My four year old can read pretty well and can write well enough that you can puzzle out what he’s trying to communicate. But there is no expectation that he’s going to skip kindergarten because of this. So in what sense could this ever be a long-term academic advantage?
Long-term academic advantage accrues if selected pressure or events allow the child to "benefit" from the capabilities they have. An example of this are school systems that allow for varying levels of streaming. Examples abound, such as the "Gifted and Talented" program in New York City, or advanced vs. general streams in other K-12 programs around the world.
Generally, children participating in streams decided at an arbitrary moment in time (e.g. age 5 entering kindergarten) seem to result in better academic outcomes. To your own point above, if the system is designed in such a way where children of varying abilities are taught the same materials, it seems an almost foregone conclusion that most advanced children will regress without additional external support, encouragement or [parental] pressure.
Thus, social signalling aside, some parents will try, to the best of their ability, to drill reading, writing and arithmetic into their children at a young(er) age on the off-chance that they qualify for better academic programs. I propose that this preference still holds, albeit in a weaker sense, even in the absence of K-5/K-12 school streaming.
Long-term academic advantage accrues if selected pressure or events allow the child to "benefit" from the capabilities they have. An example of this are school systems that allow for varying levels of streaming. Examples abound, such as the "Gifted and Talented" program in New York City, or advanced vs. general streams in other K-12 programs around the world.
Generally, children participating in streams decided at an arbitrary moment in time (e.g. age 5 entering kindergarten) seem to result in better academic outcomes. To your own point above, if the system is designed in such a way where children of varying abilities are taught the same materials, it seems an almost foregone conclusion that most advanced children will regress without additional external support, encouragement or [parental] pressure.
Thus, social signalling aside, some parents will try, to the best of their ability, to drill reading, writing and arithmetic into their children at a young(er) age on the off-chance that they qualify for better academic programs. I propose that this preference still holds, albeit in a weaker sense, even in the absence of K-5/K-12 school streaming.