Benefits of taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade

[Anonymous]

Langley pyramid. DC got a 251 on MAP. We don’t have the SOL yet. I left it to DC’s choice and the choice was to take Algebra. I get the sense many friends are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean pyramid. Everyone is doing it here.

Also in McLean pyramid and a lot are opting out. Initially everyone was opting in, but then parents started talking and realized many of us didn’t want this, even for our high performing/scoring kids.

[Anonymous]

If you’re doing 6th grade Algebra, does your school have an actual in person teacher or is it online?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you’re doing 6th grade Algebra, does your school have an actual in person teacher or is it online?

We are in an FCPS MS that has 6th grade, so, yes. The setup there seems much more suited to handle 6th grade algebra. They took every 6th grade algebra student and put them in the same Flexible Instruction Time. they then used that time for pre algebra skills they skipped over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re doing 6th grade Algebra, does your school have an actual in person teacher or is it online?

We are in an FCPS MS that has 6th grade, so, yes. The setup there seems much more suited to handle 6th grade algebra. They took every 6th grade algebra student and put them in the same Flexible Instruction Time. they then used that time for pre algebra skills they skipped over.

I can see how it would be a lot easier if 6th is MS for you! Did they give you any indication what your kid would be taking in 8th grade then and if they’d have to go to the HS for it or if they’ll bring in a teacher or what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re doing 6th grade Algebra, does your school have an actual in person teacher or is it online?

We are in an FCPS MS that has 6th grade, so, yes. The setup there seems much more suited to handle 6th grade algebra. They took every 6th grade algebra student and put them in the same Flexible Instruction Time. they then used that time for pre algebra skills they skipped over.

I can see how it would be a lot easier if 6th is MS for you! Did they give you any indication what your kid would be taking in 8th grade then and if they’d have to go to the HS for it or if they’ll bring in a teacher or what?

All middle schools will have algebra 2 classes as long as there are at least 12 kids that qualify (should be every middle school)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re doing 6th grade Algebra, does your school have an actual in person teacher or is it online?

We are in an FCPS MS that has 6th grade, so, yes. The setup there seems much more suited to handle 6th grade algebra. They took every 6th grade algebra student and put them in the same Flexible Instruction Time. they then used that time for pre algebra skills they skipped over.

I can see how it would be a lot easier if 6th is MS for you! Did they give you any indication what your kid would be taking in 8th grade then and if they’d have to go to the HS for it or if they’ll bring in a teacher or what?

They did not. It was all quite rushed last summer. Honestly, we didn't put a ton of thought into it. It was offered, he excels at math with no enrichment, and he was interested.. so we did it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you’re doing 6th grade Algebra, does your school have an actual in person teacher or is it online?

We are in an FCPS MS that has 6th grade, so, yes. The setup there seems much more suited to handle 6th grade algebra. They took every 6th grade algebra student and put them in the same Flexible Instruction Time. they then used that time for pre algebra skills they skipped over.

we are in langley pyramid. all elementary schools did the pilot 6th algebra this year. 4 of them had in person. one virtual

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Langley pyramid. DC got a 251 on MAP. We don’t have the SOL yet. I left it to DC’s choice and the choice was to take Algebra. I get the sense many friends are.

Does an 11 year old understand the impact of taking a high school class in 6th grade? Are you getting a tutor for all the pre algebra materials not yet covered?

Same score but we made the decision not to enroll and explained to our child. Is she capable, yes, but it is not about ability, it is about a gap in knowledge. Do we want to spend the summer doing pre algebra, no? She can’t learn by osmosis.

[Anonymous]

Oakton pyramid. Got MAP more than 250. No sol score yet. Seems like DC is the only one opt out. With an older sibling got 99% on iaat and 600 sol to take algebra1 in 7th, I think the foundation is too important to skip, and I don’t want to put DC in outside school math class.

[Anonymous]

For those curious about results: My 6th-grade Algebra student got a Pass - Advanced on the Algebra SOL and so far is tracking toward an A or A- every quarter. This is in a MS with 7th and 8th graders in the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those curious about results: My 6th-grade Algebra student got a Pass - Advanced on the Algebra SOL and so far is tracking toward an A or A- every quarter. This is in a MS with 7th and 8th graders in the class.

Has your 6th grader been enrolled in outside math enrichment leading up to and/or during this course? Or have they been solely educated on FCPS curriculum schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those curious about results: My 6th-grade Algebra student got a Pass - Advanced on the Algebra SOL and so far is tracking toward an A or A- every quarter. This is in a MS with 7th and 8th graders in the class.

Has your 6th grader been enrolled in outside math enrichment leading up to and/or during this course? Or have they been solely educated on FCPS curriculum schedule.

I don’t think this student goes to a FCPS school, because the FCPS 6th grade Algebra 1 students were not mixed with MS during the pilot. Or they are in a different program.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who has never scored lower than 570 on any math SOL. Always 99th percentile on iReady, 99th on IAAT, etc. Took Algebra 1 Honors in 7th. Easy A, grade was always above a 98. Same thing with Geometry H, same with Algebra 2 H. Easy, easy. Now, in 10th Precalc has been HARD. He has an A- (92.2 so still hoping to pull off an A) but he has worked his butt off for that A- and grade spent much of the year being a B+. And he still has two years of higher math to go. I cannot imagine if he was a freshman right now. I cannot see any reason why kids would need to be so advanced in math. We are talking Calculus in 10th grade. To what end? I see no advantage whatsoever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid who has never scored lower than 570 on any math SOL. Always 99th percentile on iReady, 99th on IAAT, etc. Took Algebra 1 Honors in 7th. Easy A, grade was always above a 98. Same thing with Geometry H, same with Algebra 2 H. Easy, easy. Now, in 10th Precalc has been HARD. He has an A- (92.2 so still hoping to pull off an A) but he has worked his butt off for that A- and grade spent much of the year being a B+. And he still has two years of higher math to go. I cannot imagine if he was a freshman right now. I cannot see any reason why kids would need to be so advanced in math. We are talking Calculus in 10th grade. To what end? I see no advantage whatsoever.

This is exactly why we opted out. Thanks for the sanity check on the other side of this.