APS - How are Grd 7 & 8 intensified courses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is grade 8.

The math intensified, which you have to place into and can't opt into, is genuinely much more intense. Faster, more content covered, and it's challenging.

The other intensified classes the jury seems a bit out for my kid. I think it's pretty teacher dependent. The main benefit seems to be weeding out kids who just don't have any interest in being there.

And yes, they have homework in middle school. I see that persistent misconception about APS over and over on this board. That none of them get any homework.

Same poster. To clarify, the homework builds and my kid now more steadily has work at home in 8th grade. It's not the same 6th to 8th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From our experience with the 8th grade intensified classes, they are more rigorous. Honestly what they do in intensified is what I would have expected as the baseline in general classes.

Agree in terms of workload.

I have kid who went through before intensified was an option and a kid there now. The non-intensified classes seem to cover the same basic topics as before, but has fewer assignments and less homework. Intensified has more work - a little more than before - and they do go deeper into topics.

I like that it offers kids different options for different subjects and kids aren’t “left behind” if they don’t do intensified in a certain subject in MS. And it separates the kids who really want to learn from those just trying to make it through.

I thought APS had a no homework policy until high school? That’s great if they have homework in middle school — I had heard the only home work was incomplete class work.

No, my kids have always had some amount of homework in MS. They do get an extra period of “study hall” and sometimes some extra time during class so many can get a lot of it done at school but it does exist for most classes. It builds each year.

For middle school, I think it’s 45 min/week max per class (5 core + 2 electives) plus 30 min reading every night.
https://go.boarddocs.com/vsba/arlington/Board.nsf/files/CFGKGP51D2AF/$file/C-6-%20I-11.2%20PIP-1%20Homework%20CLEAN%205_27_22.pdf

Thanks I must have been thinking of elem.

How is the reading enforced, are they assigned multiple novels per year they have to test/write reports on?

ESs can still have some homework, per the policy.

They do read novels together and have work around them. If my kid finished the assigned reading then they read something else.

[Anonymous]

My 8th grader at TJMS has to work twice as hard in 8th as she did in 6th due to intensified classes in science, English, social studies (geography) and Chinese II. She's in the middle level for math (algebra) and in the honors band. She'll also be in the pan-APS middle school band in 2024 (not easy to be admitted by audition, most of her classmates who auditioned didn't make the grade). Earning As in the intensified classes hasn't been a walk in the park for her. I'm glad that my 6th grader will hit intensified classes in 7th. We supplement with math tutoring, a competitive wind instrument ensemble, and heritage Chinese classes on weekends for both of them. The 8th grader does 2-3 hours of HW a night along 30 mins to an hour of music. Can't complain - she seems to be on track to handle pre IB Diploma rigor at Washington-Liberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader at TJMS has to work twice as hard in 8th as she did in 6th due to intensified classes in science, English, social studies (geography) and Chinese II. She's in the middle level for math (algebra) and in the honors band. She'll also be in the pan-APS middle school band in 2024 (not easy to be admitted by audition, most of her classmates who auditioned didn't make the grade). Earning As in the intensified classes hasn't been a walk in the park for her. I'm glad that my 6th grader will hit intensified classes in 7th. We supplement with math tutoring, a competitive wind instrument ensemble, and heritage Chinese classes on weekends for both of them. The 8th grader does 2-3 hours of HW a night along 30 mins to an hour of music. Can't complain - she seems to be on track to handle pre IB Diploma rigor at Washington-Liberty.

I have a very difficult time believing this is the norm, or anything but an exception. Either this 8th grader is not getting any work done in class, or a lot of parental oversight and influence is driving additional studying, or this student has a learning difficulty that makes getting their work done far more time-consuming than for most, or something. The 30-60 minutes of music practice is absolutely home-driven, not school-driven. As noted, the home is "supplementing" with math tutoring. If I were OP, I would find this response absolutely useless. There is no way intensified classes in middle school are that much more demanding, or more demanding than intensified high school classes - and this sounds far beyond what our experience with high school intensified classes warrant in terms of homework and effort.

[Anonymous]

Since we're on the topic - how have the intensified courses helped with SOL assessments? Have students of intensified courses gained any advantage in terms of better SOL scores?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since we're on the topic - how have the intensified courses helped with SOL assessments? Have students of intensified courses gained any advantage in terms of better SOL scores?

There's so reason to think they would. SOLs test basic standards which should be taught in all classes. Intensified courses should be helping to prepare kids for the expectations in AP and other advanced high school classes, in addition to the SOL content.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since we're on the topic - how have the intensified courses helped with SOL assessments? Have students of intensified courses gained any advantage in terms of better SOL scores?

This is also only the first year they've been rolled out.

My 8th grader has definitely been challenged more this year with intensified offerings. More homework is coming home because the work is taking more time and they can't quickly race through it in class. Grades are still good but 100% on everything isn't standard any more based on this content.

[Anonymous]

NP. What I’m taking from this thread is that the intensified classes add some much-needed rigor before HS. But they’re not necessarily pushing the most capable and industrious MS students. Still, with home inputs, you can make them work as a springboard for academic success up the chain. That’s a deal with top VA and DC private middle schools running families as much as 40K.

[Anonymous]

In a nutshell, if you want Fairfax MS GT academics you need to move there. APS works if you top up what they expect for As in intensified classes at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader at TJMS has to work twice as hard in 8th as she did in 6th due to intensified classes in science, English, social studies (geography) and Chinese II. She's in the middle level for math (algebra) and in the honors band. She'll also be in the pan-APS middle school band in 2024 (not easy to be admitted by audition, most of her classmates who auditioned didn't make the grade). Earning As in the intensified classes hasn't been a walk in the park for her. I'm glad that my 6th grader will hit intensified classes in 7th. We supplement with math tutoring, a competitive wind instrument ensemble, and heritage Chinese classes on weekends for both of them. The 8th grader does 2-3 hours of HW a night along 30 mins to an hour of music. Can't complain - she seems to be on track to handle pre IB Diploma rigor at Washington-Liberty.

This post is confusing. APS isn't offering intensified World Geo to 8th graders. However, World Geo is a high school level course and much more intense than previous year Social Studies.

I also agree that a student who is using time at school should not regularly have 2-3 hours of HW nightly from school. It's what you would expect and what I remember from going to school. It depends on the day and what is going on and tests coming up and assignments. My 8th grader just had a huge World Geo assignment (involved a lot of writing and analytical work) and for 2 weeks was working on it a lot outside of school. Right now my kid is reading a novel outside of school for english so that they don't have to do it over winter break. It's due shortly after along with some writing to go with it. They are starting to get longer deadlines and more complex work and they are expected to manage the workload. It's not just "nightly" homework.

In general my impression is that the work has stepped up this year and I'm feeling much more confident about my kid entering high school. We've been able to work through study skills and habits and see some real challenge to prep for high school, which is what middle school is for.

And I should note my kid is in all the intensified options offered for 8th graders, including math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader at TJMS has to work twice as hard in 8th as she did in 6th due to intensified classes in science, English, social studies (geography) and Chinese II. She's in the middle level for math (algebra) and in the honors band. She'll also be in the pan-APS middle school band in 2024 (not easy to be admitted by audition, most of her classmates who auditioned didn't make the grade). Earning As in the intensified classes hasn't been a walk in the park for her. I'm glad that my 6th grader will hit intensified classes in 7th. We supplement with math tutoring, a competitive wind instrument ensemble, and heritage Chinese classes on weekends for both of them. The 8th grader does 2-3 hours of HW a night along 30 mins to an hour of music. Can't complain - she seems to be on track to handle pre IB Diploma rigor at Washington-Liberty.

This post is confusing. APS isn't offering intensified World Geo to 8th graders. However, World Geo is a high school level course and much more intense than previous year Social Studies.

I also agree that a student who is using time at school should not regularly have 2-3 hours of HW nightly from school. It's what you would expect and what I remember from going to school. It depends on the day and what is going on and tests coming up and assignments. My 8th grader just had a huge World Geo assignment (involved a lot of writing and analytical work) and for 2 weeks was working on it a lot outside of school. Right now my kid is reading a novel outside of school for english so that they don't have to do it over winter break. It's due shortly after along with some writing to go with it. They are starting to get longer deadlines and more complex work and they are expected to manage the workload. It's not just "nightly" homework.

In general my impression is that the work has stepped up this year and I'm feeling much more confident about my kid entering high school. We've been able to work through study skills and habits and see some real challenge to prep for high school, which is what middle school is for.

And I should note my kid is in all the intensified options offered for 8th graders, including math.

Chinese II isn't offered intensified either. I think the original poster in this thread might be a troll. There aren't enough kids for there to be more than one Chinese class per grade level at each middle school. Williamsburg and Swanson actually share a Chinese teacher. I don't know about other middle schools and if they share an instructor. I believe some only offer virtual Chinese instruction.

[Anonymous]

Not a troll, just a parent giving a bird’s eye view of 8th grade academics. Intensified classes aren’t the entire curriculum. Kids can choose fairly challenging languages and electives. It can all add up to a decent education in 7th and 8th grade in APS. But parents need to get involved in guiding kids to choose challenge that lines up with their interests and aptitude. Sit back and don’t pay attention to your detriment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a troll, just a parent giving a bird’s eye view of 8th grade academics. Intensified classes aren’t the entire curriculum. Kids can choose fairly challenging languages and electives. It can all add up to a decent education in 7th and 8th grade in APS. But parents need to get involved in guiding kids to choose challenge that lines up with their interests and aptitude. Sit back and don’t pay attention to your detriment.

Are you the person who said your child is taking intensified World Geo and intensified Chinese? I don't have a problem with what you're saying above but you're also not providing accurate information to other posters.

I agree Chinese is a very challenging language, particularly for a child who hasn't had any exposure in the home. The vast majority of kids taking Chinese and succeeding in Chinese in APS have home exposure and support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader at TJMS has to work twice as hard in 8th as she did in 6th due to intensified classes in science, English, social studies (geography) and Chinese II. She's in the middle level for math (algebra) and in the honors band. She'll also be in the pan-APS middle school band in 2024 (not easy to be admitted by audition, most of her classmates who auditioned didn't make the grade). Earning As in the intensified classes hasn't been a walk in the park for her. I'm glad that my 6th grader will hit intensified classes in 7th. We supplement with math tutoring, a competitive wind instrument ensemble, and heritage Chinese classes on weekends for both of them. The 8th grader does 2-3 hours of HW a night along 30 mins to an hour of music. Can't complain - she seems to be on track to handle pre IB Diploma rigor at Washington-Liberty.

I have a very difficult time believing this is the norm, or anything but an exception. Either this 8th grader is not getting any work done in class, or a lot of parental oversight and influence is driving additional studying, or this student has a learning difficulty that makes getting their work done far more time-consuming than for most, or something. The 30-60 minutes of music practice is absolutely home-driven, not school-driven. As noted, the home is "supplementing" with math tutoring. If I were OP, I would find this response absolutely useless. There is no way intensified classes in middle school are that much more demanding, or more demanding than intensified high school classes - and this sounds far beyond what our experience with high school intensified classes warrant in terms of homework and effort.

Can’t speak to TJMS but I’ve had two go through WMS very recently. They had nothing like that amount of homework. And they were very strong students. You might want to check to see if your kid is having difficulty managing workload. Also, don’t mean to burst your bubble but APS Middle school honors band doesn’t set a high bar. District band is the challenging one.

[Anonymous]

While we are talking about this can we talk about how apparently the addition of intensified classes is creating a problem with Thomas Jefferson high school eligibility for Immersion and Montessori students?

Eligibility requirements for TJHSST has requirements that students be in honors classes in 8th grade for science/english/social studies and math. Immersion and Montessori students are not eligible for intensified science. I am actually not sure if Montessori students can access intensified reading or math because of how their program works.

Right now Gunston is saying immersion and Montessori students will not be eligible to apply to TJ despite those programs not being made available to them. This is despite the fact that TJ's own website seems to suggest that students must be in the highest level of class available to them.

 I know folks hate choice programs here, but it is a big risk for students to withdraw from either program with no guaranteed admission into TJ and no way to re-gain entry back into the choice program.

The school is supposedly working on it but no word as of yet. They were given a grace period for applicants this year.

I will also note that in HS immersion science is ONLY available as intensified (immersion students do not have an option to take non intensified science if they want science in Spanish). As of now, this same logic isn't being applied to 8th grade science.

Anyway, it is all kind of a mess right now for immersion and montessori students interested in TJ high school.