"Top of the class"

[jeteaa]

What does this mean? While talking w/ my mom on the phone, she says that my 7 yr old niece is "top of her class". She attends a typical public elementary school in WA. We told our families a few months ago that we are planning to homeschool our 2 girls (when they are of school age in a few yrs). Although my mom has not said anything against HS, she seems to be excessively telling me how smart my niece is, how much she likes school etc. I would rather stand-up for homeschooling than put down PS, but I'm not even sure what my mom is referring to.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

top of her class would mean she has the highest (or close to highest) gpa or average grade

[jeteaa]

That would make sense for a middle/high school student. But for a first grader? who has only been in school for 2 months. Why would the teacher even tell a child that?

[sunnmama]

Do you know that the teacher told her that? Maybe the teacher told her parents?

I would guess it means that she is excelling in school--in the highest reading and math groups, etc.

Originally Posted by jeteaa

I would rather stand-up for homeschooling than put down PS, but I'm not even sure what my mom is referring to.

Just say things like "good for her!" and "that's great" and let it go. It isn't a competition, right? I homeschooled dd for K and 1st (she is now in ps for 2nd), and I had lots of opportunity to brag on her as a homeschooler

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Originally Posted by jeteaa

That would make sense for a middle/high school student. But for a first grader? who has only been in school for 2 months. Why would the teacher even tell a child that?

she may have recently taken a standardized test that placed her in a high percentile. I remember taking standardized test in school and then getting a report in the mail saying I was in the 95% or 98% and that being translated to "top of the class" I remember that in elementary school.

They may have recently had parent teacher conferences where the teacher told her parents how she was doing in regards to the other students.

She may have received her first marking period report card which could have reported that she was performing above grade level.

[annethcz]

Originally Posted by sunnmama

I would guess it means that she is excelling in school--in the highest reading and math groups, etc.

This is also what I would take it to mean.

[Mizelenius]

Just keep in mind-- even if a child is at the "top" I wouldn't give the school credit for that. If she is smart, she walked in the doors smart. Being at the "top" only means she is showing the school what she can do.

Also, I've read (on MDC) that a child who performs consistently at the top probably isn't being challenged enough. I think that is true.

[CarrieMF]

Also, I've read (on MDC) that a child who performs consistently at the top probably isn't being challenged enough. I think that is true.

That would depend on the teacher & parents. My middle dd was at the top of her class. she was also being challenged as she was doing grade 2 work in addition to the grade 1 work. She had a different report card as the rest of the kids. She was marked on above grade level(1), at grade level(2), below grade level(3). Everything was 1's & 2's.

This year I don't know if she's on the regular report card, or the other one. I'll find out in a couple of weeks.

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF

That would depend on the teacher & parents. My middle dd was at the top of her class. she was also being challenged as she was doing grade 2 work in addition to the grade 1 work. She had a different report card as the rest of the kids. She was marked on above grade level(1), at grade level(2), below grade level(3). Everything was 1's & 2's.

This year I don't know if she's on the regular report card, or the other one. I'll find out in a couple of weeks.

My DD skipped a grade and consistently scores very high on her work. Like your DD, I would guess that she needs even more challenging work. Sometimes going up just one grade isn't enough.

[CarrieMF]

that's true & why I said it depends on the teachers & parents. Parents to push the teachers to provide work that is challenging and/or to find an education style that suits them. Everything comes very easily to my dd & it's hard to find anything that challenges her & when she's bored it's 90 questions in a minute. She's in tap now & I thought that'd challenge her but we had the parents watch night tonight & she picks up on all the new moves right away & the ones they've been doing she's right behind the teacher.

[Kushali]

This may be my cynical side but I'd guess it just means she's doing well academically and is well liked by her teachers. I'd doubt there's any sort of qualitative ranking to support that, especially in Elementary school. I think its just your mom bragging about your niece.

I think a polite response would be "that's great, I'm glad she's doing well, what's her favorite subject?". Then you can talk about the things your girls have been interested in recently. There's no reason to compare your girls with your niece. I'm sure they're all very caring and interesting people.

[eepster]

The possibilities of what "top of her class" can mean deppends on so many things that it's impossible to say what it means with out a whole lot more info. It could be almost any thing from, "the school is generally failing, but you niece is somehow managing to stay at grade level anyway" to "the nice teacher says that about all her students to boost confidence" to "you niece is a super genious, who is years ahead of her class mates" to "the school continuously ranks each child by quiz scores" to "she turns in all her homework" yada yada yada. Really, what it means will depend on the school.

However, none of this has even the slightest thing to do with your DDs. You may be interested in what "top of the class" means b/c you cre for your niece, but really what it means is much more important to her parents who are responsible for making sure her academic needs are being met.

Just say "that's nice" and realize it has absolutely nothing to do with your DDs and homeschooling.