Algebra 1 in 6th grade, followed by normal pace

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is taking precal in 9th grade a good idea? Then calc in 10th. Then you can take diff eq and multivar. Then linear algebra and stats. And take all of them again in college?

Why would you need to take all of them again in college? Post AP math classes are offered dual enrollment and receive credit from GMU. Even if colleges don't transfer the grade, they often transfer the credits from other colleges. A kid could start college with credits for the entire calc sequence plus a few post calc classes.

If the college makes everyone retake the entire calc sequence, I'd rather be the kid with the solid foundation for whom the class will be mostly review and an easy A than be the kid who is seeing the material for the first time and competing against the kids in the first group.

[Anonymous]

Consider the equity issues that math acceleration creates among high school graduates where one student graduates with Calc BC or Multivariable, and another student finishes just Algebra 2 by senior year. That's an equity gap of 3 to 4 years. If we raise the minimum math for HS graduation to something like a precalculus or calc AB, we would see a lot to high school drop outs. But the advanced math students can easily slow down and graduate with Algebra 2, and instead take other math courses like Statistics or Data Analysis or Math modelling, but stay away from calculus or even precalculus.

[Anonymous]

(Ignore the anti-education "equity" troll.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is taking precal in 9th grade a good idea? Then calc in 10th. Then you can take diff eq and multivar. Then linear algebra and stats. And take all of them again in college?

Because a more educated populace has a better chance at solving problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Consider the equity issues that math acceleration creates among high school graduates where one student graduates with Calc BC or Multivariable, and another student finishes just Algebra 2 by senior year. That's an equity gap of 3 to 4 years. If we raise the minimum math for HS graduation to something like a precalculus or calc AB, we would see a lot to high school drop outs. But the advanced math students can easily slow down and graduate with Algebra 2, and instead take other math courses like Statistics or Data Analysis or Math modelling, but stay away from calculus or even precalculus.

What if student is interested in both Calculus as well as Statistics courses? DC has been interested in Economics since middle school, and likes both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:from another thread....

To take Algebra I in 6th grade, the kid must:
Score 145 or higher on the CogAT Quant section
Score a 575 or higher on their 4th grade SOL
have the support of their 4th grade AAP/advanced math teacher.

Then, if they meet all of these at the end of 4th grade, Gatehouse will conduct additional testing. Kids who meet those benchmarks will be jumped up to 6th grade AAP math when in 5th grade.

In 5th grade, they need a 91st percentile or higher score on the IAAT as well as a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL to be eligible for Algebra in 6th grade.
report

What's the evidence for this besides DCUM rumors? Surely if this was policy it would be written down somewhere?

[Anonymous]

In addition to statistics, data science is an alternative to calculus. FCPS has Data Science 1 & 2, but offered only at few schools like Falls Church HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:from another thread....

To take Algebra I in 6th grade, the kid must:
Score 145 or higher on the CogAT Quant section
Score a 575 or higher on their 4th grade SOL
have the support of their 4th grade AAP/advanced math teacher.

Then, if they meet all of these at the end of 4th grade, Gatehouse will conduct additional testing. Kids who meet those benchmarks will be jumped up to 6th grade AAP math when in 5th grade.

In 5th grade, they need a 91st percentile or higher score on the IAAT as well as a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL to be eligible for Algebra in 6th grade.
report

What's the evidence for this besides DCUM rumors? Surely if this was policy it would be written down somewhere?

URMs have no visibility into this unwritten process. FCPS has created this convoluted process with ton of hurdles, and it is out of reach of potentially advanced URM students. Hope they publish and publicize, so that their is equitable access to Algebra 1 in 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:from another thread....

To take Algebra I in 6th grade, the kid must:
Score 145 or higher on the CogAT Quant section
Score a 575 or higher on their 4th grade SOL
have the support of their 4th grade AAP/advanced math teacher.

Then, if they meet all of these at the end of 4th grade, Gatehouse will conduct additional testing. Kids who meet those benchmarks will be jumped up to 6th grade AAP math when in 5th grade.

In 5th grade, they need a 91st percentile or higher score on the IAAT as well as a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL to be eligible for Algebra in 6th grade.
report

What's the evidence for this besides DCUM rumors? Surely if this was policy it would be written down somewhere?

URMs have no visibility into this unwritten process. FCPS has created this convoluted process with ton of hurdles, and it is out of reach of potentially advanced URM students. Hope they publish and publicize, so that their is equitable access to Algebra 1 in 6th grade.

Most people don’t. There are around 30 kids taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade. It is not a economic thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:from another thread....

To take Algebra I in 6th grade, the kid must:
Score 145 or higher on the CogAT Quant section
Score a 575 or higher on their 4th grade SOL
have the support of their 4th grade AAP/advanced math teacher.

Then, if they meet all of these at the end of 4th grade, Gatehouse will conduct additional testing. Kids who meet those benchmarks will be jumped up to 6th grade AAP math when in 5th grade.

In 5th grade, they need a 91st percentile or higher score on the IAAT as well as a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL to be eligible for Algebra in 6th grade.
report

What's the evidence for this besides DCUM rumors? Surely if this was policy it would be written down somewhere?

URMs have no visibility into this unwritten process. FCPS has created this convoluted process with ton of hurdles, and it is out of reach of potentially advanced URM students. Hope they publish and publicize, so that their is equitable access to Algebra 1 in 6th grade.

Most people don’t. There are around 30 kids taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade. It is not a economic thing.

In Loudoun, there are over a hundred students taking algebra 2 in 8th grade, not sure how many were in Algebra 1 in 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

I have no concerns if high school students want to pursue calculus courses. However, most Calculus intro courses, whether in high school or college, focus primarily on algebraic and computational aspects, often neglecting the underlying concepts and their real-world applications. It would be appropriate if Precalculus course introduced the theoretical foundations behind calculus concepts. My 10th grader's calculus teacher recommended this book, and it has since sparked even greater interest and enthusiasm for Calculus.

Infinite Powers: How Calculus Reveals the Secrets of the Universe by Steven Strogatz

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In addition to statistics, data science is an alternative to calculus. FCPS has Data Science 1 & 2, but offered only at few schools like Falls Church HS

It is better to take Statistics after calculus. AP classes are supposedly algebra based, but they miss the underlying fundamentals.

What is covered in Data science that’s not in other math classes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In addition to statistics, data science is an alternative to calculus. FCPS has Data Science 1 & 2, but offered only at few schools like Falls Church HS

It is better to take Statistics after calculus. AP classes are supposedly algebra based, but they miss the underlying fundamentals.

What is covered in Data science that’s not in other math classes?

Data Science is a equity math alternative for students who may find algebra 2 challenging
"...data science — a mix of math, statistics and computer science without widely agreed upon high school standards. Allowing data science, the universities said, was an “equity issue” that could send more students to college. But it also raised concerns that some teenagers would be channeled into less challenging coursework, limiting their opportunities once they got there."
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/us/california-math-data-science-algebra.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:from another thread....

To take Algebra I in 6th grade, the kid must:
Score 145 or higher on the CogAT Quant section
Score a 575 or higher on their 4th grade SOL
have the support of their 4th grade AAP/advanced math teacher.

Then, if they meet all of these at the end of 4th grade, Gatehouse will conduct additional testing. Kids who meet those benchmarks will be jumped up to 6th grade AAP math when in 5th grade.

In 5th grade, they need a 91st percentile or higher score on the IAAT as well as a pass advanced on the 7th grade Math SOL to be eligible for Algebra in 6th grade.
report

What's the evidence for this besides DCUM rumors? Surely if this was policy it would be written down somewhere?

URMs have no visibility into this unwritten process. FCPS has created this convoluted process with ton of hurdles, and it is out of reach of potentially advanced URM students. Hope they publish and publicize, so that their is equitable access to Algebra 1 in 6th grade.

Most people don’t. There are around 30 kids taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade. It is not a economic thing.

In Loudoun, there are over a hundred students taking algebra 2 in 8th grade, not sure how many were in Algebra 1 in 6th grade.

FCPS has a couple hundred kids taking Algebra II in 8th grade, most of the kids take Geometry during the summer because only around 30 kids take Algebra I jn 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is taking precal in 9th grade a good idea? Then calc in 10th. Then you can take diff eq and multivar. Then linear algebra and stats. And take all of them again in college?

Allows for more time to be spent towards learning calculus. DC did precal in 9th, and followed it up with two years of solid calculus foundation - Calc AB in 10th and Calc BC in 11th, and did Multivar/Linear in Senior year.
Colleges give credits for AP Calc AB and BC, so for middle class families like ours it turned out to be a huge money saver to take them HS.

This makes no sense. If your child is smart enough to do be so far ahead in calculus 1 year of calculus in high school will get you full credit. No need for AB and BC. And you don’t need multi variable in high school. There is no college credit for that.