VADOE adjustments to advanced math track

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no misinformation, just your choosing to believe VMPI's current statements over their past statements, even when they have clearly lied about 'this has always been the case' that school districts could do tracking and acceleration.
They clearly backtracked and pretended it was not a backtrack. This is a lie.

Even with the backtracking, it is still a taking away of advanced math in practice, because VMPI is kind of winging it trying to do multiple things at once.
They want to put algebra/geometry/algebra 2 blended together in grades 8-10 so as to maintain a path to calculus.
Then they want this to be available for all students, so they are throwing prealgebra in there as well in the same grades 8-10.

Currently, school systems can track and offer acceleration. At no point in this early "building" phase did VMPI say they were removing those options.

They briefly discussed detracking in one meeting and have a link on their website but that was it. People speculated and jumped to extreme conclusions before waiting to get more information.

This is a demonstrably false statement. There is a series of webinars that shows their thinking until Superintendent Lane (or whoever) rebuffed them and told them to lie low until the election (or whatever they discussed.)

Links:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siS8jlTcUzo
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK0JTkqqAws
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEPUWhIC2tI

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was no misinformation, just your choosing to believe VMPI's current statements over their past statements, even when they have clearly lied about 'this has always been the case' that school districts could do tracking and acceleration.
They clearly backtracked and pretended it was not a backtrack. This is a lie.

Even with the backtracking, it is still a taking away of advanced math in practice, because VMPI is kind of winging it trying to do multiple things at once.
They want to put algebra/geometry/algebra 2 blended together in grades 8-10 so as to maintain a path to calculus.
Then they want this to be available for all students, so they are throwing prealgebra in there as well in the same grades 8-10.

Currently, school systems can track and offer acceleration. At no point in this early "building" phase did VMPI say they were removing those options.

They briefly discussed detracking in one meeting and have a link on their website but that was it. People speculated and jumped to extreme conclusions before waiting to get more information.

VMPI's Tina Mazzacane confirmed they would eliminate tracking when someone asked about it in e-mail.
This was exactly the plan until there was a backlash. A backlash that you tried to prevent at the time by saying people were speculating, while previously saying this was what other states are doing and we needed to get with the program.

"In an email"
Sure.

If it was so clearly part of the plan it'd be published somewhere......

[Anonymous]

There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

In response, school districts including LCPS have removed acceleration starting 2021-2022, because they weren't sure what classes would be available when VMPI is done with their changes. Also, the VMPI staff was persuading them about the need for equity and to hold back acceleration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

In response, school districts including LCPS have removed acceleration starting 2021-2022, because they weren't sure what classes would be available when VMPI is done with their changes. Also, the VMPI staff was persuading them about the need for equity and to hold back acceleration.

Maybe it was all a misunderstanding, who knows. But look at this article, published April 8. Ian Serotkin published his Facebook post that led to media picking up on the story nationally on April 22. The walkback was in place a few days later.

Henry County Public Schools, following an initiative across Virginia, will take its math program out of the 19th century and into modern times.

It’s through the Virginia Mathematics Pathway Initiative, a joint movement among the Virginia Department of Education, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia and the Virginia Community College System.

The VMPI will change the way math is taught “to address the knowledge, skills, experiences, and attributes that students must attain to be successful in college and/or the workforce and be ‘life ready,’ information presented to the school board on Thursday states.

All students in grades kindergarten through 10 would receive the same foundational courses, and students in 11th and 12th grades would choose among diverse course offerings based on whether they plan to go straight into the workforce, trade school, college or the military.
...
Students up through seventh grade would be taught foundational math: number and number sense; computation and estimation; measurement and geometry; probability and statistics and patterns, functions and algebra, Helbert said. Those are the foundations that set the stage for future learning.

“Some of the biggest changes will be seen” in the math instruction for grades 8 through 10, she said. “The traditional Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II course sequence will be removed and replaced with Essential Concepts 8, Essential Concepts 9 and Essential Concepts 10.”

Those students would be taught data analysis; mathematical modeling, functions and algebra; special reasoning; and probability. Problems will have a real-life focus. Those classes will carry two credits.

“All students be on an even playing field and will have the same opportunities as they enter the advanced mathematics pathways,” she said.

Although students will study the same content at the same time, “students who grasp the concepts are going to go deeper” with enriched lessons, Helbert said after the meeting.

“Everybody has the same objective – the same content,” Director of K-12 Instruction Wendy Durham said after the meeting. Teachers would “look at where students are as far as mastering that objective and can provide enrichment activities for deeper learning.” Durham and Helbert said teachers do that now as well.
...
This year’s Henry County Public Schools sixth-graders will be the first to be graduated fully under the new program, which will be implemented gradually.

The essential concepts are being developed this year, and next year a revision committee will create a draft of the 2023 Math SOL. The Virginia Board of Education will review the draft and have it approved by the 2023-24 school year.

Teachers will start to integrate the new standards into their teaching while still teaching the old standards in the 2024-25 school year.

Full implementation will be made in the 2025-26 school year, and the new graduation requirements will be in place during the 2026-27 school year.

The course offerings for next year’s seventh-graders have been modified, Helbert said. Integrated Math 7 will not be offered next year. All seventh-graders will take Grade 7 Mathematics. “During Math 7 instruction, teachers will use formative assessments to diagnose students’ learning needs. The data will drive the instruction, and lessons will be differentiated to provide a more tailored learning experience for students.”

To bridge learning gaps, “teachers will provide flexible grouping focusing on recovery and intervention,” she said.

Algebra I still will be an option for students in eighth grade, she said.

https://martinsvillebulletin.com/news/local/education/watch-now-henry-county-public-schools-will-overhaul-math-instruction-for-the-first-time-since/article_99a8f40a-9898-11eb-9c1d-ff2ec6c9d153.html

[Anonymous]

^^^

The bolded was mine. It backs up the assertions that other districts besides LCPS were hearing this the same way.

[Anonymous]

Also there was a webinar by Tina Mazzacane, the K-12 math coordinator for VDOE, scheduled in the EdEquity Webinars series on "Virginia Mathematics Pathways Initiative: Redefining Mathematics Pathways for Students in the Commonwealth" in late April or early May that was postponed indefinitely. That would certainly be consistent to having to walk something back thanks to a large public outcry.

[Anonymous]

https://www.virginiaisforlearners.virginia.gov/edequityva-webinar-series/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

In response, school districts including LCPS have removed acceleration starting 2021-2022, because they weren't sure what classes would be available when VMPI is done with their changes. Also, the VMPI staff was persuading them about the need for equity and to hold back acceleration.

Guess they jumped the gun, huh? Wonder who got fired over that error.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

In response, school districts including LCPS have removed acceleration starting 2021-2022, because they weren't sure what classes would be available when VMPI is done with their changes. Also, the VMPI staff was persuading them about the need for equity and to hold back acceleration.

Guess they jumped the gun, huh? Wonder who got fired over that error.

But did they? Or is VDOE gaslighting everyone who was paying attention?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

In response, school districts including LCPS have removed acceleration starting 2021-2022, because they weren't sure what classes would be available when VMPI is done with their changes. Also, the VMPI staff was persuading them about the need for equity and to hold back acceleration.

Guess they jumped the gun, huh? Wonder who got fired over that error.

But did they? Or is VDOE gaslighting everyone who was paying attention?

Talking about possible changes isn't the same thing as actually proposing changes and it certainly isn't implementing changes.

Someone at LCPS fcked up. Or they are trying to shift blame.

[Anonymous]

No, they weren't talking about possible changes, they were proposing changes, explaining what they were working on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There was a really balanced piece on this that came from not-northern-Virginia and therefore recieved little attention here:
https://www.pilotonline.com/news/education/vp-nw-virginia-advanced-math-classes-20210427-lodz7o7gqzgqpidmgzpqt4y6pq-story.html

However it's drawn attention enough to be linked in a piece in The Atlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/left-targets-testing-gifted-programs/619315/

I really think it was a mistake to delete the original thread based on speculation, same as it might have been a mistake to declare that tracking was definitely going away based on speculation. The fact remains that we really don't know (as The Pilot mentioned).

The VA Beach woman seems....out of touch with reality:
"OMG - they had a link on their website! Socialism!" LOL.

Reality:
"But nothing will change any time soon, Lane said. The pathways group is still seeking feedback on its ideas, and any changes to the standards require the state Board of Education to seek public comment first.

“This is the beginning of a process,” he said."

I mean, VMPI is linked to the SOL changes that don't go into effect for years. That's all Lane means by that.

In response, school districts including LCPS have removed acceleration starting 2021-2022, because they weren't sure what classes would be available when VMPI is done with their changes. Also, the VMPI staff was persuading them about the need for equity and to hold back acceleration.

Guess they jumped the gun, huh? Wonder who got fired over that error.

But did they? Or is VDOE gaslighting everyone who was paying attention?

Talking about possible changes isn't the same thing as actually proposing changes and it certainly isn't implementing changes.

Someone at LCPS fcked up. Or they are trying to shift blame.

Read the article from Martinsville, VA I posted. It clearly indicates that students there in 6th were going to have options eliminated in 7th grade, that this was because of VMPI and done because of discussions with VDOE.