Algebra 1 Honors
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Anonymous
| We received a letter from FFX on Saturday stating our kid has met all criteria for Alegbra 1 Honors. She is currently in 6th grade AAP. We have till the 15th of June to decide whether we want her to attend Algebra 1 Honors or Math 7 Honors. How did you guys go about deciding for your kid? We have reached out to her teacher for her recommendation. |
Anonymous
| Start by asking your child if they want to do it. It is a high school class that will move at that pace. |
Anonymous
| I strongly encourage you to think longer term about this. My kids took it in 7th and if I had to do over again, I'd have waited. It isn't an issue until around 11th grade, and then it becomes much more difficult with fewer choices (except much harder classes). |
Anonymous
| Look at what DD would take in 12th and work backwards. Familiarize yourself with the math sequence and make sure this is what you want. |
Anonymous
| Also, think twice about taking A1H in 7th if you are in an IB pyramid. That would result in your student finishing IB math in 11th grade. Most strong math students then take linear algebra and multivariable calculus in 12 grade. The thing is...the IB program doesn't let you take your IB math exam until the end of 12 grade, a whole year after you've finished the IB math sequence. My DS didn't like that, so he ended up going to an AP school instead. |
Anonymous
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I had one who waited, they were around 92nd percentile. It worked out well. They progressed to taking BC Calc in their senior year. Now a Computer Engineering major at a top ten Engineering school.
We planned to do the same with our younger child but they did much better on the Iowa test and their teacher encouraged us to let them try it out. It stuck. They progressed to taking Matrix Algebra and Multivariable Calculus in HS. They are majoring in math at school now. I suggest talking with you4 DC’s teacher and to your DC. |
Anonymous
Do you know if everybody was sent this? My DC is also in 6th grade AAP and got a 96 percentile for Iowa, expected to do well on SOL, but we haven't gotten a letter from FFX. |
Anonymous
| OP if the teacher endorses your kid I would say go for it. Teachers are going to be the best judge outside of any test scores. |
Anonymous
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We’re in similar shoes, OP (minus the letter; her teacher told her she PA). I’m not really concerned about her ability to handle algebra, by about the necessity of taking high level math in HS. Matrix and multivariable aren’t really necessary unless she decides to go into certain fields, and if she does, then it’s something that can be learned in college.
The kid is also unsure, and likely to make the call on the basis of which ones of her friends are taking it. I told her that we’ll wait, and if she gets a high PA (550+), I’m more likely to believe there is no harm, than if she squeaked by. I am certain of her math abilities. But, such things as executive functioning skills will also play a role in how well she is able to cope, and for her, I know that her SOL score is reflective of that. |
Anonymous
| If they take Algebra I in 7th they are not beholden to matrix/linear in 12th. Many kids take AB calc and then BC. Or they take AP stats. |
Anonymous
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FWIW, according to the IARA Interpretation Guide (2006) the raw to percentile rank conversions (tables A1 + A2) are this:
99% - 57 to 60 98% - 55 97% - 54 96% - 53 95% - 52 93% - 51 91% - 50 I am curious though whether the test has been revised or updated since. The calibration appears to date back to as far as 1991. At our RoVA district, I have 2 data points: our 5th grader scored 60/60 and 600 on (5th grade!) SOL; was accepted into Algebra in 6th grade; so was another student with a 58/60 raw and a 552 on the 5th grade SOL. Not sure where they set the cutoff (and due to our child's score, was fortunate enough to not having discuss it with public school personnel...). Overall, they offered to 11 out of an incoming class of maybe 300+ kids, or about 3-4%. The test booklets they used for the IAAT were completely worn out. Not following instructions, somebody had written the answers into the book our child used - they were erased so the book could be reused - child told us that most answers so marked and erased were wrong. Nerves like steel (and what a ridiculous thing to have to contend with. Maybe we'll donate to the PTA next year so that they can buy new test booklets...) Overall, using a single test to test Algebra readiness and combining it with a useless test like the 5th grade SOL is of course questionable, although they also used teacher recommendations and 4th grade NWEA MAP scores. At our district, it's basically a proxy for IQ - and it's not unreasonable that the top 2-3% of rising 6th graders are smart enough to do well in Algebra, even if they haven't completed a full Prealgebra curriculum. I should also point out that our school system doesn't have AAP and that the GT program is a joke - for instance, in 5th grade, they taught "algebra" in GT pullout using Borenson Math - not realizing that this a remedial math program (our child asked why she couldn't use a normal minus sign and had to use Borenson's weird non-standard notation for equations). Fortunately, the GT teachers are kept out of making math placement decisions... That said, if I were a parent who couldn't assess their child's ability as well as I can because I'm in the area, I'd find it hard to make any sense of the numbers provided, too. |
Anonymous
OP here. No idea but we were surprised we received a letter. We check SIS and SOL scores are not posted. Her teacher said we should let her enroll in Algebra I Honors without hesitation. The teacher has a high degree of confidence and our kid. |
Anonymous
| We just got an email about meeting criteria for Alg 1H that included math SOL score. We were amongst the dead very last of people to get IAAT scores so this was a pleasant surprise! Email appears to be from our MS, not FCPS central. |
Anonymous
I would go ahead and do it. |
Anonymous
Starting to think that our kids go to the same school. It was a pleasant surprise to be notified early. Given that we were among the last ones to hear about the IAAT, I wasn't expecting to hear from the ES until August (I kid; I expected it by the end of the month) |