Got an email saying my kid was going to his grade level math class

[Anonymous]

Please explain this. What other math classes are there?

[Anonymous]

Is he going into 4th grade? If so it means he’s not doing compacted math which if 4th grade math and half of 5th in 4th and the other half of 5th and all of 6th in 5th.

[Anonymous]

There should be a line in the email regarding who to contact if you have additional questions.

[Anonymous]

Thanks and yes he’s going into 4th. The letter said that it would provide information on other curricula but it did not. Should I care about this? I’m perfectly happy with my average kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks and yes he’s going into 4th. The letter said that it would provide information on other curricula but it did not. Should I care about this? I’m perfectly happy with my average kid.

It's fine to leave it if you are confident its the right placement for your kid. There is really no sense accelerating kids in math too fast as they don't develop a good foundation.
Also perfectly OK to ask the teacher what the cutoffs were (usually a MAP score + previous grades) so you can see if your kid was relative to those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks and yes he’s going into 4th. The letter said that it would provide information on other curricula but it did not. Should I care about this? I’m perfectly happy with my average kid.

You don't have to care about this unless you believe your kid is ahead of his grade and needs to be in compacted Math. They base this placement on MAP scores. In our school many kids got moved to the advanced class after their Fall MAP tests. Some moved after the Winter Map tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks and yes he’s going into 4th. The letter said that it would provide information on other curricula but it did not. Should I care about this? I’m perfectly happy with my average kid.

If you feel your kid needs to take Algebra in 7th otherwise let them take their time.

[Anonymous]

Its fine. If he does well in math next year they'll likely put him in compacted thereafter. My kids were pushed into compacted math in 4th and struggled / needed tutors to keep up with the minority of math class geniuses. There's usually only about 5 of those in the whole class and the rest are regular kids. But you know, MCPS gets more funding if they can show they've got more advanced students, so they push the compacted. Your kid is lucky they're just getting normal math which should teach at a steady pace and will be easier to remember / learn and apply.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its fine. If he does well in math next year they'll likely put him in compacted thereafter. My kids were pushed into compacted math in 4th and struggled / needed tutors to keep up with the minority of math class geniuses. There's usually only about 5 of those in the whole class and the rest are regular kids. But you know, MCPS gets more funding if they can show they've got more advanced students, so they push the compacted. Your kid is lucky they're just getting normal math which should teach at a steady pace and will be easier to remember / learn and apply.

Nonsense. Half the non-English Language Learners in the county do fine in compacted math, and always half.
English Language Learners have other challenges slowing down their subject matter progress, but become strong bilingual speakers.

[Anonymous]

If I could ne’d it over again, I would keep my kid in regular math in ES and start with acceleration in MS. Mine is in AIM now it moves super fast after skipping a bunch of content in compacted math. We have been supplementing to address gaps, of which there are many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I could ne’d it over again, I would keep my kid in regular math in ES and start with acceleration in MS. Mine is in AIM now it moves super fast after skipping a bunch of content in compacted math. We have been supplementing to address gaps, of which there are many.

Many middle schools now have advanced classes for all so this is hard to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I could ne’d it over again, I would keep my kid in regular math in ES and start with acceleration in MS. Mine is in AIM now it moves super fast after skipping a bunch of content in compacted math. We have been supplementing to address gaps, of which there are many.

Many middle schools now have advanced classes for all so this is hard to do.

Are you saying that middle schools don't have on-grade level math? I have heard of HIGH for all, but I have not heard of 6+/AIM for all.

Ours definitely has 3 levels in 6th grade: Math 6, Math 6+ (6th and 1/2 of 7th), and AIM (7th/8th; requires high MAP scores and prior completion of 5/6).

What schools are putting everyone who completed math 5 in 5th grade into 6+ or AIM?

[Anonymous]

Its fine OP. If they find that he is bored with grade-level math, they will move him up. I have had a child in compacted and a child in grade-level math and I was so much happier with the pace of grade-level. I felt like he actually learned and mastered the material, not just rushed through it. Compacted math was way too fast--they move through it so quickly and when they need to use the skills that they were rushed through, it's difficult because they never really understood it the first time around. Unless your child is really strong in math, start with grade-level and see where it goes.

[Anonymous]

Can you appeal the decision once you complete 4th and head into 5th? My child was placed in grade level math for 4th and I was surprised given his MAP scores and grades. I'd like him to be on an accelerated pace for MS. My daughter, who has math LD, was not and it really does determine your placements moving forward.

[Anonymous]

Math does not have a pre-determined path. There are on ramps and off ramps all through ES and MS. Of compacted was too fast, kids can take 6, 6+, 7. If Math 4 is too slow and kids need more of a challenge they can ask to see if Math 4/5 would be better. Khan Academy is available to all and all kids have access to IxL plus there regular math books.