Miriam Vock, Christiane Penk, Olaf Koeller

• This study examines how often and in which form students use the option of gradeskipping in Germany and what characterizes those students. The database was derived from a sample of N = 4,103 students (grades 8-10), who were tested within the standardisation process of the national educational standards in mathematics. For these students data existed on their mathematical competence (educational standard items) and intelligence (subtests word analogies and figural analogies of the KFT 4-12 + R). Furthermore, we identified n = 33 (0,8%) students by questionnaire, who had already skipped one grade. Those accelerated students are predominantly boys, had skipped the grade during their first years at school and performed only slightly above-average on two cognitive ability scales. At the time the survey was conducted, 39% did not attend a Gymnasium and 34 % had to repeat one grade after having been accelerated. While they report average grades in relation to their peers, their mathematical competence is well above average.