Equitable access to advanced math
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Anonymous
DO. The snark is well deserved. There are a lot of smart people who are really dumb. |
Anonymous
No. Even if your kid is far ahead, it's rare to find teachers who are willing to let your kid bring in their own AoPS stuff. I got pushback when I wanted my kid to be allowed to do AoPS work rather than Dreambox/ST Math. FCPS is extremely rigid. |
Anonymous
| For those asking for advanced math opportunities, FCPS already offers AAP math, and further with principal approval, 6th graders can enroll in Algebra 1 or go for summer geometry as rising 8th grader. Are you saying even more advanced math options should be provided? |
Anonymous
Algebra in 6th grade is rare, 30 kids most years and only at a few schools. The path to Algebra in 6th is not publicly shared and is fully dependent on a test in 6th grade. People are saying that the path is too strict and needs to be made public. DS had a 145 on the Q section of the CoGAT, has SOL scores that have never been lower then 550 in math, to include a perfect score, and iReady percentiles in the 99th percentile every time he has taken the iReady. No one discussed Algebra in 6th grade with us. He hit every bench mark for Algebra in 6th grade but our school is not one of the ones that actively looks for kids that fit the profile and we did not know that the path existed. |
Anonymous
A ver small number students take Algebra 1 in 6th, definitely less than 1%. You can’t really ask the district to make programs and pour resources into something that so few students would benefit from. In your case, you probably accelerated your kid with at home and outside enrichment, seems to me it’s more of your responsibility to figure out a path for advanced math placement, instead of complaining he wasn’t placed in 6th in Algebra. There are so many options available, just be nice and understanding when dealing with the school administrators, they most likely will work something out for your kid. Making demands and asking district wide policies and programs is definitely not the way to go. |
Anonymous
There are many programs where schools pour resources even if less than 1% use it. But that is irrelevant here, since no new programs are required. The point being made is a qualified 6th grade student should be given equitable access to an existing Algebra 1 course. They can even help remedial 8th graders in that same class, if needed. Kids learn from their peers better when standard instruction method does not work out. One of our extended family members who had a remedial math 8th grader was helped by a precocious 6th grader with their math. |
Anonymous
It's a lot more complicated than that. Very few people meet the FCPS benchmarks to enroll in Algebra I in 6th grade, regardless of the principal's approval. |
Anonymous
What are they? Can you someone please describe the process how it works or worked? |
Anonymous
I'm not sure why you're jumping on the PP. PP's kid met the benchmarks for Algebra in 6th, but their school didn't provide it. That's a pretty textbook example of inequitable access. No one is asking for new programs or any resources at all. It costs FCPS nothing to let a kid sit in a different classroom for math. If a kid needs transportation to the middle or high school for math, the parent must provide it. Even if the parent wants to take responsibility and figure out a path for their advanced math student, the school generally won't allow it. It would be trivial for math teachers to allow kids to independently study their AoPS/RSM materials when they've already aced the unit pre-test or the beginning of year tests. It would also be trivial for FCPS to allow parents to single subject homeschool their kids. FCPS does not allow any of this. |
Anonymous
It has already been listed in this thread and on numerous other threads in this forum. But I'll do it again. To take Algebra I in 6th grade, the kid must: Score 145 or higher on the CogAT Quant section Score a 575 or higher on their 4th grade SOL have the support of their 4th grade AAP/advanced math teacher. Then, if they meet all of these at the end of 4th grade, Gatehouse will conduct additional testing. Kids who meet those benchmarks will be jumped up to 6th grade AAP math when in 5th grade. In 5th grade, they need a 91st percentile or higher score on the IAAT as well as a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL to be eligible for Algebra in 6th grade. |
Anonymous
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Algebra 1 is small step up from 6th grade AAP.
Do algebra 1 at home using the many free resources available, and then talk to the middle school to get Geometry in 7th. |
Anonymous
Thank you for the detailed reply. |
Anonymous
FCPS will not let you do that. If you do Algebra at home or even in AoPS, learn it perfectly, and could ace both the SOL and honors algebra 1 final by the end of 6th, you’ll still be required to take Algebra in 7th. |
Anonymous
FCPS’s concept of equity is NOT equality of opportunity. FCPS believes only in equality of outcomes. Since a racial achievement gap still exists in FCPS, the superintendent / Gatehouse is trying to close that gap “from the top down.” The easiest way to do that “from the top down” is to reduce opportunities for accelerated or advanced learners in FCPS. |
Anonymous
Where did I complain about it in my post? We did not say anything to the school or complain to the administration. I was unaware that there was a path for Algebra in 6th grade until I read about it here in 5th grade because the county does not make that information public knowledge. The point is that there was at least one kid who met all of the criteria that is suppose to exist who was not offered the opportunity to accelerate at school because the school does not offer that opportunity. And he is not likely the only one that is not given the chance. We did not prep for the NNAT or the CoGAT and we did not attend math enrichment until the COVID year, so 4th grade for my son. His NNAT and CoGAT scores were his ability, his iReady percentiles were in the 99th percentile in 1-4th grade, before we started RSM. We started RSM because he was bored with math at school, it is what we saw during online learning that prompted our choice to offer it to him. His K Teacher commented on his math ability and had him working on first grade material in K. Every Teacher he had commented on his math ability and told us that there was no way he wouldn’t end up in Advanced Math. Had he been at one of the handful os schools that look for the benchmarks, there would have been a discussion to advance him or not. Now he is a 6th grader and he scored an 18 on the AMC8, participates in a ton of other math competitions, and studies math outside of school and RSM for fun. If the County has a policy, and they do, then it should be applied uniformly, and it isn’t. And there is nothing wrong with pointing that out. |