasp some concepts faster than their 11 year old classmate.
Public school parents have lamented to me in the past that their child was not allowed to check out a chapter book at their school library that is an older grade than they are.
If a 3rd grade child finishes their math worksheet in 20 mins, they are not somewhat punished for finishing early. They now are bored and are still forced to sit through the rest of class because his teacher allocated the entire class period for this assignment. This time is idle and wasted. Maybe they can do extra credit (busy work, more school work), or maybe not.
Homeschool families have the freedom to go at their own pace and meet their children where they are at while still challenging them.
It is totally normal for a 5th grade homeschool child to be reading adult chapter books, doing 4th grade math and 6th grade spelling.
Homeschooling is not "easier" per se, it some ways it can be more challenging. We do feel it can be more peaceful than a private or public school setting because we are able to go at our own pace and set our own schedules. We are not meeting arbitrary deadlines, schedules and other academic standards that may or may not mean anything in the long run.
Our gymnastics gym and music school advances children to the next level when they are ready to advance, because they have learned and can demonstrate the required skills. When homeschooling, we have the flexibility to stay at a subject a little longer or breeze through a math concept in the same way. We buy curriculum year round because of this. When the children finish a work book we just buy the next one.
Homeschooling is a lot like college. There are no grade levels in adult education. When an adult pursues a degree, no matter what it's for, the school publishes a list of various classes that is required to earn the degree. College students are able to go at their own pace and also have the freedom to choose their methods, schedule, budget and location as well. These freedoms are also found in the homeschool world as well.
Sometimes the government is just wrong about what is developmentally appropriate.
Parents and teachers often speak out against public school curriculum; it is too advanced, inappropriate, not necessary, or is missing important things.
CSE (Comprehensive Sex Education) is one example of this. Schools should focus on math, reading and writing, science and history. Sex education is a large, sensitive topic and should be reserved for conversation between parents and their children. There's no way to know if a child is ready for CSE based upon their age. This can only be done at an individual level.
Certain upper level mathematics is only necessary if your child is working toward an engineering career. Public schools omit things in the curriculum that are age appropriate like budgeting, balancing a checkbook, how to calculate a tip and how taxes work.
Early childhood Education, which generally covers Pre-k and Kindergarten is another example. Kindergarten is now more like first grade in public schools. Below, are some links of education professionals expressing their concern about this trend.
Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.
Homeschooling allows families the opportunity to advance and focus in areas their child will excel in. Many professional athletes, young pop stars and child movie and television stars were homeschooled and took advantage of this homeschool benefit.
Many homeschool teens dual-enroll by taking college classes. They get a jumpstart on their careers. Obviously, non-homeschool teens can do this too, but it is a lot easier to take college classes as a homeschool teen because the classes can count towards instruction hours in the family's homeschool, they can also take classes during the day or whatever time that works best for their schedule and there here may be more class availability in weekday mornings at the college.
Dear families considering or planning to homeschool,
We have outlined several reasons the homeschool community generally does not follow the "grade level" model. However, if your family wants to use this design in your homeschool, go for it. We want to encourage you to do whatever you think is best for your family. Always remember to follow your state's homeschool law. Click the link below for more information on getting stared homeschooling.
Support Homeschooling!
If you support a family's right and freedom to teach their child the way they see fit, including educating outside of the grade level model used in public schools, please consider reading this article to find out ways to help our community without voucher scams.
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