APS Block Schedule - 90 minute core classes
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Good. They are raising the standards. And they are not just pushing kids through who aren’t qualified. By having them take unaccelerated math in 6th the kids can get the fundamentals down. |
Anonymous
Much of the disparity reflects the differing share of economically disadvantaged students at each school. There is a big disparity in APS SOL scores for economically disadvantaged versus non-economically disadvantaged students. Since SOL scores are a part of what APS uses to place kids in accelerated math, that leads to a similar disparity in MS Algebra 1 enrollment at the different middle schools as well. |
Anonymous
|
https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=%5BUNIQID%5D&id=973608ef66&u=12119a80f9eb7a7322f4902ae
Accelerated Middle School Math Enrollment Declines Post-Covid The latest SOL release sheds light on the question of how COVID has impacted accelerated math. Using SOL test takers as a proxy for course enrollment, the share of middle school students taking Algebra I fell sharply in Arlington (APS), Fairfax (FCPS), and Loudoun Counties (LCPS) in 2021-22. (Both 7th and 8th grade Algebra I are considered accelerated math courses.) To summarize: The share of 7th graders taking the Algebra I SOL fell by 8 percentage points in both APS and FCPS and 11 percentage points in LCPS; The share of 8th graders taking the Algebra I SOL fell by 11 percentage points in both APS and FCPS and 8 percentage points in LCPS; APS continues to lag FCPS and LCPS in overall middle school math acceleration. The drop in the 2021-22 accelerated math share was not unexpected since prior years’ math classes were not able to cover a full year’s content amidst the fall-out from COVID. Parents and APS opted to reduce student acceleration as a way of remediating learning loss. Some of the drop in the 8th grade Algebra I share may be recouped in 2022-23 given a likely inflow of students who opted out of 7th grade Algebra I last year. However, the key question is what happens beyond that. Will the accelerated math share return to its pre-COVID levels as students rebuild their math base or will the share continue to trend lower amidst calls from Stanford Education Professor Jo Boaler and others to “go deep, not fast”? |
Anonymous
| Google benefits of block scheduling. Teachers are NOT using it as a study hall. |
Anonymous
Is this APE propaganda? Now they are complaining when APS raises the bar? They are so full of crap. |
Anonymous
Haha I can Google benefits of Lucy Caulkins too, look how that turned out. |
Anonymous
You guys are idiots. Seriously. Block scheduling has been around since the 90s. We had it in my high school. Grow up. |
Anonymous
+1 This is a good thing. There is no need for the vast majority of kids to be *two years* accelerated in math. |
Anonymous
Interesting, and yet people have been saying local school systems have been in decline since the 90s… |
Anonymous
No. “They” haven’t been saying that. |
Anonymous
After last year, only a small share of kids are twice accelerated. Most accelerated middle school kids are taking Algebra 1 in 8th grade, which is needed if they want to take Calculus in high school. Last year’s drop in accelerated kids is not because they “raised the bar”. It’s because kids lost so much ground academically during the last few years. And now, all schools have to do is not remediate that learning loss and they could, if they wanted to, get rid of middle school accelerated math altogether by “lowering the floor”, not “raising the bar”. Hopefully that’s not what will happen. Taking Algebra 1 in middle school should remain an option. |
Anonymous
Yeah, they've been saying it since the 2010's. Especially regarding APS. |
Anonymous
APS isn’t in decline. You’re all so sheltered that you have no idea what a bad school system actually looks like. None of the ones in this entire metro area are bad. Not even close. The bulk of complaints about schools here, whether it’s APS, FCPS, MCPS, are just because too many people are overstretched on their house and angry they paid $900k for a shack inside the beltway and that pinch makes them feel like they’re entitled to something they were never going to get - a private school experience in a public school system. The schools are good. You’re angry at what you spent on a house to get into those schools. But it doesn’t make them bad schools. Your issue isn’t block scheduling, it’s your mortgage |
Anonymous
They have to get in their digs. They add nothing. Such a toxic group. We were talking about block scheduling not tiresome APE Covid gripes. Try to ignore. |
Anonymous
They didn't say they're "bad." They said they're "in decline." A good school system can be in decline and still be better relative to other school districts. It means they aren't as good as they used to be. And I don't care about ratings relative to NYC Public Schools or Chicago or even DC. I care about the school system my kids are in; and if it can be better, then people should push it to be better and call it out when they believe it is heading in the wrong direction. Why should we just accept whatever we have as long as it's still better than elsewhere? Also, my buying a house has nothing to do with my dissatisfaction with certain things about APS. Not everyone "spent on a house to get into those schools." Maybe those who have more money and spent more money on their homes have a tendency to be more critical of APS; but don't you think it might be that they have higher expectations based on APS' reputation as well as their own personal experiences with APS, perhaps in comparison to their own educational experiences - as opposed to those of the poorer people in the community coming from far inferior education systems and therefore finding anything APS offers to be superior to where they came from? THOSE are the people who "spent on a house" to get their kids into a good school system. There is nothing wrong with holding a school system to higher standards. |