APS - Dreambox level for Pre-Algebra in 6th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid loves dreambox.

If Larla finishes all of the dreambox levels by the end of 5th grade (level 8), will they get into Pre-Algebra for 6th grade middle school and be well prepared?

We were told that placement in pre-algebra for 6th depended on getting a high pass on the math SOL and teacher recommendation. I have a current 5th grader.

Nothing to do with dreambox. Based on performance, SOL, and Math Inventory. Nationally 1030 is the algebra readiness benchmark for MI but APS has sometimes set the benchmark even higher.

Their cut off last year was something like 1130 on the MI & a perfect 600 on the 6th grade math SOL.

This cannot be true - many students in 6th grade Pre-Algebra did not get a perfect 600 on the 6th grade math SOL.

Why doesn't APS just publish the pre-requisites? Seems like a moving target depending on how APS is feeling.

I meant what they consider algebra ready— to let kids take algebra in 7th grade. I don’t know the cut offs for 6th grade pre algebra. It is absolutely a moving target, & they didn’t advertise they were increasing the required scores until after the fact.

Kids in pre algebra take the 8th grade math SOL, fwiw.

Normally, but not last year’s 6th graders (pandemic).

[Anonymous]

It's almost 100% based on test scores, primarily the Math SOL. APS really doesn't want kids taking Pre Algebra as 6th graders since apparently the higher level math teachers in high school are saying that kids who were accelerated aren't showing as deep an understanding of core algebraic concepts when they get to classes like calculus. From there my understanding is that even of those who take pre-algebra only a handful are recommended for Intensified Algebra in 7th grade and instead are pushed towards Pre Algebra for 7th graders. I wish I knew why they only offered Intensified in 7th rather than regular Algebra but it may also be partly that they want the cut-off standard to be a high bar.

Very few kids are recommended for pre algebra, however the final decision is yours. Talk with your child's current math teacher, and with the math coach or head teacher at their middle school. We did this and believe we made the right choice between Math 6 and Pre Algebra.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's almost 100% based on test scores, primarily the Math SOL. APS really doesn't want kids taking Pre Algebra as 6th graders since apparently the higher level math teachers in high school are saying that kids who were accelerated aren't showing as deep an understanding of core algebraic concepts when they get to classes like calculus. From there my understanding is that even of those who take pre-algebra only a handful are recommended for Intensified Algebra in 7th grade and instead are pushed towards Pre Algebra for 7th graders. I wish I knew why they only offered Intensified in 7th rather than regular Algebra but it may also be partly that they want the cut-off standard to be a high bar.

Very few kids are recommended for pre algebra, however the final decision is yours. Talk with your child's current math teacher, and with the math coach or head teacher at their middle school. We did this and believe we made the right choice between Math 6 and Pre Algebra.

It’s true that very few 7th graders are being allowed to take algebra now. However, apparently that wasn’t true even just a couple of years ago. They greatly increased the test scores required to take algebra in 7th grade (I believe as a way to quietly get rid of the option altogether eventually). At my kid’s MS, the handful of 7th graders in intensified algebra are in a class with mostly 8th graders.

[Anonymous]

I have 3 kids in APS. One is a senior and has had no issues with college acceptances. He did Algebra Intensified in 8th. My middle kid did Algebra in 7th. Currently a 10th grader. No issues so far but loves math. youngest is in 8th and he did Math 6 and then pre-alg and now in Alg 1 Intensified. I really don't think it is going to make any difference to get to Differential Equations as a senior vs Calculus. Even if you want to be an engineer Calculus is sufficient and many colleges require retaking Calculus there anyhow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 kids in APS. One is a senior and has had no issues with college acceptances. He did Algebra Intensified in 8th. My middle kid did Algebra in 7th. Currently a 10th grader. No issues so far but loves math. youngest is in 8th and he did Math 6 and then pre-alg and now in Alg 1 Intensified. I really don't think it is going to make any difference to get to Differential Equations as a senior vs Calculus. Even if you want to be an engineer Calculus is sufficient and many colleges require retaking Calculus there anyhow.

I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

This was for 7th grade, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

This was for 7th grade, though.

What is the process for parent placement? Who do you talk to for changing a 6th grade placement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

This was for 7th grade, though.

What is the process for parent placement? Who do you talk to for changing a 6th grade placement?

Find out who the math person (math coach?) at your middle school is, and set up a phone call with him or her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

I'm the PP. Talk to the math coach, and possibly also talk with your child's 5th grade math teacher or GT coordinator for their school to understand why they made that recommendation. 6th grade Pre-algebra goes very fast and very deep, as it was explained to me it essentially covers 3yrs of middle school math in one year. Worst case, they can move your child back to Math 6 if it isn't working after the first quarter. That being said, include your child in these conversations. If your child is truly a math phenom, everyone probably already knows it. If your child is strong but not a star, then they need to really want to do the work and take on the challenge. Don't set them up for failure. We had a number of conversations and emails with the math coach and had almost settled on Math 6 when our DC expressed their strong desire to do the work required to succeed in the harder class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

I'm the PP. Talk to the math coach, and possibly also talk with your child's 5th grade math teacher or GT coordinator for their school to understand why they made that recommendation. 6th grade Pre-algebra goes very fast and very deep, as it was explained to me it essentially covers 3yrs of middle school math in one year. Worst case, they can move your child back to Math 6 if it isn't working after the first quarter. That being said, include your child in these conversations. If your child is truly a math phenom, everyone probably already knows it. If your child is strong but not a star, then they need to really want to do the work and take on the challenge. Don't set them up for failure. We had a number of conversations and emails with the math coach and had almost settled on Math 6 when our DC expressed their strong desire to do the work required to succeed in the harder class.

Thank you! It was mentioned at the most recent conference, but the conference teacher is not the math teacher. It sounds like the recommendations aren’t made until after the SOL, but I’ll reach out to all of the folks mentioned. The chances of my kid getting a perfect SOL score is low, but he is very much ready for the actual work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

I'm the PP. Talk to the math coach, and possibly also talk with your child's 5th grade math teacher or GT coordinator for their school to understand why they made that recommendation. 6th grade Pre-algebra goes very fast and very deep, as it was explained to me it essentially covers 3yrs of middle school math in one year. Worst case, they can move your child back to Math 6 if it isn't working after the first quarter. That being said, include your child in these conversations. If your child is truly a math phenom, everyone probably already knows it. If your child is strong but not a star, then they need to really want to do the work and take on the challenge. Don't set them up for failure. We had a number of conversations and emails with the math coach and had almost settled on Math 6 when our DC expressed their strong desire to do the work required to succeed in the harder class.

Thank you! It was mentioned at the most recent conference, but the conference teacher is not the math teacher. It sounds like the recommendations aren’t made until after the SOL, but I’ll reach out to all of the folks mentioned. The chances of my kid getting a perfect SOL score is low, but he is very much ready for the actual work.

It's only March. Don't even bother until late May or June. You don't even get the recommended placement letter until June/July timeframe. I wouldn't worry about it right now as they aren't even thinking about it yet most likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

I'm the PP. Talk to the math coach, and possibly also talk with your child's 5th grade math teacher or GT coordinator for their school to understand why they made that recommendation. 6th grade Pre-algebra goes very fast and very deep, as it was explained to me it essentially covers 3yrs of middle school math in one year. Worst case, they can move your child back to Math 6 if it isn't working after the first quarter. That being said, include your child in these conversations. If your child is truly a math phenom, everyone probably already knows it. If your child is strong but not a star, then they need to really want to do the work and take on the challenge. Don't set them up for failure. We had a number of conversations and emails with the math coach and had almost settled on Math 6 when our DC expressed their strong desire to do the work required to succeed in the harder class.

Thank you! It was mentioned at the most recent conference, but the conference teacher is not the math teacher. It sounds like the recommendations aren’t made until after the SOL, but I’ll reach out to all of the folks mentioned. The chances of my kid getting a perfect SOL score is low, but he is very much ready for the actual work.

It's only March. Don't even bother until late May or June. You don't even get the recommended placement letter until June/July timeframe. I wouldn't worry about it right now as they aren't even thinking about it yet most likely.

Thanks!