Parent choose pre-algebra for 6th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, because the highly cumulative nature of math suggests that if you are marginal for a math course, then you shouldn't take it. And this is especially the case if there are any kinds of special needs in play. Give your kid stronger foundations; Algebra in 8th is still an advanced track.

Eh, I think that special needs can actually be a reason to take a more advanced math track if you’re also gifted. If you have ADHD you’re much more likely to pay attention to something that challenges you and is interesting to you. DD, who also has ADHD, is on the advanced math track. I was nervous about it because she is no math whiz, but it has been so good for her to have one class that stretches her. She has learned a ton about organization and time management that she wouldn’t have learned if she could get a good grade without trying, as is the case with all her other classes.

But DS actually really is good at math, and I have no concerns about an accelerated track like I did with DD.

Also, I saw on another thread that the cutoff for the MI score is 1045 or something, and DS said he thinks he got a 1036 and his teacher said it was an 8th grade math level. I find it unlikely that scoring ten points below the cutoff means he would struggle with pre-algebra, particularly since he hadn’t taken his meds that day.

[Anonymous]

You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

Then what's the point of teacher recommendations and input or even assessment scores? Most parents are not professional educators and don't always know what is actually the best for their child academically, regardless of what everyone likes to say about parents knowing their kids best. Kids at school can be very different from kids at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

Then what's the point of teacher recommendations and input or even assessment scores? Most parents are not professional educators and don't always know what is actually the best for their child academically, regardless of what everyone likes to say about parents knowing their kids best. Kids at school can be very different from kids at home.

OP here. I don’t know, but I think that if DS’s math teacher is saying he should be in pre-algebra and his scores on all the tests are high (and I think an 8th grade math score for a fifth grader counts as high), I’ll take her word over the county’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

The math coordinator at our middle school is who (pointing to the county math office’s recommendation).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

Then what's the point of teacher recommendations and input or even assessment scores? Most parents are not professional educators and don't always know what is actually the best for their child academically, regardless of what everyone likes to say about parents knowing their kids best. Kids at school can be very different from kids at home.

I'm one of the early PPs who suggested talking to the current teacher and the middle school math coach. Have a good understanding of why they made the recommendation they did. We have a fairly good sense of our child's strengths and weaknesses, and in conversations with the math coach we collectively agreed the decision could go either way. In our case, we also had our child weigh in since adults all agreed there were pros and cons to each placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do the regular sixth grade math class handle learning differences? My DD is very strong in Math. Some of her friends not. How does the teacher teach to all of them?

She doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do the regular sixth grade math class handle learning differences? My DD is very strong in Math. Some of her friends not. How does the teacher teach to all of them?

She doesn't.

Welcome to the challenge of insufficient clustering and not tracking. Starting this year kids identified as GT were supposed to be in larger clusters so that the teachers could also teach to them because the disparity of abilities in the class would be less significant. Otherwise, because the teacher has 24 kids across a range of knowledge and abilities she is going to focus on those below or at average. It's unfair to the students AND the teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

The math coordinator at our middle school is who (pointing to the county math office’s recommendation).

Can I ask which school this was, and/or the year? I’m wondering if the difference in responses is based on the way the school approaches it or if the county is being more restrictive about it now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

The math coordinator at our middle school is who (pointing to the county math office’s recommendation).

Can I ask which school this was, and/or the year? I’m wondering if the difference in responses is based on the way the school approaches it or if the county is being more restrictive about it now.

DP The county allows parent placement. Maybe individual schools are not aware of that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

The math coordinator at our middle school is who (pointing to the county math office’s recommendation).

Can I ask which school this was, and/or the year? I’m wondering if the difference in responses is based on the way the school approaches it or if the county is being more restrictive about it now.

DP The county allows parent placement. Maybe individual schools are not aware of that.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

The math coordinator at our middle school is who (pointing to the county math office’s recommendation).

Can I ask which school this was, and/or the year? I’m wondering if the difference in responses is based on the way the school approaches it or if the county is being more restrictive about it now.

DP The county allows parent placement. Maybe individual schools are not aware of that.

Thank you!

Mid Covid my son excelled in the upper math class, but bombed the SOL's (It was his first time in school in a year) I pushed to have placed in the higher class since he never struggled and the school said no. With the intensified classes now it seems that I can over ride placement decisions (for my current 6th grader)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know your kid best. Despite what they say, it seems to be based totally on test scores. We asked for our kid to take algebra in 7th. This was when they had just greatly raised the MI score needed to be allowed to do so and we’re recommending very very few kids for algebra in 7th.
They told us no, but if kid’s beginning of year MI (in 7th) was higher, they’d reconsider. Kid did end up in algebra after a month & did great (except that needing to make up a month’s worth of work in a week was hard, but doable). I’m sure lots of other kids in the same grade would have also done well in algebra but weren’t given the chance.

So you can ask, but they can say no.

Who said no? I believe the policy is that they have to honor parent requests on math placement.

The math coordinator at our middle school is who (pointing to the county math office’s recommendation).

Can I ask which school this was, and/or the year? I’m wondering if the difference in responses is based on the way the school approaches it or if the county is being more restrictive about it now.

DP The county allows parent placement. Maybe individual schools are not aware of that.

Thank you!

Mid Covid my son excelled in the upper math class, but bombed the SOL's (It was his first time in school in a year) I pushed to have placed in the higher class since he never struggled and the school said no. With the intensified classes now it seems that I can over ride placement decisions (for my current 6th grader)

It predates the intensified classes.
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/CBRL6F550527/$file/I-7.2.9.31%20Advanced%20Classes.pdf