Compacted math 4/5 5/6 and issues

[Anonymous]

My kid who is in compacted math and is doing great regularly tells me that students in his class do not do well on assessments/quizzes etc. my current 3rd grader will also probably be in compacted math, he is good but not as good as his older sibling. My question is if your child was in compacted math, did he/she have problems in later math classes like algebra, AIM etc?

[Anonymous]

No, actually she skipped AIM and went straight to Algebra 1. Now in Honors Geo in 7th. Acceleration like this is made for kids who catch on quickly and don't need the same thing repeated for weeks on end. What MCPS accelerated classes do NOT do, is go more in-depth, which is a shame. You need to get lucky and snag a spot in the TPMS STEM magnet middle school for that, and continue on to the high school STEM magnets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, actually she skipped AIM and went straight to Algebra 1. Now in Honors Geo in 7th. Acceleration like this is made for kids who catch on quickly and don't need the same thing repeated for weeks on end. What MCPS accelerated classes do NOT do, is go more in-depth, which is a shame. You need to get lucky and snag a spot in the TPMS STEM magnet middle school for that, and continue on to the high school STEM magnets.

What is the requirement to skip AIM?

[Anonymous]

DS took both compacted, did very well and enjoyed the classes. Also had a very positive experience in AIM and is now in Algebra 1 in 7th. I would agree that not all students who are in compacted excel in the classes. Not sure if they stick with the AIM track or eventually slow down based on their experience in compacted. DS also benefitted from excellent math teachers along the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid who is in compacted math and is doing great regularly tells me that students in his class do not do well on assessments/quizzes etc. my current 3rd grader will also probably be in compacted math, he is good but not as good as his older sibling. My question is if your child was in compacted math, did he/she have problems in later math classes like algebra, AIM etc? [/quote

Compact math is super slow already for my kids.

[Anonymous]

DC is in 5/6 and doing fine-not-great (Bs). They would benefit, really, from slowing down in MS and beyond (not a STEM kid at all). Is that an option if the completion of 5/6 is satisfactory? In other words, can DC request something slower/lower than AIM even if grades in 5/6 are ok? I also assume that a math pullback would have no impact on eligibility for Global Humanities (which DC would love and is qualified for)--or would it?

[Anonymous]

Too man parents complained and pushed their kids into CM. This is what you get.

My 17 yr old was in CM, first class to go into the CM program. When DC was in it, the entrance criteria was high. Only a handful of kids got in.

By the time DC#2 got to CM, they relaxed the criteria, by a lot. It went from maybe 6 to 10 kids per grade to more like 2/3 of the grade. I volunteered once for CM class, and I could clearly see that some of those kids really didn't belong there. They could barely do their times table.

During parent-teacher conference I asked the teacher if they thought DC#2 should be in CM or not because DC seemed to be struggling a bit at times. Teacher said it's fine, plus if they bumped DC down to "regular" class, DC would have no peer group because that group now was for the really slow track. There was nothing in between slow and advanced. Really dumb move on MCPS part, but they capitulated to aggressive parents.

Both DCs are in advanced math track still. But, it's clear DC#1 is much stronger in math (800 on SAT, 5 AP Calc), whereas DC#2 doing well got As in math, but I know this DC won't get 800 on SAT or 5 in AP calc.

They really need an "in between" group .

[Anonymous]

If you don't think your kid will do well in advanced math in the upper grades I would drop your kid down a level going into MS. Having a strong Algebra understanding is super important for the upper math classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you don't think your kid will do well in advanced math in the upper grades I would drop your kid down a level going into MS. Having a strong Algebra understanding is super important for the upper math classes.

Agree with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is in 5/6 and doing fine-not-great (Bs). They would benefit, really, from slowing down in MS and beyond (not a STEM kid at all). Is that an option if the completion of 5/6 is satisfactory? In other words, can DC request something slower/lower than AIM even if grades in 5/6 are ok? I also assume that a math pullback would have no impact on eligibility for Global Humanities (which DC would love and is qualified for)--or would it?

Interestingly, this varies wildly by middle school. There isn’t an across-the-board cutoff and some middle schools offer different math pathways. At ours, kids who want to slow down for 6th after compacted take math 7, but they’re cohorted with all 6th graders, not jumbled in with grade level 7th graders who also take math 7. At other schools there is a course called AMP. It really depends on the school. Also, we’re not that far into the school year. If you think 5/6 is too much for your child, you could explore other options for this year. I don’t think Bs indicate a problem necessarily but whether the child is really struggling to get the concepts or is getting frustrated/stressed.

And no, math placement has no impact on eligibility for HIGH at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Too man parents complained and pushed their kids into CM. This is what you get.

My 17 yr old was in CM, first class to go into the CM program. When DC was in it, the entrance criteria was high. Only a handful of kids got in.

By the time DC#2 got to CM, they relaxed the criteria, by a lot. It went from maybe 6 to 10 kids per grade to more like 2/3 of the grade. I volunteered once for CM class, and I could clearly see that some of those kids really didn't belong there. They could barely do their times table.

During parent-teacher conference I asked the teacher if they thought DC#2 should be in CM or not because DC seemed to be struggling a bit at times. Teacher said it's fine, plus if they bumped DC down to "regular" class, DC would have no peer group because that group now was for the really slow track. There was nothing in between slow and advanced. Really dumb move on MCPS part, but they capitulated to aggressive parents.

Both DCs are in advanced math track still. But, it's clear DC#1 is much stronger in math (800 on SAT, 5 AP Calc), whereas DC#2 doing well got As in math, but I know this DC won't get 800 on SAT or 5 in AP calc.

They really need an "in between" group .

Similar experience except they didn't call it compacted math when my kids were in elementary. They just called it Math 4/5 or Math 5/6. In the case for both kids, they ended up slowing down their math track in middle school because they missed a lot with the accelerated math in elementary. CM should only really be for the very high flyers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
No, actually she skipped AIM and went straight to Algebra 1. Now in Honors Geo in 7th. Acceleration like this is made for kids who catch on quickly and don't need the same thing repeated for weeks on end. What MCPS accelerated classes do NOT do, is go more in-depth, which is a shame. You need to get lucky and snag a spot in the TPMS STEM magnet middle school for that, and continue on to the high school STEM magnets.

I've been told that's usually only an option at a few wealthy schools in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too man parents complained and pushed their kids into CM. This is what you get.

My 17 yr old was in CM, first class to go into the CM program. When DC was in it, the entrance criteria was high. Only a handful of kids got in.

By the time DC#2 got to CM, they relaxed the criteria, by a lot. It went from maybe 6 to 10 kids per grade to more like 2/3 of the grade. I volunteered once for CM class, and I could clearly see that some of those kids really didn't belong there. They could barely do their times table.

During parent-teacher conference I asked the teacher if they thought DC#2 should be in CM or not because DC seemed to be struggling a bit at times. Teacher said it's fine, plus if they bumped DC down to "regular" class, DC would have no peer group because that group now was for the really slow track. There was nothing in between slow and advanced. Really dumb move on MCPS part, but they capitulated to aggressive parents.

Both DCs are in advanced math track still. But, it's clear DC#1 is much stronger in math (800 on SAT, 5 AP Calc), whereas DC#2 doing well got As in math, but I know this DC won't get 800 on SAT or 5 in AP calc.

They really need an "in between" group .

Similar experience except they didn't call it compacted math when my kids were in elementary. They just called it Math 4/5 or Math 5/6. In the case for both kids, they ended up slowing down their math track in middle school because they missed a lot with the accelerated math in elementary. CM should only really be for the very high flyers.

PP here.. agreed.

I have told DC#2 to keep their options open for when they hit 10th grade. There is the option to slow down the math track such that they take AP calc in 12th rather than 11th. This DC is not interested in STEM so it doesn't make sense to take such advanced math classes in HS and struggle. DC#1 is not only interested in STEM but breezing through MVC; barely studies, always the first to finish the tests, and gets straight As. This is the type of person advanced math track is really for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No, actually she skipped AIM and went straight to Algebra 1. Now in Honors Geo in 7th. Acceleration like this is made for kids who catch on quickly and don't need the same thing repeated for weeks on end. What MCPS accelerated classes do NOT do, is go more in-depth, which is a shame. You need to get lucky and snag a spot in the TPMS STEM magnet middle school for that, and continue on to the high school STEM magnets.

I've been told that's usually only an option at a few wealthy schools in the county.

NO, this myth has been debunked many times on DCUM (there was a massive thread about it just recently) and trolls still like to repeat that lie just to rile people up against wealthy school clusters.

I had to fight Westland MS in Bethesda to get my kid into Algebra 1 in 6th. Another parent upcounty in a less privileged area told me their middle school was happy to accelerate their kid to the same level, because they had less demand, and were generally more excited to see kids want to stretch themselves. Schools in the BCC cluster try hard to push back against parental pressure to accelerate their kids, I think, and sometimes that works against truly interested students who want and need that acceleration. I don't know about Whitman and Walter Johnson clusters, or Churchill, also in wealthy areas.

Please don't perpetuate damaging lies.

To answer the other question, you need to request a placement test to get into Algebra 1 in 6th. Just like if your kid is bilingual or near-bilingual in a foreign language and the school tests them to place them in the right level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Too man parents complained and pushed their kids into CM. This is what you get.

My 17 yr old was in CM, first class to go into the CM program. When DC was in it, the entrance criteria was high. Only a handful of kids got in.

By the time DC#2 got to CM, they relaxed the criteria, by a lot. It went from maybe 6 to 10 kids per grade to more like 2/3 of the grade. I volunteered once for CM class, and I could clearly see that some of those kids really didn't belong there. They could barely do their times table.

During parent-teacher conference I asked the teacher if they thought DC#2 should be in CM or not because DC seemed to be struggling a bit at times. Teacher said it's fine, plus if they bumped DC down to "regular" class, DC would have no peer group because that group now was for the really slow track. There was nothing in between slow and advanced. Really dumb move on MCPS part, but they capitulated to aggressive parents.

Both DCs are in advanced math track still. But, it's clear DC#1 is much stronger in math (800 on SAT, 5 AP Calc), whereas DC#2 doing well got As in math, but I know this DC won't get 800 on SAT or 5 in AP calc.

They really need an "in between" group .

Similar experience except they didn't call it compacted math when my kids were in elementary. They just called it Math 4/5 or Math 5/6. In the case for both kids, they ended up slowing down their math track in middle school because they missed a lot with the accelerated math in elementary. CM should only really be for the very high flyers.

+1 DD 16 was in compacted math with three other kids in her grade. By the time DD13 was that age it was most of her grade. Kids shouldn’t be in CM unless they are really strong in math. You need a good foundation or else will continue to struggle.