Compacted Math

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Compacted math decisions for next year are going home today if they have not already been sent. All 3rd graders will be given a letter that either says they will be in 4th grade math or compacted math. If you do not agree with the decision, there is a form you can fill out.

Hopefully our letter will come today. Did not receive anything yesterday. DD did UCARE (teacher told me she was considering her for compacted math next year). Would be interested to know if UCARE was still used at all in the decision process.

[Anonymous]

Got ours in the back pack yesterday. DD is in 4/5 math (compacted). But no mention of UCARE testing and its results. I know she was tested as she came back and explained the problem and answer to me everytime.
So are all kids selected for 4/5 math placed in 1 class in 4th grade to make math class easier? Or are the kids pulled out for math as they were doing for enriched math?

[Anonymous]

It may depend on the school but in ours they change classes for the math block and it's not just the compacted math kids. The kids in compacted math are in all the four classes and Mrs. X who is one of the teachers for 4th grade teaches compacted math. If you're in compacted math and in Mrs. X's class you stay with her. If you're not in her class you go to her class. If you're in Mrs. X's homeroom class you're assigned one of the other teachers for math and you get pulled out so to speak. Not sure how it works in other schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP's that are saying there are slow downs are only partly correct. They can only come from a parent and not from the school/teacher. Even if a child is greatly struggling in 5/6, teachers are not allowed to recommend them for anything except for IM, because otherwise they would be repeating a class. Even if a parent asks, we are expected to tell them the truth- that their child is passing the class and that they are therefore recommended for the next class even if in our minds we are trying to tell the parent (or strongly hint) that this is not the correct path for their child. And from reading DCUM, it is obvious that no parent wants a child that is not in the accelerated class even if it is not right for the child. Just make sure that you are setting your child up for success!

You are wrong.
We have child who did not struggled, but asked with parents to be moved in regular class in 5th grade. Child felt it was too much...

This is correct. The PARENT instigated the change. In this case the child had also not started 6th grade math and was not repeating a grade. That is different than finishing the entire 6th grade curriculum including all of the county tests and repeating the whole class.

[Anonymous]

PP I applaud you for listening to your child.

[Anonymous]

We did not receive anything yet. Are all schools planning to send out the decisions soon?

[Anonymous]

They were supposed to go out yesterday.

[Anonymous]

We didn't get a letter. Teacher said by email a few weeks ago that she would be signed up for 4/5 next year.

[Anonymous]

We got our letters at Beverly Farms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP I applaud you for listening to your child.

Sorry, do not want to take credit.
I meant it happened in my child's class. My child who thought that X was very smart and capable, was shocked when X said, "I will not go to compacted math anymore."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did not receive anything yet. Are all schools planning to send out the decisions soon?

We were told that the final meeting at our school is today and letters will go out soon after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It may depend on the school but in ours they change classes for the math block and it's not just the compacted math kids. The kids in compacted math are in all the four classes and Mrs. X who is one of the teachers for 4th grade teaches compacted math. If you're in compacted math and in Mrs. X's class you stay with her. If you're not in her class you go to her class. If you're in Mrs. X's homeroom class you're assigned one of the other teachers for math and you get pulled out so to speak. Not sure how it works in other schools.

What if there aren't enough CM students to fill Mrs. X's class? Say, there are only a dozen CM kids in the DS. Will the class be filled with both CM and non-CM kids? If so, will each still get a one hour math block time, or will the one hour math block now be split (and probably not 50/50) between the two groups?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may depend on the school but in ours they change classes for the math block and it's not just the compacted math kids. The kids in compacted math are in all the four classes and Mrs. X who is one of the teachers for 4th grade teaches compacted math. If you're in compacted math and in Mrs. X's class you stay with her. If you're not in her class you go to her class. If you're in Mrs. X's homeroom class you're assigned one of the other teachers for math and you get pulled out so to speak. Not sure how it works in other schools.

What if there aren't enough CM students to fill Mrs. X's class? Say, there are only a dozen CM kids in the DS. Will the class be filled with both CM and non-CM kids? If so, will each still get a one hour math block time, or will the one hour math block now be split (and probably not 50/50) between the two groups?

sorry, should read "ES".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP I applaud you for listening to your child.

Sorry, do not want to take credit.
I meant it happened in my child's class. My child who thought that X was very smart and capable, was shocked when X said, "I will not go to compacted math anymore."

Then we stand corrected and applaud your child's classmate's parents for listening to their child. She may be very smart and capable, but if it makes her unhappy or too anxious, is it worth it in the end?

[Anonymous]

I am expecting the opposite problem. I think too many kids in our ES quality for compacted math and there might be more than 1 class.
Do you think taking UCARE out of the equation eased the requirement for getting into 4/5? Can any teachers comment whether UCARE scores were used at all?