Are any other principals trying to talk families out of A1H for 6th grade?

[Anonymous]

Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

Because she is terrible at her job. Also cause they are now compacting math.
Next years 5th graders Gen Ed will be doing 5th grade and 1/2 of 6th, AAP 5th graders will be doing 1/2 of 6th, 1/2 of 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

She cares only about the numbers. Her theory is a kid can retake it. One thing I have realized is she is not a great critical thinker/problem solver. She doesn’t think through long term problems when making decisions. She is not proactive but reactive. That is not how a leader should be.

[Anonymous]

She is a long term thinker. Thinking of her resume.

[Anonymous]

The leaders of this school system (Superintendent and School Board) have a difficult time saying “No”! That is a big reason why FCPS is not as elite as it once was.

[Anonymous]

These sixth graders are taking Algebra I online, all in the computer lab with a proctor. Unless the school has a staff member certified in secondary math, no teacher can actually teach the course, with discussion and activities that a regular Algebra I teacher would have. So it’s a crappy way to deliver instruction and a poor educational choice. Unless your kid is a true math genius, don’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, our principal is discouraging it. I was very surprised. My AAP 5th grader scored 532 on 6th grade Sol, 249 in Map. He is doing 8th grade math on Khan Academy for fun.

There are kids ready for A1H in 6th grade but not thousands of kids.

Te right way to run this would be to have a set bar. Kids need a MAP score of X, pass advanced on the 7th grade SOL, and score in the 91st percentile on the IAAT. They can give the IAAT only to the kids with the prerequisite MAP score and the 7th grade math SOL to the kids with the necessary MAP and IAAT scores. Kids who meet the threshold can chose to move to their ES Center and join the AAP class there, where A1H will be taught by an in-person teacher.

You would have a few hundred kids meet the thresehold and they would be able to take the class in person. There would be a smaller number of Alegebra trained teachers in the ES, kids would take the class in person, and the outcome would be better for more kids.

I suspect that there is a good number of parents expunging the Algebra grade from this years 6th grade cohort. I suspect that there will be a good number of kids who continue to geometry with a C or B from this years cohort because parents don't want to "slow down" their kid. I would love to know what percentage started the class and dropped back into Advanced Math/AAP math. But FCPS is not going to share any of that.

And I don't believe the SOL scores because Teachers can teach the kids how to use the desmos calculator to answer questions without the kids actually understanding the concepts.

+1. And start the process unannounced at some random point in the year so parents can't excessively prep their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

Because she is terrible at her job. Also cause they are now compacting math.
Next years 5th graders Gen Ed will be doing 5th grade and 1/2 of 6th, AAP 5th graders will be doing 1/2 of 6th, 1/2 of 7th.

Some of the concept 'stretching'/'acceleration' in math is actually working - along with the focus on numeracy (different ways to visualize and solve problems), math scores across the system are improving. But there's a logical leap between that trend and 'all these kids can take Alg 1 in sixth!" that I am not willing to make.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

Because she is terrible at her job. Also cause they are now compacting math.
Next years 5th graders Gen Ed will be doing 5th grade and 1/2 of 6th, AAP 5th graders will be doing 1/2 of 6th, 1/2 of 7th.

How does this work when rising 5th graders have mostly done 4th grade math this year? Our teacher tried to throw in some 5th grade stuff at the start of the year but I think gave up mid year.

[Anonymous]

We are at a center school. I found this gem in the weekly school email under the buy school supplies for next year blurb:

"Please note- 5th & 6th students who participate in the new Algebra program will need a few additional supplies not included in the kits."

5th grade?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are at a center school. I found this gem in the weekly school email under the buy school supplies for next year blurb:

"Please note- 5th & 6th students who participate in the new Algebra program will need a few additional supplies not included in the kits."

5th grade?!

We must be at the same school, because I saw the same blurb. I was absolutely shocked by that line. My 5th grader doesn't know of any 4th graders that are joining their class for advanced math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

Because she is terrible at her job. Also cause they are now compacting math.
Next years 5th graders Gen Ed will be doing 5th grade and 1/2 of 6th, AAP 5th graders will be doing 1/2 of 6th, 1/2 of 7th.

How does this work when rising 5th graders have mostly done 4th grade math this year? Our teacher tried to throw in some 5th grade stuff at the start of the year but I think gave up mid year.

This was brought up multiple times at STAC. With higher ups having no idea what is in pacing guides.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

Because she is terrible at her job. Also cause they are now compacting math.
Next years 5th graders Gen Ed will be doing 5th grade and 1/2 of 6th, AAP 5th graders will be doing 1/2 of 6th, 1/2 of 7th.

How does this work when rising 5th graders have mostly done 4th grade math this year? Our teacher tried to throw in some 5th grade stuff at the start of the year but I think gave up mid year.

This was brought up multiple times at STAC. With higher ups having no idea what is in pacing guides.

If true, I think this would be disastrous for my rising 5th grader and can't see any other option than to pull out of AAP entirely. Completely irresponsible to skip or rush though so much curriculum. I am going to email teacher/principal next week to find out more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why does Reid / FCPS think this is a good idea? It seems nuts to remove screening thresholds for this class at such an early age.

Because she is terrible at her job. Also cause they are now compacting math.
Next years 5th graders Gen Ed will be doing 5th grade and 1/2 of 6th, AAP 5th graders will be doing 1/2 of 6th, 1/2 of 7th.

How does this work when rising 5th graders have mostly done 4th grade math this year? Our teacher tried to throw in some 5th grade stuff at the start of the year but I think gave up mid year.

This was brought up multiple times at STAC. With higher ups having no idea what is in pacing guides.

Isn’t that how it always goes - “the higher ups have no idea”? In this case, this Superintendent is making decisions that will have a negative impact on students in the years to come. She does not listen to her experts who say this is a bad idea and we have a School Board that lets her go unchecked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These sixth graders are taking Algebra I online, all in the computer lab with a proctor. Unless the school has a staff member certified in secondary math, no teacher can actually teach the course, with discussion and activities that a regular Algebra I teacher would have. So it’s a crappy way to deliver instruction and a poor educational choice. Unless your kid is a true math genius, don’t do it.

At our pyramid meeting, I believe they said the threshold for a live class was over 15(?) students. They also discussed some online program that students would need to complete on their own to fill in the knowledge gaps.