Benefits of taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade

[Anonymous]

I opted out my son. Not because he could not handle algebra 1 in 6th grade. But because he would not want to do so much advanced math in high school after Calculus.
I didn’t see the need for so much advanced math to get into a good college.

[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.

+1

[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.

Can echo this as well - have older sibling studying engineering at great college who cruised through math but also found calculus (particularly the graphical concepts) challenging in 11th grade. Did well but was still bit of a struggle. I can't imagine going through that as freshman/sophomore for literally no benefit/upside. So his also strong math 6th grade sibling will be opting out of A1H in 6th - just completely unnecessary. What's good for FCPS headline-wise is not necessarily good for kids themselves.

[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.

Solely FCPS curriculum. They have hobbies that are at least math adjacent (board games and such), but no enrichment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

You must be unaware of all of the schools in FCPS. There are 3 MS in the county that are 6-8. Holmes, Poe, and Glasgow.