Is it just me? The MCAP Algebra I seems ridiculously hard

[Anonymous]

When I took Algebra I, I feel like we just spent the year isolating a variable. The curriculum these days seems like it's trying to pack way more topics into one year.
My daughter learns quickly but forgets quickly, so she has good grades but then the end of the year test is a challenge.
I don't know--looking at what she's doing this year seems harder than anything I ever did in math, and I got As in AP Calculus my senior year.
When only 10% of students are meeting expectations, maybe the expectations are not realistic?

[Anonymous]

Kids were passing this test before the pandemic so not sure how issue is all of a sudden the test?

[Anonymous]

Ok my 10% number could be wrong. Let's say a lot of kids are passing--it still seems a lot harder than anything I did in high school or college. And I went to a good college (in top 15 ranking of small liberal arts colleges).
I'm just saying, I'm really NOT dumb. I'm a computer programmer, I recently took a programming aptitude test just for kicks and got a perfect score on it. I'm a logical person and capable of problem solving--I have it on paper. But the Algebra I curriculum (my daughter's taking it in 8th grade) just seems way too hard to me. Like they're trying to cram much too much into one year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids were passing this test before the pandemic so not sure how issue is all of a sudden the test?

It wasn’t the MCAP. Are you thinking of PARCC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok my 10% number could be wrong. Let's say a lot of kids are passing--it still seems a lot harder than anything I did in high school or college. And I went to a good college (in top 15 ranking of small liberal arts colleges).
I'm just saying, I'm really NOT dumb. I'm a computer programmer, I recently took a programming aptitude test just for kicks and got a perfect score on it. I'm a logical person and capable of problem solving--I have it on paper. But the Algebra I curriculum (my daughter's taking it in 8th grade) just seems way too hard to me. Like they're trying to cram much too much into one year.

I think the teaching is the problem rather than the content. They don't go into depth and they don't do enough practice. It's a horrible combination. Kids were doing badly on the state assessments before the pandemic but after missing so much instruction they are no worse shape and things seem harder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I took Algebra I, I feel like we just spent the year isolating a variable. The curriculum these days seems like it's trying to pack way more topics into one year.
My daughter learns quickly but forgets quickly, so she has good grades but then the end of the year test is a challenge.
I don't know--looking at what she's doing this year seems harder than anything I ever did in math, and I got As in AP Calculus my senior year.
When only 10% of students are meeting expectations, maybe the expectations are not realistic?

Its harder exams I agree. I also think it’s crazy that it’s the first exam of the year. Why have it at the stRt of 4th quarter when they still have things to learn.

[Anonymous]

You've just forgotten almost all the stuff you learned. It's been a while.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok my 10% number could be wrong. Let's say a lot of kids are passing--it still seems a lot harder than anything I did in high school or college. And I went to a good college (in top 15 ranking of small liberal arts colleges).
I'm just saying, I'm really NOT dumb. I'm a computer programmer, I recently took a programming aptitude test just for kicks and got a perfect score on it. I'm a logical person and capable of problem solving--I have it on paper. But the Algebra I curriculum (my daughter's taking it in 8th grade) just seems way too hard to me. Like they're trying to cram much too much into one year.

Such as?? Provide specific examples of problems that seem hard and we'll determine if that is indeed the case.

[juanjunoz]

It's not that any one section of the curriculum is so hard, but it's the amount of material they're expected to cover seems excessive and doesn't allow kids to go into depth in any one area.
I don't think it's the teachers' fault for not going deeper and having the kids practice more--how could they when there's so much material to cover?

[juanjunoz]

For example, I know I didn't have anything like this in Algebra I:

A ball is hit from the ground. When the ball has traveled a horizontal distance
of d meters, its height, h, in meters, can be modeled by the function

h(d) = - 1/125 x d^2 + d

What is the horizontal distance from the point where the ball is hit to the point
where the ball lands on the ground?
Enter your answer in the space provided.

[Anonymous]

juanjunoz wrote:For example, I know I didn't have anything like this in Algebra I:

A ball is hit from the ground. When the ball has traveled a horizontal distance
of d meters, its height, h, in meters, can be modeled by the function

h(d) = - 1/125 x d^2 + d

What is the horizontal distance from the point where the ball is hit to the point
where the ball lands on the ground?
Enter your answer in the space provided.

That’s a pretty standard Algebra topic on quadratics- factoring, quadratic formula, graphing if desmos is allowed… it’s just asking about roots and zeroes.

[Anonymous]

I’m so glad I’m not a kid today 🤪 I’d definitely be in the slow class

[Anonymous]

juanjunoz wrote:For example, I know I didn't have anything like this in Algebra I:

A ball is hit from the ground. When the ball has traveled a horizontal distance
of d meters, its height, h, in meters, can be modeled by the function

h(d) = - 1/125 x d^2 + d

What is the horizontal distance from the point where the ball is hit to the point
where the ball lands on the ground?
Enter your answer in the space provided.

NP but don't you just set h(d) to 0 and use the quadratic equation? Am I missing something? That type of question would have come up in my early high school years for sure.

[juanjunoz]

Well, I guess it is just me. I'll say this though, I did get As in math. I just don't recall this in Algebra I. Maybe Physics or Algebra II. It seems like the new standards are trying to cram a lot more into one year.

[juanjunoz]

Also, possibly I'm older than most of the parents here and my experience was different. I'm thinking back to early 80s private school education. It was a simpler time, things went slower, we had a lot less stress--what an old lady thing to say!