Automatically enrolled into Algebra 1 honors

[Anonymous]

i have a current AAP 5th grader who is 99% on MAPs and perfect on SOLs and she’s still not ready. it’s crazy to auto enroll kids into algebra in 6th with no real requirement other than to pass the SOL. so many kids are going to fail. they haven’t even announced to parents this is happening

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is going to backfire tremendously.

We are looking at middle school abroad and most schools don't even offer algebra until 9th grade, maybe 8th if you are lucky. I am fine with algebra in 8th but I'm afraid if we go down that path, my kid is going to be seriously screwed for course placement in HS. I doubt that's even some Dr. Reid has considered.

There is an option to opt out.

Ok but what I'm saying is if this is the next step in moving Gen ed to algebra in 8th, are the kids moving to the district from somewhere on a more traditional path going to be placed in remedial algebra for 9th?

They are already doing this. My kid in Math 7 is being forced into Algebra next year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are absolutely right, but they are doing the right thing now. Most AAP students are ready for Algebra I in 6th, but it is a good option to be able to opt out if there are any concerns.

No. No, they are not.

[Anonymous]

You can just opt out if you feel your child is not ready.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is going to backfire tremendously.

We are looking at middle school abroad and most schools don't even offer algebra until 9th grade, maybe 8th if you are lucky. I am fine with algebra in 8th but I'm afraid if we go down that path, my kid is going to be seriously screwed for course placement in HS. I doubt that's even some Dr. Reid has considered.

There is an option to opt out.

Ok but what I'm saying is if this is the next step in moving Gen ed to algebra in 8th, are the kids moving to the district from somewhere on a more traditional path going to be placed in remedial algebra for 9th?

Most districts offer algebra in 8th. But if a kid comes in with good prealgebra scores in 8th, there's no reason why they couldn't be in honors algebra in 9th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like all current 5th grades who are in AAP, can take algebra 1 in 6th grade. They removed the advanced pass SOL criteria.

The remaining current AAP 6th grades who did not get advanced pass SOL in 5th grade, are automatically enrolled in 7th grade.

Just to clarify your second paragraph -- it is the remaining current AAP 6th graders who didn't pass advance their SOL in 5th grade OR who didn't have the pilot program this year at their school, i.e. all advanced math students who didn't take Algebra 1 in 6th, will be enrolled in Algebra 1 for 7th unless their parents opt out.

There are many current 6th grade AAP or advanced math students who got pass advanced on their SOL last year but weren't lucky enough to be enrolled at one of the pilot program schools. This is important to remember because in 2 years people will be posting about how kids who didn't take Alg 1 in 6th shouldn't be considered for TJ like the school didn't select some kids to advance ahead of others just based on where they were enrolled.

For future years your statement will be mostly correct except that some AAP/Adv math kids may not have taken it in 6th due to parental opinion and not based solely on their SOL results. I do tend to think this will fail spectacularly for most kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is going to backfire tremendously.

We are looking at middle school abroad and most schools don't even offer algebra until 9th grade, maybe 8th if you are lucky. I am fine with algebra in 8th but I'm afraid if we go down that path, my kid is going to be seriously screwed for course placement in HS. I doubt that's even some Dr. Reid has considered.

Where? I lived abroad and children were doing algebra in elementary

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are absolutely right, but they are doing the right thing now. Most AAP students are ready for Algebra I in 6th, but it is a good option to be able to opt out if there are any concerns.

That may be true (I actually doubt it is), but they will NOT all be ready to take Geometry in 7th grade and be successful. Many of them won't be ready for Geometry in 8th grade. And parents aren't going to be happy with the Geometry grades those kids get (C and below).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is going to backfire tremendously.

We are looking at middle school abroad and most schools don't even offer algebra until 9th grade, maybe 8th if you are lucky. I am fine with algebra in 8th but I'm afraid if we go down that path, my kid is going to be seriously screwed for course placement in HS. I doubt that's even some Dr. Reid has considered.

Where? I lived abroad and children were doing algebra in elementary

BS. The very top schools in Asia (TAS, HKIS, ISB) max out at multivar calculus/linear algebra, and most schools in Europe are IB. So, the very best schools, at best, are on par with FCPS current offerings. Anywhere else in rest of the world is going to be less accelerated as I stated.

Where was this school doing algebra in elementary? Please share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just checked on the website. Automatic placement into Algebra I for all 6th grade advanced math students. They're just getting rid of the SOL threshold.

That is crazy. A sizeable portion of AAP kids at our center did not go into Algebra 1 for 7th, and should not have, b/c they were more LA kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not fair to current AAP 6th grades who were not allowed to take it.
My AAP child passed advanced SOL in every grade except in grade 5 due to some personal reasons. He did not meet the criteria and had to do math 7.

Consider yourself lucky that he got that extra foundation in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are absolutely right, but they are doing the right thing now. Most AAP students are ready for Algebra I in 6th, but it is a good option to be able to opt out if there are any concerns.

That may be true (I actually doubt it is), but they will NOT all be ready to take Geometry in 7th grade and be successful. Many of them won't be ready for Geometry in 8th grade. And parents aren't going to be happy with the Geometry grades those kids get (C and below).

PP - there are current 8th grade Geometry parents that are considering expunging B and B+ grades and retaking over the summer or in 9th grade. It's wild.

For the record, C and above IS successful in Geometry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are absolutely right, but they are doing the right thing now. Most AAP students are ready for Algebra I in 6th, but it is a good option to be able to opt out if there are any concerns.

This is insane. The AAP curriculum is 1 year ahead. A student being instructed by FCPS in math in an AAP class who hasn't been taught the whole curriculum by Kumon or Chinese Saturday school is not ready for Algebra 1 in 6th grade. In 6th grade, they learn 7th grade math. Some are then ready for Algebra 1 in 7th, some are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like all current 5th grades who are in AAP, can take algebra 1 in 6th grade. They removed the advanced pass SOL criteria.

The remaining current AAP 6th grades who did not get advanced pass SOL in 5th grade, are automatically enrolled in 7th grade.

Where did you see this?

Log in to parent digital consent. All AAP grade 5 kids are opted in for algebra 1 in grade 6. Parents are given the choice to opt out. There is NO criteria expect that the kid has to be in AAP.

I think it’s strange that there is a 5/8 cutoff date to opt in/opt out but school hasn’t communicated with us about it yet. I wouldn’t have thought to look at digital consent before I saw this thread. Also, it looks like you have to choose one- your child is not auto-enrolled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are absolutely right, but they are doing the right thing now. Most AAP students are ready for Algebra I in 6th, but it is a good option to be able to opt out if there are any concerns.

This is insane. The AAP curriculum is 1 year ahead. A student being instructed by FCPS in math in an AAP class who hasn't been taught the whole curriculum by Kumon or Chinese Saturday school is not ready for Algebra 1 in 6th grade. In 6th grade, they learn 7th grade math. Some are then ready for Algebra 1 in 7th, some are not.

Agree. The only kids ready for algebra 1 in 6th are those whose parents have been sending them to enrichment after school and on wknds to learn it. The math-inclined kids who are strictly following FCPS curriculum are not ready and absolutely will have learning gaps.