Middle school placement in math
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Anonymous
No. My child has a MAP just under 240 and was recommended for the new Applied IM class. That recommendation comes from Central Office, not the ES teachers. Did she take the CoGat? |
Anonymous
| Op, I’m guessing your child is going to a high performing MS? My child is going to Wood MS (Rockville cluster) and I feel like everyone we know has been recommended for AIM, even ones who didn’t take compacted math in 4th/5th. For the record, my child got 237 on the most recent MAP (90%) and gets A’s in compacted. Our letter came from central office, not from her current teacher. Can you appeal? |
Anonymous
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Here's my take, with a son who did not make compacted math, was not recommended for IM by his 5th grade teacher, but was invited into IM by his 6th grade teachers, and is now in 8th grade doing well in Honors Geometry. I don't know whether the cut off existed back then, because I asked the 5th grade teacher why she could not recommend him and she referenced his learning disabilities, not his MAP score (239, 86% percentile at the time). When you're on the fast track, the required math classes end in 10th grade, and students need to choose from optional AP classes for 11th and 12th, because one math class is required every year. This means that if your child does not like math, they will suffer a little (or a lot) over advanced math at the end of high school. There are less advanced math options, but then we've been told it does not look good for college applications to come out of the advanced math track and then take easy math courses... I've always been one to err on the side of challenging students, as a PP said. I do wonder whether there will be any point where my son will start to struggle in math. Please note that you can always push back, insist, and if the 5th grade teacher refuses, ask the 6th grade teachers to test him to see if he can get into IM. This has always been an option in MCPS, obviously not advertised, but it exists. Our school cluster can test students in the summer as well. You can test into the next level of classes, just as you can test into a more advanced language level if you're coming in mid-way as a more or less bilingual student. Here's the little MCPS track schematic for math: 
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Anonymous
WHen did you receive the letter from Central Office? Does everyone get one or just those who are being recommended for AIM? |
Anonymous
The letter came from the middle school, but the decision was by central office. I think only people who get recommended received the letter. |
Anonymous
Sorry - first week of February |
Anonymous
The letter came in early February I think. My child was also recommended for the advanced social studies class and that was in the letter too. The copy of the letter is in the portal, so you can log into your child’s account and see if there’s a letter there. |
Anonymous
| 240 is a pretty high cut off for IM at all (sticking with accelerated math after compacted) vs AIM - Enriched and accelerated. . |
Anonymous
| MCPS middle school counselor here: you can override the decision if the principal agrees. If you want them to take the course, start there. |
Anonymous
My son, who is now a 9th grader was in compacted 5/6 and then went to IM. He and many of his friends who were also in compacted found IM to be easier than math in elementary school because they were moving at a slower pace, in that they were covering a year of material in one year, whereas compacted covered 1.5 years of material into one year. |
Anonymous
We got the letter but there isn't a copy in the portal, so it's possible not all schools uploaded it to portal |
Anonymous
I think the portal has a copy of the magnet middle schools decision letter, which comes from from central office, not the enriched classes at the home school letter, which comes from the home MS. |
Anonymous
| If the MAP score is the only thing making the teacher suggest that she not continue with her cohort, then I would absolutely push back. Teachers have too many kids to keep track of. They rely on parents to give feedback when something seems off. I would see if the teacher has any other hesitations, but if there aren't any, then I would ask that she be kept with her current cohort. Especially since she loves math- go for it! |
Anonymous
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Is she introverted? I find that teachers expect a level of student interaction that is not age appropriate, and if you are the least bit shy, it can work to your detriment. And this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/upshot/how-elementary-school-teachers-biases-can-discourage-girls-from-math-and-science.html |
Anonymous
NP here. Is the 240 cutoff for the Fall map or Winter map results? |