Algebra 2 is currently offered at TPMS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the current 8th graders, Cold Spring allowed them to take AIM when they were 5th grader (I guess that's why there is Algebra 2 at TPMS this year.) But the following year Cold Spring stopped allowing 5th graders to take AIM (the current 7th graders). So I would think there would be no Algebra 2 at TPMS next year.

Cold Spring represent!! They make up about half the class this year so we have them to thank for it being offered locally. Any idea why they stopped offering AIM to 5th graders?

The switch in the magnet admissions process is important to this discussion. The 8th graders are the only class in all of MCPS I think that went through universal selection for both elementary for Cold Spring CES and for the TPMS magnet. The 6th and 7th graders were selected by lottery. The 9th graders I think were selected by universal selection just for MS but not for ES magnets. There is a completely different type of student in that year.

This shows how watered down the magnets are. If you're no longer taking the top 1-2% and taking random kids from the top 20% with some even lower it's not really the same program. The numbers I saw in a report showed kids with testing as low as 60th percentile getting into the MS magnets. What is the point of that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not rationing opportunities based on home address. The process is capricious and based on the whims of the math department and principal at each individual school.

At our W middle school no one is allowed to accelerate but a friend's child at a DCC school was allowed to accelerate.

You’re responding to me, and we actually agree. You literally made my point. Because you are zoned for your W school based on your address, your child isn’t allowed to accelerate. Your friend has a DCC address and her school is giving her this opportunity.

Our DCC school doesn't allow it either. Wish the county would stop rationing these opportunities and make this available to all students based on consistent standards.

It's the individual schools making the decisions, and FWIW I think the county has the right philosophy that the principals know their students and their community the best. But it's not like the county is completely checked out. This information is a few years old but we were told that the county had to sign off on each and every child that was accelerated. The school would make recommendations but they would have to get another layer of approval. If your school has decided not to make those recommendations or if you disagreed with the school about whether your child was ready that's a different story.

How could a middle school principal know anything about a set of rising 6th grade students who do not attend their school yet vis a vis their math placement? All they could possibly know is data. If they unilaterally do not approve any students, it’s not based on knowing their students or community. It’s based on a personal philosophy to hold the line on acceleration. So now we are determining pathways based on the personal philosophies of individual principals. Why do we even have a central office then, if they leave everything up to these philosophers, I mean principals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not rationing opportunities based on home address. The process is capricious and based on the whims of the math department and principal at each individual school.

At our W middle school no one is allowed to accelerate but a friend's child at a DCC school was allowed to accelerate.

You’re responding to me, and we actually agree. You literally made my point. Because you are zoned for your W school based on your address, your child isn’t allowed to accelerate. Your friend has a DCC address and her school is giving her this opportunity.

New Poster: Honestly, it's not about address. It's about the principal and/or math content lead. So, if the principal changes tomorrow, your address will be the same but the outcome might be different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not rationing opportunities based on home address. The process is capricious and based on the whims of the math department and principal at each individual school.

At our W middle school no one is allowed to accelerate but a friend's child at a DCC school was allowed to accelerate.

You’re responding to me, and we actually agree. You literally made my point. Because you are zoned for your W school based on your address, your child isn’t allowed to accelerate. Your friend has a DCC address and her school is giving her this opportunity.

New Poster: Honestly, it's not about address. It's about the principal and/or math content lead. So, if the principal changes tomorrow, your address will be the same but the outcome might be different.

Right. Which is even more ridiculous. Math placement shouldn’t have anything to do with your address OR the current specific staff at your school. It should have to do with whether you meet criteria for readiness. And there should be someone from the county who determines what that criteria is, communicates it, and applies it. I don’t understand all these posters encouraging parents to “fight” or whatnot. It should not be a battle.

[Anonymous]

Even the most anti-acceleration principals will accelerate given the right child. We have seen it happen with our MS principal telling everyone, including us, no way for years but then one child came along and that could was allowed to skip AIM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not rationing opportunities based on home address. The process is capricious and based on the whims of the math department and principal at each individual school.

At our W middle school no one is allowed to accelerate but a friend's child at a DCC school was allowed to accelerate.

You’re responding to me, and we actually agree. You literally made my point. Because you are zoned for your W school based on your address, your child isn’t allowed to accelerate. Your friend has a DCC address and her school is giving her this opportunity.

New Poster: Honestly, it's not about address. It's about the principal and/or math content lead. So, if the principal changes tomorrow, your address will be the same but the outcome might be different.

Right. Which is even more ridiculous. Math placement shouldn’t have anything to do with your address OR the current specific staff at your school. It should have to do with whether you meet criteria for readiness. And there should be someone from the county who determines what that criteria is, communicates it, and applies it. I don’t understand all these posters encouraging parents to “fight” or whatnot. It should not be a battle.

The county has some broad non-numerical criteria, and part of it is does your child's teacher and department head feel that this is necessary. If your child's teacher is not fighting for it and your child's math department head is not fighting for it why in the world do you feel like you're right?

[Anonymous]

I also think there is a sad and unfortunate undercurrent of people on this board who either by being at Cold Spring or Frost or a certain DCC school or whatever had their child accelerated, who absolutely and completely don’t want other kids in other schools to also be accelerated. Almost like they got this special leg up and basically say oh, my kid needed this or deserved this but your kid will be fine and not everyone can have this. BS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not rationing opportunities based on home address. The process is capricious and based on the whims of the math department and principal at each individual school.

At our W middle school no one is allowed to accelerate but a friend's child at a DCC school was allowed to accelerate.

You’re responding to me, and we actually agree. You literally made my point. Because you are zoned for your W school based on your address, your child isn’t allowed to accelerate. Your friend has a DCC address and her school is giving her this opportunity.

New Poster: Honestly, it's not about address. It's about the principal and/or math content lead. So, if the principal changes tomorrow, your address will be the same but the outcome might be different.

Right. Which is even more ridiculous. Math placement shouldn’t have anything to do with your address OR the current specific staff at your school. It should have to do with whether you meet criteria for readiness. And there should be someone from the county who determines what that criteria is, communicates it, and applies it. I don’t understand all these posters encouraging parents to “fight” or whatnot. It should not be a battle.

The county has some broad non-numerical criteria, and part of it is does your child's teacher and department head feel that this is necessary. If your child's teacher is not fighting for it and your child's math department head is not fighting for it why in the world do you feel like you're right?

So now it’s based on fights AND feelings? And what are you talking about with my child’s teachers or math department? Why would they be fighting for something I don’t want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also think there is a sad and unfortunate undercurrent of people on this board who either by being at Cold Spring or Frost or a certain DCC school or whatever had their child accelerated, who absolutely and completely don’t want other kids in other schools to also be accelerated. Almost like they got this special leg up and basically say oh, my kid needed this or deserved this but your kid will be fine and not everyone can have this. BS!

Not sure why you would generalize like that. My child is at Frost, and I think every child who is willing to put a bit more effort should be allowed to challenge herself/himself. Having said that, I believe it is really not a big deal to accelerate a course or two in ES and MS. I don't understand why someone would lose sleep on that. When the kids get in HS and college, they can take as advanced courses as they can handle. They will go up to their true potential. Nobody will stop them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the current 8th graders, Cold Spring allowed them to take AIM when they were 5th grader (I guess that's why there is Algebra 2 at TPMS this year.) But the following year Cold Spring stopped allowing 5th graders to take AIM (the current 7th graders). So I would think there would be no Algebra 2 at TPMS next year.

Cold Spring represent!! They make up about half the class this year so we have them to thank for it being offered locally. Any idea why they stopped offering AIM to 5th graders?

The switch in the magnet admissions process is important to this discussion. The 8th graders are the only class in all of MCPS I think that went through universal selection for both elementary for Cold Spring CES and for the TPMS magnet. The 6th and 7th graders were selected by lottery. The 9th graders I think were selected by universal selection just for MS but not for ES magnets. There is a completely different type of student in that year.

This shows how watered down the magnets are. If you're no longer taking the top 1-2% and taking random kids from the top 20% with some even lower it's not really the same program. The numbers I saw in a report showed kids with testing as low as 60th percentile getting into the MS magnets. What is the point of that?

Except you are replying to someone explaining why in actual fact TPMS 8th grade magnet is actually the most selective group ever. The only ones to have been selected entirely through universal selection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also think there is a sad and unfortunate undercurrent of people on this board who either by being at Cold Spring or Frost or a certain DCC school or whatever had their child accelerated, who absolutely and completely don’t want other kids in other schools to also be accelerated. Almost like they got this special leg up and basically say oh, my kid needed this or deserved this but your kid will be fine and not everyone can have this. BS!

You need to advocate for it. We had it offered and took it but I would have been fine with algebra in 7th.

[Anonymous]

MCCPTA is the advocacy group. Hold them accountable to advocate and volunteer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not OP, but the random troll jumps in on all threads even tangentially related and the underlying accusations are really racist. I really think she should be banned for repeatedly spreading misinformation.

Yes, misleading the pro-privilege trolls keep by insisting these courses are offered at more than one or two schools when it's been demonstrably shown they aren't.

No one is saying that. Everyone is telling you, REPEATEDLY, that many if not all MCPS middle schools allow exceptional kids to skip AIM. Most of them then end up taking Algebra 2 at a high school. You really need counseling. Just call MCPS instead of randomly trolling and wasting everyone's time. They will tell you the same thing.

There's no evidence to support that just a lot of gaslighting. Repeating the same lies over and over doesn't make them true.

Absence of evidence *to your liking* does not mean evidence of absence. Repeating the same ignorant statement again and again does not make it true either. Here is a parent from a non-W cluster talking about their kid going to the local HS in eighth grade for algebra 2: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/956038.page#19467635

My kids knew of a couple of cases (within the last 6 years) of a fifth grader going to the MS for math (IM) in Rockville cluster. In DCUM I have seen other posts in the past by parents in upcounty as well as NEC/DCC whose kids did algebra 2 in eighth grade and had to go to the local HS.

The poster above to whom you were responding is right - There has always been a small group of kids, spread throughout MCPS, who are accelerated above the officially declared math pathways. (Very often these are kids that moved to MCPS from another school district or from homeschooling, and got evaluated and placed appropriately.) My understanding is that this number went up a bit (very likely temporarily, if I have to guess) after the Metis report inspired changes to MS magnet admissions; when they were first implemented, there was a huge outcry due to the peer cohort criterion, and as a sop, MCPS allowed some kids who did not get admitted to the MS magnets to be placed in algebra 1 in sixth grade.

(BTW, no parent is going to publicly acknowledge that their kid is in fifth grade at XYZ ES and is going to the MS for math considering the privacy implications; in any given ES, there will be just one or two or at the most a handful.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are not rationing opportunities based on home address. The process is capricious and based on the whims of the math department and principal at each individual school.

At our W middle school no one is allowed to accelerate but a friend's child at a DCC school was allowed to accelerate.

You’re responding to me, and we actually agree. You literally made my point. Because you are zoned for your W school based on your address, your child isn’t allowed to accelerate. Your friend has a DCC address and her school is giving her this opportunity.

New Poster: Honestly, it's not about address. It's about the principal and/or math content lead. So, if the principal changes tomorrow, your address will be the same but the outcome might be different.

Maybe I'm cynical but it seems like some principals just don't care what's best for the children. Since we have 12345 people at the central office, you'd think they could work this out in an equitable and fair way so all kids get what they need, not just ones who happen to have a decent principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I also think there is a sad and unfortunate undercurrent of people on this board who either by being at Cold Spring or Frost or a certain DCC school or whatever had their child accelerated, who absolutely and completely don’t want other kids in other schools to also be accelerated. Almost like they got this special leg up and basically say oh, my kid needed this or deserved this but your kid will be fine and not everyone can have this. BS!

You need to advocate for it. We had it offered and took it but I would have been fine with algebra in 7th.

A few years ago, I did advocated for this at our ES when my 8-year-old in 3rd grade scored 260 on their MAP-M. The teachers and principal said they'd never seen anything like it before, but there was nothing they could do. According to them, this wasn't an option in MCPS. Turns out they lied. Fast forward a few years later, DC took functions at Blair and is one of the stars of their math team. In the long run, they managed but it was no thanks to them.