OTOH, I was an auto-didact who was reading at a 3rd-grade level when I got bumped, so I sort of understand what they were thinking.

I do, too. I got caught reading Little House on the Prairie, which was a 4th or 5th grade book. I remember very clearly trying to catch up in math. My school was trying a new program where they combined 1st and 2nd grades, so I had to same teachers and classmates which helped.

Things didn't get tough until everyone else hit adolescence and I didn't. I was a late bloomer to begin with, and being a year behind made it even more noticeable. Kids can be cruel.