Algebra 1 as Sixth Grader?

[Anonymous]

We moved from another state so this is our first year in FCPS. I'm trying to learn about math pathways. My daughter was able to advance through math at an accelerated pace at her prior school, so in our prior district she tested into an accelerated Algebra I course for 6th grade (that was middle school where we were, which is why they tested her at the end of 5th grade right before we moved here). Her math pathway there, as that district defined it, was to take Algebra I in 6th, Geometry in 7th, and Algebra 2 (via bus to the nearby high school) in 8th grade.

She was accepted into the FCPS Level IV program via summer application. She is at an elementary with a local Level IV program (not a Level IV Center). They do not have any kids taking Algebra I this year (in 6th), so she is in the Grade 6 Advanced Math with the other Level IV students. She reviewed the FCPS Grade 6 Advanced Math Curriculum outline posted online and has already done it. I see some Level IV center middle schools (e.g. Cooper) that offer both Geometry and Algebra II, which makes me wonder if there is an option to take Algebra I in 6th grade. Do any elementary schools offer Algebra I, or do any bus kids to a middle school for Algebra I (or have parents transport them)? If not, how are kids able to get to Algebra II in middle (do they test out of Algebra I or Geometry)?

We have not done any outside math enrichment (aside from some Beast Academy workbooks at home when she was much younger) and don't have a specific desired outcome for her (e.g. TJ), so I'm not concerned about falling behind where others in FCPS might be. However, she loves math and is bummed that it seems like she won't be learning new concepts this year. I told her I'd explore whether there are more options in FCPS that I don't know about and am hoping this group can educate me. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Please use the search function to find the many, many past threads.

[Anonymous]

I hope someone comes along with the relevant info. I just wanted to support you in your quest, OP! We're in MD (Montgomery County Public Schools), and my child was able to test into Algebra 1 in 6th, and is now happily ensconced in Algebra 2 in 8th. She isn't interested in a high school STEM magnet, but just likes math. Right now she starts first period at her high school for math, then is bused to her middle school for the rest of the day.

Best wishes.

[Anonymous]

This is a question for your school principal or AART. Since it's almost October, it's a little late to transfer into Algebra now. It would have been better to ask earlier.

[Anonymous]

FCPS has a process to let kids take Algebra I in 6th. For kids who were in FCPS in 5th, the process is pretty rigid and requires that the kid meet some benchmark scores after 4th grade, then take AAP 6th grade math in 5th grade, and then qualify for Algebra using the IAAT and 7th grade SOL in 5th grade.

I have no idea what the process is for kids transferring into FCPS. You should talk to your principal and perhaps escalate to a higher power.

6th graders either take Algebra I at the local middle school or they take it through the FCPS online campus.

[Anonymous]

OP, is there another way for her to learn math, such as a math team or math club at school?

I don't believe any FCPS elementary schools have an algebra class which would mean your daughter would have to take it at the local middle school, making it logistically harder for you and her, as well as likely harder to get her approved by the school. And this is all because of a stupid arbitrary county rule that 6th graders are elementary school students, even though most 6th graders in the country are as old and behave like middle schoolers. Well, if they're going to do that, they should also put support in place for students such as your daughter, such as having something to offer at the elementary school.

To your other question, how do kids get Alg 2 in 8th: Search up summer geometry threads, there are many of them. FCPS offers a summer geometry course that runs about 5 weeks I believe and is supposed to cover 1 whole year of geometry (a terrible idea, btw). Parents push kids into this causing a bunch of stress in the process, a highly inadequate understanding of geometry fundamentals, and quite possibly harms their interest in mathematics. Some kids also push to take it, mainly if they have friends who are doing it.. that way they can be in the same class with their friends for the following year and not be behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FCPS has a process to let kids take Algebra I in 6th. For kids who were in FCPS in 5th, the process is pretty rigid and requires that the kid meet some benchmark scores after 4th grade, then take AAP 6th grade math in 5th grade, and then qualify for Algebra using the IAAT and 7th grade SOL in 5th grade.

I have no idea what the process is for kids transferring into FCPS. You should talk to your principal and perhaps escalate to a higher power.

6th graders either take Algebra I at the local middle school or they take it through the FCPS online campus.

Thank you for this information. That is what I was wondering, if kids are accelerating in elementary or middle. I appreciate the info.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a question for your school principal or AART. Since it's almost October, it's a little late to transfer into Algebra now. It would have been better to ask earlier.

I first raised it this summer when she got accepted into the Level IV program and was told to wait until the end of 1st quarter to re-evaluate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, is there another way for her to learn math, such as a math team or math club at school?

I don't believe any FCPS elementary schools have an algebra class which would mean your daughter would have to take it at the local middle school, making it logistically harder for you and her, as well as likely harder to get her approved by the school. And this is all because of a stupid arbitrary county rule that 6th graders are elementary school students, even though most 6th graders in the country are as old and behave like middle schoolers. Well, if they're going to do that, they should also put support in place for students such as your daughter, such as having something to offer at the elementary school.

To your other question, how do kids get Alg 2 in 8th: Search up summer geometry threads, there are many of them. FCPS offers a summer geometry course that runs about 5 weeks I believe and is supposed to cover 1 whole year of geometry (a terrible idea, btw). Parents push kids into this causing a bunch of stress in the process, a highly inadequate understanding of geometry fundamentals, and quite possibly harms their interest in mathematics. Some kids also push to take it, mainly if they have friends who are doing it.. that way they can be in the same class with their friends for the following year and not be behind.

Thank you so much for this information. I did not know whether kids were accelerating in elementary or middle, so I was not using the right search terms. I'll take a look at the geometry threads. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

Send an email to the Principal, AART, and classroom Teacher and let them know that you would like to discuss this now. You are concerned that she has already covered the current material and would prefer for her to move to Algebra as soon as possible if that is determined to be the best course of action.

Be polite in your email, she was scheduled to take Algebra 1 this year at her old school and you want to pursue that now. DS is in 6th grade and his Advanced Math group has taken several assessments and tests, the school should have the necessary diagnostics to be able to discuss her placement.

You need to think about what her taking it might mean. It might mean going to the MS for a period 1 Algebra 1 Honors class and then being transported to her ES for the rest of her day. It might mean a virtual Algebra 1 H class. Or it might mean changing ES to move to a Center that has kids in Algebra 1. Are you comfortable with those options?

Most of the MS in FCPS are 7-8 grade and very few kids are taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade. Some do but it is a small percentage of kids in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a question for your school principal or AART. Since it's almost October, it's a little late to transfer into Algebra now. It would have been better to ask earlier.

I first raised it this summer when she got accepted into the Level IV program and was told to wait until the end of 1st quarter to re-evaluate.

If that is what you were told, then don't you need to reach back out to the school then? How could your child enter a high school honors level class having missed 25% of it? I would imagine if your child began 7th grade math this year and was off the charts ahead, the teacher and the school would be contacting you. Other than your child saying the syllabus says she already knows the curriculum, have you had feedback from the school that she's way ahead? That's the kind of info you need in order to go back to the school and seek help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a question for your school principal or AART. Since it's almost October, it's a little late to transfer into Algebra now. It would have been better to ask earlier.

I first raised it this summer when she got accepted into the Level IV program and was told to wait until the end of 1st quarter to re-evaluate.

If that is what you were told, then don't you need to reach back out to the school then? How could your child enter a high school honors level class having missed 25% of it? I would imagine if your child began 7th grade math this year and was off the charts ahead, the teacher and the school would be contacting you. Other than your child saying the syllabus says she already knows the curriculum, have you had feedback from the school that she's way ahead? That's the kind of info you need in order to go back to the school and seek help.

I can see a school that doesn’t have experience with kids taking Algebra in 6th grade not contacting a parent. Algebra 1 in 6th grade is a rare event and most schools don’t deal with that possibility. The school is likely waiting on iReadys, VGAs, and some in class assessments to see if the child is advanced but the problem is that waiting means that the child is falling behind in Algebra if the school does determine that the kid belongs there.

OP: The rare times that kids are placed in Algebra before 7th grade aare kids who are flagged in 2nd grade because of a stupidly high score on the quant section on the CoGAT, consistently high iReady scores, and passing advanced on the SOL. Your child entering in 6th grade doesn’t have that track record and the school doesn’t seem willing to trust the placement from your old school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Send an email to the Principal, AART, and classroom Teacher and let them know that you would like to discuss this now. You are concerned that she has already covered the current material and would prefer for her to move to Algebra as soon as possible if that is determined to be the best course of action.

Be polite in your email, she was scheduled to take Algebra 1 this year at her old school and you want to pursue that now. DS is in 6th grade and his Advanced Math group has taken several assessments and tests, the school should have the necessary diagnostics to be able to discuss her placement.

You need to think about what her taking it might mean. It might mean going to the MS for a period 1 Algebra 1 Honors class and then being transported to her ES for the rest of her day. It might mean a virtual Algebra 1 H class. Or it might mean changing ES to move to a Center that has kids in Algebra 1. Are you comfortable with those options?

Most of the MS in FCPS are 7-8 grade and very few kids are taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade. Some do but it is a small percentage of kids in the county.

AART has been responsive and proactive, so the purpose of my post was to gather information (e.g. I did not know about the virtual class options or summer Geometry) prior to my next discussion with her. I appreciate your response and information!

[Anonymous]

I can see a school that doesn’t have experience with kids taking Algebra in 6th grade not contacting a parent. Algebra 1 in 6th grade is a rare event and most schools don’t deal with that possibility. The school is likely waiting on iReadys, VGAs, and some in class assessments to see if the child is advanced but the problem is that waiting means that the child is falling behind in Algebra if the school does determine that the kid belongs there.

OP: The rare times that kids are placed in Algebra before 7th grade aare kids who are flagged in 2nd grade because of a stupidly high score on the quant section on the CoGAT, consistently high iReady scores, and passing advanced on the SOL. Your child entering in 6th grade doesn’t have that track record and the school doesn’t seem willing to trust the placement from your old school.

Thanks, you're right, I think they needed their own data prior to pursuing a somewhat rare placement. We knew she might end up with a repeat math year as a result of this out-of-state move. We're okay with that if that's how it works out. However, once I saw that Algebra II is offered at some middle schools, it made me wonder how kids get there (i.e. was I was missing some big 6th grade Algebra I option that is more widely available? Based on responses I received it seems like it is more likely kids skipping Geometry through the summer program, which I also did not know about). I'll ask her AART about the online Algebra I option. If it's self-paced then I think that could be a good option. I appreciate your response!

[Anonymous]

I tried to find the number of 6th graders who took Algebra 1 using the SOL score site.

There were 31 6th graders who took the Algebra 1 SOL last year. Then I re-ran the report by schools in FCPS with 6th graders who took the EOC (HS Level seems to be EOC) for Algebra 1. There were 13 schools listed but the normal fields for count, pass advanced, pass, fail and the like were not listed due to numbers being so small.

The schools were Churchill Road, Forestville, Greenbriar West, Haycock, Holmes, Kent Garden, Lemon Road, Mosaic, Navy, Oakton, Spring Hill, Timber Lane, and Willow Springs.

There were 1,680 7th graders who took Algebra 1 SOL last year.

There were 6,635 8th graders who took the Algebra 1 SOL last year.

There might be an ES school or two that has a “class” of kids taking Algebra 1 but I am not so certain that they are being taught at the ES and not taking the class online. I would guess most of those kids are being bussed to a MS and then to ES if they are taking a physical class.

If the link below doesn’t work, google VDOE test Results Builder https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/apex_captcha/home.do?apexTypeId=306

You can run the report for multiple years and see what schools have have 6th graders in Algebra 1 for a period of years. I am going to guess that the numbers will remain small.

OP, there are not many kids in Algebra 1 in 6th grade. Not going to lie, DS has not been challenged in FCPS math since he started school. His Quant CoGAT was a 140 so I don’t think he met the threshold for Algebra 1 in 6th grade, even with Pass Advanced SOLs every year and iReadys 80 points or more higher then the end of year threshold. We moved him into RSM Math in 4th grade so that he would have some math there that would challenge him. He says that he likes the RSM and that it is more interesting then school math but most of it is still not hard. They have harder problems and more applied problems so it is more interesting and he does have to think about things more. Your solution might be to look at AoPS or RSM for math challenge but I would be surprised if your school moved your child to Algebra 1 this far into the school year. I could be wrong but I would not wait until the end of the quarter to see what the school says only because it will be harder to catch up every week she is not in Algebra 1.