Why the push for accelerated math?

[Anonymous]

I’m just so happy kids have this option of Algebra in 7th. Kids enjoy the sense of achievement and challenge and appreciate school even more when they are rewarded for their hard work. It really is a great thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My 7th grader in Honors Algebra makes computation errors - those are pretty much the only reason she gets points off. She nearly always understands the actual algebraic concept. She just sometimes makes really dumb mistakes. Still pulling an A in the class, though.

And forgetting concepts from 4th-6th math can be on the prior year teachers. Some teachers at our ES center didn't do nearly enough drill of various concepts like multidigit multiplication or long division.

Let's not blame the coach for lack of practice hours at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My Gen Ed/ level 3 kid signed up for middle school honors. We were told if kids didn't pass sol they would be dropped from honors. I expect the school will keep their word on the requirements and it should be an engaging class ( as opposed to sitting around waiting for the kids below grade level to catch up).
There are kids at all levels who are having trouble accessing the level of engagement they need...

They try to dissuade parents but ultimately it is the parent’s choice. Secondly, there are many kids who are in interventions all year who may pass SOL but get a low pass. 400-415. They sign up for honors classes as well. IMO for math or English honors you should have a solid pass of 450 or higher.

My kid passed advanced, and we still had to deal with the dissuasion.
The honors classes will be better for my kid than Gen Ed. I wonder what my kid could have done if they had access to the full aap curriculum in areas of strength. It's disappointing that it couldn't be done, and I think it just shows at all levels there are kids who can handle more acceleration than they are getting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My Gen Ed/ level 3 kid signed up for middle school honors. We were told if kids didn't pass sol they would be dropped from honors. I expect the school will keep their word on the requirements and it should be an engaging class ( as opposed to sitting around waiting for the kids below grade level to catch up).
There are kids at all levels who are having trouble accessing the level of engagement they need...

They try to dissuade parents but ultimately it is the parent’s choice. Secondly, there are many kids who are in interventions all year who may pass SOL but get a low pass. 400-415. They sign up for honors classes as well. IMO for math or English honors you should have a solid pass of 450 or higher.

My kid passed advanced, and we still had to deal with the dissuasion.
The honors classes will be better for my kid than Gen Ed. I wonder what my kid could have done if they had access to the full aap curriculum in areas of strength. It's disappointing that it couldn't be done, and I think it just shows at all levels there are kids who can handle more acceleration than they are getting.

It appears FCPS does this restriction on purpose, working in conjunction with Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, to the promote the enrichment small businesses in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My Gen Ed/ level 3 kid signed up for middle school honors. We were told if kids didn't pass sol they would be dropped from honors. I expect the school will keep their word on the requirements and it should be an engaging class ( as opposed to sitting around waiting for the kids below grade level to catch up).
There are kids at all levels who are having trouble accessing the level of engagement they need...

They try to dissuade parents but ultimately it is the parent’s choice. Secondly, there are many kids who are in interventions all year who may pass SOL but get a low pass. 400-415. They sign up for honors classes as well. IMO for math or English honors you should have a solid pass of 450 or higher.

My kid passed advanced, and we still had to deal with the dissuasion.
The honors classes will be better for my kid than Gen Ed. I wonder what my kid could have done if they had access to the full aap curriculum in areas of strength. It's disappointing that it couldn't be done, and I think it just shows at all levels there are kids who can handle more acceleration than they are getting.

It appears FCPS does this restriction on purpose, working in conjunction with Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, to the promote the enrichment small businesses in Fairfax.

This is a new one to me. Exactly how does dissuading kids from honors classes benefit the FCEDA? Enrichment activities would exist regardless of the schools advice to parents.

As I udnerstand it, FCPS wants all kids to take some honors classes in MS and some AP/IB classes in HS. There is some concern that kids are being overly stressed about grades so FCPS is trying to encourage families to find a balance and that all honors or all AP/IB classes will overwhelm kids. I don't think that the County is wrong, there are a good number of kids who don't need to be in all honors or all AP/IB classes. The problems is that the regular classes are a joke, there is 0 rigor. The MS presentation on the level of classes broke out what the differences are between the regular class, Honors class, and AAP classes.

In the regular English class, all work is completed at school and the Teacher reads the book/passages to the students in the class.
In the Honors class, most of the work is completed at school. Kids will read the book/passages on their own or as a class.
in the AAP class, more work will be completed at home. Kids will have reading that they have to do at home and in class.

I cannot see a good reason for most kids to take regular English. I can see the kids who are struggling with reading and reading comprehension and that is about it. But then you end up with kids who are able to read and are on grade level for comprehension in a class with kids who are further ahead and now we have to balance what type of books can be read and what type of assignments can be given because the gap is going to be large. In all honesty, this is why we choose AAP for our kid in MS because we didn't want to have to deal with that type of gap.

I can't remember the math presentation but it was along the same line.

Any parent who wants their kid to attend college or to have the option to attend college is going to aim for all honors classes. And the honors classes are going to suffer in terms of rigor because there is no reasonable class for kids who are on grade level but not academically invested.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My Gen Ed/ level 3 kid signed up for middle school honors. We were told if kids didn't pass sol they would be dropped from honors. I expect the school will keep their word on the requirements and it should be an engaging class ( as opposed to sitting around waiting for the kids below grade level to catch up).
There are kids at all levels who are having trouble accessing the level of engagement they need...

They try to dissuade parents but ultimately it is the parent’s choice. Secondly, there are many kids who are in interventions all year who may pass SOL but get a low pass. 400-415. They sign up for honors classes as well. IMO for math or English honors you should have a solid pass of 450 or higher.

My kid passed advanced, and we still had to deal with the dissuasion.
The honors classes will be better for my kid than Gen Ed. I wonder what my kid could have done if they had access to the full aap curriculum in areas of strength. It's disappointing that it couldn't be done, and I think it just shows at all levels there are kids who can handle more acceleration than they are getting.

It appears FCPS does this restriction on purpose, working in conjunction with Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, to the promote the enrichment small businesses in Fairfax.

Congratulations, I think you just invented a new conspiracy theory. Not sure when the last time I've seen a new one on this board is!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My Gen Ed/ level 3 kid signed up for middle school honors. We were told if kids didn't pass sol they would be dropped from honors. I expect the school will keep their word on the requirements and it should be an engaging class ( as opposed to sitting around waiting for the kids below grade level to catch up).
There are kids at all levels who are having trouble accessing the level of engagement they need...

They try to dissuade parents but ultimately it is the parent’s choice. Secondly, there are many kids who are in interventions all year who may pass SOL but get a low pass. 400-415. They sign up for honors classes as well. IMO for math or English honors you should have a solid pass of 450 or higher.

My kid passed advanced, and we still had to deal with the dissuasion.
The honors classes will be better for my kid than Gen Ed. I wonder what my kid could have done if they had access to the full aap curriculum in areas of strength. It's disappointing that it couldn't be done, and I think it just shows at all levels there are kids who can handle more acceleration than they are getting.

It appears FCPS does this restriction on purpose, working in conjunction with Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, to the promote the enrichment small businesses in Fairfax.

This is a new one to me. Exactly how does dissuading kids from honors classes benefit the FCEDA? Enrichment activities would exist regardless of the schools advice to parents.

As I udnerstand it, FCPS wants all kids to take some honors classes in MS and some AP/IB classes in HS. There is some concern that kids are being overly stressed about grades so FCPS is trying to encourage families to find a balance and that all honors or all AP/IB classes will overwhelm kids. I don't think that the County is wrong, there are a good number of kids who don't need to be in all honors or all AP/IB classes. The problems is that the regular classes are a joke, there is 0 rigor. The MS presentation on the level of classes broke out what the differences are between the regular class, Honors class, and AAP classes.

In the regular English class, all work is completed at school and the Teacher reads the book/passages to the students in the class.
In the Honors class, most of the work is completed at school. Kids will read the book/passages on their own or as a class.
in the AAP class, more work will be completed at home. Kids will have reading that they have to do at home and in class.

I cannot see a good reason for most kids to take regular English. I can see the kids who are struggling with reading and reading comprehension and that is about it. But then you end up with kids who are able to read and are on grade level for comprehension in a class with kids who are further ahead and now we have to balance what type of books can be read and what type of assignments can be given because the gap is going to be large. In all honesty, this is why we choose AAP for our kid in MS because we didn't want to have to deal with that type of gap.

I can't remember the math presentation but it was along the same line.

Any parent who wants their kid to attend college or to have the option to attend college is going to aim for all honors classes. And the honors classes are going to suffer in terms of rigor because there is no reasonable class for kids who are on grade level but not academically invested.

Declining Standards:
=================
Previous remedial -> current gen-ed
Previous gen-ed -> current AAP
Previous honors -> current outside enrichment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

LOL. It’s not an “opinion”. That’s just how the math pathways work. Calculus is a college-level subject.

The expectation for college-bound kids is to accelerate by at least one year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP 6th grade math teacher here. About 1/2 my class will be taking Algebra 1 next year. I knew in October who these kids would most likely be and offered Algebra 1 extensions. The other 1/2 of my class are good students and decent in math but there are major differences. My kids who tested into Algebra for next year are retaining information from previous years and units. The other half forget concepts from 4th, 5th , 6th grade math and need constant spiraling and review. The higher kids take advantage of enrichment opportunities and want to do math for fun. With all that being said, I consistently have 100 percent pass rate on the SOL.



I think the way things are set up now is appropriate. Algebra in 7th for some. Most in 8th. A small amount in 6th. The need is not there to pilot at ES. I against the push for all to take Algebra in 8th too. Every kid in FCPS is not going into college and will need higher level math. Even going into college, it depends on what you major in. I loved math and was strong in it, but my undergrad degree was humanities based and my minor was business. I took one Gen Ed math course and two accounting courses and that was it in college.

In our Gen Ed 6th grade classes, we gave kids who cannot compute. Even in my advanced math class, I have kids who struggle with operations. I also feel with open honors classes, parents aren’t always honest with their kids abilities. We have kids who fail the SOLS sign up for honors classes.

I am all for offering kids challenges, but there should still be requirements.

My 7th grader in Honors Algebra makes computation errors - those are pretty much the only reason she gets points off. She nearly always understands the actual algebraic concept. She just sometimes makes really dumb mistakes. Still pulling an A in the class, though.

And forgetting concepts from 4th-6th math can be on the prior year teachers. Some teachers at our ES center didn't do nearly enough drill of various concepts like multidigit multiplication or long division.

Kids are not retaining info from previous years and the SAME year. They often claim they weren’t taught it, but they were. I tutor a girl taking Algebra who is already forgetting concepts she learned this year. Kids are not retaining information that they should be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

LOL. It’s not an “opinion”. That’s just how the math pathways work. Calculus is a college-level subject.

The expectation for college-bound kids is to accelerate by at least one year.

Oh, you're one of those Virginia Math Pathways Initiative (VMPI) people. I thought we managed to thoroughly stomp you all out. Give it up. You can't define Calculus as "accelerated" when the goal of most FCPS students is college. It is just the expected track for most people. Quit trying to stunt the growth and education of other peoples' kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

LOL. It’s not an “opinion”. That’s just how the math pathways work. Calculus is a college-level subject.

The expectation for college-bound kids is to accelerate by at least one year.

No, calculus was taught in high school over 30+ years ago. Nothing new.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

LOL. It’s not an “opinion”. That’s just how the math pathways work. Calculus is a college-level subject.

The expectation for college-bound kids is to accelerate by at least one year.

LoL. About 300,000 high school students take AP Calculus exam each year. That is normal, not acceleration!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

LOL. It’s not an “opinion”. That’s just how the math pathways work. Calculus is a college-level subject.

The expectation for college-bound kids is to accelerate by at least one year.

LoL. About 300,000 high school students take AP Calculus exam each year. That is normal, not acceleration!

It is very common, especially for college bound kids, to accelerate.

But the baseline/default track is not calculus. Not all kids go to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In FCPS, around 10% take Algebra 1 in 7th, around 40 kids take it in 6th, and around 1-3 kids take it before 6th. Those numbers seem appropriate. FCPS already strongly gatekeeps the paths leading to Algebra before 7th. There isn’t a problem with math acceleration in FCPS. They’re pretty spot on.

That sounds fine to me. Kids who don't accelerate, the majority, take Calculus senior year. Perfectly appropriate.

Taking calculus senior year is accelerating one year.

That's your opinion. Expectation for most college bound students is calculus by senior year. STEM interested kids should go further. Kids with no interest in college don't need it. There is no one track for everyone where you can deem what is accelerated and by how much. Your opinion doesn't matter.

LOL. It’s not an “opinion”. That’s just how the math pathways work. Calculus is a college-level subject.

The expectation for college-bound kids is to accelerate by at least one year.

No, calculus was taught in high school over 30+ years ago. Nothing new.

Yes, high schools have offered accelerated math tracks for decades.