Grade Levels

Combined grades refers to teaching multiple children of different ages together using shared curriculum or lessons for subjects that translate well across age groups, such as history, science, and literature.

Grade acceleration is an umbrella term for educational strategies that allow students to progress through academic content faster than typical, including subject-based advancement, early entrance, and grade skipping.

Grade level is the organizational level of study corresponding to a student's age in traditional education, but homeschoolers often work across multiple grade levels based on individual readiness rather than chronological age.

Grade retention is the practice of having a student repeat the same grade for an additional year rather than promoting them to the next grade level.

Horizontal alignment is curriculum coordination across different subjects within the same grade level, ensuring that learning objectives, instructional strategies, and assessments are consistent and complementary throughout a student's simultaneous coursework.

Kindergarten readiness refers to a child's developmental preparation for formal learning, encompassing academic basics, social-emotional skills, and physical abilities typically expected around age 5-6.

A learning progression is a research-based framework showing how students develop knowledge and skills from simple to complex levels over time within a subject area.

The middle school transition in homeschooling involves shifting from teacher-directed elementary learning to student-led independence, with increased curriculum complexity, longer study hours, and navigation of pre-teen developmental changes.

Multi-age learning is an educational approach where students of different ages learn together in the same environment, allowing older children to mentor younger ones while all benefit from shared instruction.

Readiness skills are the developmental abilities that prepare children for success at different educational stages. They span five domains: social-emotional, cognitive, language and literacy, physical development, and approaches to learning. Homeschoolers benefit from flexible, mastery-based approaches to readiness.

Skill progression is an approach where students advance through increasingly complex competencies based on demonstrated mastery rather than age or grade level.

Vertical alignment is the process of linking learning goals and skills across grade levels so that each year's content builds on what came before and prepares students for what comes next.