FCPS Summer School workload & 8th grade Geometry questions?
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Anonymous
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My 8th grader isn't doing so well in Geometry Honors because he's not been doing all of his homework and projects (low C or high D), so we were looking into expunging and retaking. He will definitely pass the class, but his grade is low and we aren't sure his comprehension is good enough if he needs the info later. For anyone that's been in this situation:
1. Does he NEED to retake Geometry? Or since he's likely passing the course, can he just go on to Algebra II? What effect will this have on his future math track - does he need Geometry to continue into later classes? The rules say he can just move on if we expunge, but does this have any impacts later? 2. What's the true course load over the summer for a summer school Geometry course? Can he do an all day summer camp that overlaps almost completely with the summer school and still manage the load of the Geometry course? I've heard from the MS staff that summer school courses take a ton of time, so I'm curious if this is true for this course in particular. 3. If he needs Geometry to continue, if he has done OK and has some decent comprehension, will he be completely bored in 9th grade if he retakes Geometry them? And again, does he actually NEED to retake it, or can we expunge and move on? Any advice is welcome here - especially from folks who have been here before. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| What does he want to do? |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Can I just say I'm jealous that his HW and projects count towards his grade? My dd is in a similar situation, but it's because she is not a good test taker. Her homework is always accurate and on time, but only tests count toward her grade. |
Anonymous
| Why is he not doing his homework and projects? |
Anonymous
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I'll be back - this is my fear for my DS! We are looking at Algebra for next year - 7th grade, but we have a homework problem also! (Yes the mind might be able to do the math without showing the work, ace any test without studying, but part of school is the maturity to show & do the work).
Is the school not being straight forward with the answer? I would assume this would be online somewhere. What are your math goals? I ran out of math I WANTED to take in the 90s in FCPS, with honors geometry as a freshman. Can you back track from Senior year on math classes? Geometry as a Freshman is still advanced for the rest of the nation. It might be nice to have a course where you could focus on just doing the work, not having to learn a concept and do the work. Will they guarantee a different teacher? (don't know if you are a middle school or a secondary school) |
Anonymous
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You should really talk to the counselors. Most of the FCPS classes are now on-line. It is a real drudge and unless you are prepared to hunker down and nag your child all summer to work thru it, It may not be a good idea. There is not a good rate of grade improvement even with summer classes.
The counselors will tell you that it is not worth making the child repeat unless they have failed and need the class to move forward in the subject. A low grade is not failing. The grades won't matter until HS. http://www.fcps.edu/is/summer/ |
Anonymous
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OP here. Who knows why he's not doing his work - he's bright, but doesn't write it all down some days (it's not all on Blackboard), doesn't complete it others, does the work and doesn't turn it in, you get the drift. Common thing I hear amongst his friends, and like someone else posted, he is missing that academic maturity that rolls in somewhere between 7th and 12th grades.
He wants to take the advanced math classes later in HS, and he did fine in Alg IH (and he has that credit - we didn't expunge it), so his preference is to keep going. Sounds like summer school is not the right thing for him, so we might just expunge and move on. He also has 2 years of language under his belt, so it sounds like he will have a little room at the end to do some electives, which is good. Thanks for all the feedback - it's appreciated. If anyone has any thoughts on expunging Geometry and moving forward with the math sequence - mainly if it becomes an issue - then I'd appreciate that too. |
Anonymous
| does anyone know how to go about this? i am also interested in my DD retaking geometry next year |
Anonymous
Talk to her counselor at school. They can provide you with the expunge form (assuming your DD is an 8th grader), which you submit to the high school to erase the grade from her transcript. They can also change her registration to geometry instead of algebra II. If she's already in high school, expunging isn't an option. You can retake the course, but both grades will appear on the transcript. |
Anonymous
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Geometry does come up again in higher level mathematics/sciences courses, especially Physics.
My DD, who has always excelled in school in every subject, had her first real struggle when she encountered Geometry in 8th grade. It was the first time she really had to work and excessively study to get the A. She was fine in Algebra 2, Pre-Calc, and has been fine in AP Calc AB. I wouldn't retake it in summer school since it's not imperative to him passing the grade. Summer school courses are so fast-paced and condensed that you really have to spend a majority of your day studying. Math classes will have a test or two each week. I don't see a kid being able to do that and a camp. |
Anonymous
| if my kid ends up with a B, is is better to expunge and repeat or go ahead with algebra 2? |
Anonymous
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Geometry is a foundational math class. The most important thing is making sure that he has a solid grounding in the concepts. Because the concepts will keep coming up, again and again and again.
A foundation in the concepts in more important than the grade. I think you can expunge the grade and keep the class credit. But most kids seem to thing Geometry is much easier than A1. If you kid is making below a B+, you need to figure out why. Not turning homework in? Bad test grades? If so, careless errors or not getting the concepts? So, for MS Geometry with= lower than a b+, talk to the teacher and look at the SOL score and final exam grade. This should tell you if you kid has the concepts. If they do, expunge the grade, and I have them move to A2 (but realize it could impact advanced diploma). If they don't Pass Advanced the SOL, plus make at least a B+ on the final, make them retake the class. And. It over summer school where they tuned out over the computer. Next year, in a real classroom. They will still have time to repeat and take math trough Calc at least. And of course, what the teacher tells you about whether your kid should move on is more important when what some random person on DCUM tells you. So ask them, and listen to the answer. |
Anonymous
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Only on DCUM do you have to have a pass advance and an A to be moving on in math.
If that were the requirement for my algebra students, I'd only have 10-15/100 kids moving forward to geometry next year. |
Anonymous
Well...my dd's B- in 7th grade Algebra is what is keeping her out of the math honors society in high school...while the kids who waited until 9th to take Algebra sailed right in |