Academic Rigor of APS Middle Schools

[Anonymous]

I would like to hear from other APS parents and get their thoughts on the academic rigor of APS middle schools.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way but hear me out. DC is in 8th grade, is taking Algebra, and is mostly a straight A student (had a B one quarter in 6th and 7th grade), which, to be honest, is confounding to me. DC is not particularly a motivated student, and is the kind of kid who will put in what he needs to to get the desired outcome, no more, no less. Whenever I ask if there's any homework or a test to study for, DC responds that it was done at school, if they get any homework at all. I remember when I was that age, I had to bust my ass to get straight As. I wouldn't even know my child was actually even in school if it wasn't for ParentVue, which is the only reason I know DC is actually doing all of the assignments. But it's difficult for me to gauge how much DS is actually learning and absorbing. Maybe DC just a natural learner and grasps concepts more easily than I did, in which case, great! Or maybe APS expects the bare minimum which makes it easy for a student to just coast. I don't know. And it's not from lack of trying to understand or asking questions. Whenever I ask about school, I usually just get one or two-word responses. Everything is good or fine.

This is a longwinded way of saying I'm worried that the middle school isn't doing its job to properly prepare its students for the rigors of high school. Anyone else worried about this? How did your "coaster" do transitioning from MS to HS?

[Anonymous]

I have similar feelings and concerns. I have elementary and middle school kids. I know the school district had a great reputation when we moved here and started our family but I have really questioned that notion particularly during the pandemic.

My kids NEVER have homework and tell me they get time to study for their tests during class. I'm not advocating for hours upon hours of homework but I do think that independent work at home can reinforce concepts taught at school and can provide insight for parents on what kids are working on and potentially struggling with.

Unless I reach out to a teacher I never see any tests. What questions were asked? What did they get wrong? Even my kids don't see their tests. Just the scores on their iPads. I'd like to be able to access the test once the grading is complete. Am I asking too much?

So much has been automated via the iPad which could be fine if there was full transparency on their final graded assignments and tests.

[Anonymous]

What you are both describing is a lighter workload not a lack of rigor. And the move to electronic texts and assignments and tests. Education has shifted towards less quantity of work and less homework. Doesn’t mean your kid will necessarily be unprepared for high school. This is true of high school as well. It’s certainly not unique to APS or even public schools in this region. True of privates as well.

[Anonymous]

They got rid of homework because of equity. Not everyone has a stable home situation and some need to care for younger siblings or elderly relatives. So nothing assigned out of school, and in fact we are forfeiting instruction time for study time, because they can’t study at home either.

Equity is a real problem. This is not the way to solve it.

No homework in 8th grade? Maybe not even high school? College will be crushing

[Anonymous]

Yes, equity. But why the lack of transparency on assignments, tests? I question the rigor and it may not be an APS problem, it may be VA in general. Nieces and nephews out of state seem to have more rigorous public education and they have homework and study for tests at home.

[Anonymous]

So basically, ppl think that adult who are in college won't be able to figure out the workload unless overworked as kids?

[Anonymous]

I know I was a much better writer by 7th grade than my kid is. But I went to private. I'm not pushing it because my kid has anxiety and pushing would just have a negative effect. Trying to work on writing on the sly through "fun" at home projects (for certain definitions of "fun").

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically, ppl think that adult who are in college won't be able to figure out the workload unless overworked as kids?

Managing homework is part of developing executive skill, building attention span while working alone in a solitary room. Right now the kids only have to work with others working and monitored by a teacher; the siren song of beer pong, their phone, roommates gaming, will all be steps away in college and they will have no muscle memory for studying solitarily.

Some homework != overworked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, equity. But why the lack of transparency on assignments, tests? I question the rigor and it may not be an APS problem, it may be VA in general. Nieces and nephews out of state seem to have more rigorous public education and they have homework and study for tests at home.

They don't want the kids to feel bad about what they got wrong, just a number and its over move on. And I think they have started allowing re-take of tests a lot more, part of standards based learning, so you can't give tests out until everyone has retested to completion. Easier to just never give tests back.

[Anonymous]

APS middle school is notoriously non-rigorous. The Superintendent has stated that they intend to begin offering intensified classes in all the core subjects starting in 2023, in part as a reaction to parents pushing hard for some additional rigor.

It is a huge problem, there is minimal homework since they do everything in class. Which of course means there's less actual teaching happening, since they have to build in worktime as well. My child is in intensified math and that's the only class in which they have to work. I very much worry about high school and college preparedness.

[Anonymous]

My 5th grader is at St Ann school, and its hardly a sweatshop and we get homework M-Th. Like a list of vocab words to learn, read 3 chapters of a book and answer questions on a worksheet about those chapters, read a science chapter and then complete a worksheet on the water cycle. And always math homework, which are just a sheet of problems on the topic learned today to practice the computation by hand.

I am surprised they aren't learning that in middle school. We were going to return to APS and enroll at DHMS, do they have the same no to low homework policy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:APS middle school is notoriously non-rigorous. The Superintendent has stated that they intend to begin offering intensified classes in all the core subjects starting in 2023, in part as a reaction to parents pushing hard for some additional rigor.

It is a huge problem, there is minimal homework since they do everything in class. Which of course means there's less actual teaching happening, since they have to build in worktime as well. My child is in intensified math and that's the only class in which they have to work. I very much worry about high school and college preparedness.

Yeah, the Middle school information night is all about social emotional wellbeing, alluding to puberty, students discovering themselves. Academics is way down the list on things they care about. They assume the parents that care will augment, and then they can keep the rest from going feral till they grow into high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What you are both describing is a lighter workload not a lack of rigor. And the move to electronic texts and assignments and tests. Education has shifted towards less quantity of work and less homework. Doesn’t mean your kid will necessarily be unprepared for high school. This is true of high school as well. It’s certainly not unique to APS or even public schools in this region. True of privates as well.

Not true of privates. We left APS for private and the change is noticeable. Daily homework, writing assignments, comprehensive tests that are marked up and returned promptly.

[Anonymous]

My APS middle schooler does study for all tests at home. But does not generally have homework. He also had a book to read at home for an assignment and did all the reading at home. He says some kids don't finish the work in the time at school though and have to do it at home and I've heard that from some parents.

I have some of the same concerns and had not heard that about intensified classes by 2023. Why the hell do we need to wait that long?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would like to hear from other APS parents and get their thoughts on the academic rigor of APS middle schools.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way but hear me out. DC is in 8th grade, is taking Algebra, and is mostly a straight A student (had a B one quarter in 6th and 7th grade), which, to be honest, is confounding to me. DC is not particularly a motivated student, and is the kind of kid who will put in what he needs to to get the desired outcome, no more, no less. Whenever I ask if there's any homework or a test to study for, DC responds that it was done at school, if they get any homework at all. I remember when I was that age, I had to bust my ass to get straight As. I wouldn't even know my child was actually even in school if it wasn't for ParentVue, which is the only reason I know DC is actually doing all of the assignments. But it's difficult for me to gauge how much DS is actually learning and absorbing. Maybe DC just a natural learner and grasps concepts more easily than I did, in which case, great! Or maybe APS expects the bare minimum which makes it easy for a student to just coast. I don't know. And it's not from lack of trying to understand or asking questions. Whenever I ask about school, I usually just get one or two-word responses. Everything is good or fine.

This is a longwinded way of saying I'm worried that the middle school isn't doing its job to properly prepare its students for the rigors of high school. Anyone else worried about this? How did your "coaster" do transitioning from MS to HS?

OP, I could have written this word-for-word about my DD. She is smart and a straight-A student, but I don't think she is being pushed academically. I do think HS will be a wake-up call.