Struggling in Honors Algebra 2

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every family we’ve spoken to has a tutor. This just doesn’t seem right.

DD and DS both did the course in summer school. No tutor. They were in two different sections. DS’s teacher was very helpful. DD’s expected them to teach themselves and just ask questions. Both survived. DS got a B and an A. DD got an A and a B.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid (recent grad) struggled in honors precalc, but absolutely loved calc (with an AP 5). Calc made so much more sense.

At my kid's school (private), honors pre-calc is considered to be the hardest course. It's apparently harder for students than Calc BC. I'm not exactly sure why this is (I'm not a math person) but I've heard this from kids at several schools.
Calculus can be more intuitive to some kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every family we’ve spoken to has a tutor. This just doesn’t seem right.

Junior DD is taking CalcBC, no tutor ever and I never heard any other her friends got a tutor, which school is this where every kid got a tutor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every family we’ve spoken to has a tutor. This just doesn’t seem right.

Junior DD is taking CalcBC, no tutor ever and I never heard any other her friends got a tutor, which school is this where every kid got a tutor?

I don't think the honors math classes are the same at every MCPS school. While there is a curriculum, the schools have a lot of leeway in how to implement it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every family we’ve spoken to has a tutor. This just doesn’t seem right.

Junior DD is taking CalcBC, no tutor ever and I never heard any other her friends got a tutor, which school is this where every kid got a tutor?

I don’t think we’re talking about kids on a trajectory to BC in 11th grade….

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every family we’ve spoken to has a tutor. This just doesn’t seem right.

Why do you think that is? Do you think the issues you’re seeing at your school are because of the teacher? Or are the kids having trouble readjusting to in-person? So far, any curriculum skipped in Geometry wouldn’t have affected Algebra 2x, would it? Or is it the missing Algebra 1 content from the shutdown 2 years ago that’s the problem?

My 9th grader says their Algebra 2 teacher isn’t thrilling, and seems a little distracted and overloaded, but is doing a good job of introducing the concepts, then helping kids work through the problems in class. So far, my kid has a low A, and is mostly just happy not to be trying to deal with all the virtual tools they used last year. Paper and pencil and calculator seems to be working much better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a tutor the teacher probably can’t teach.

Or maybe the kid just isn’t that strong in math. A lot of kids start to struggle when they get to Honors Algebra 2. Especially those who aren’t that math oriented.

It mostly happens because of poor methods of teaching, bad teachers, and not enough practice. Kids are capable of a lot given the right instruction, time to practice, and support

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every family we’ve spoken to has a tutor. This just doesn’t seem right.

Why do you think that is? Do you think the issues you’re seeing at your school are because of the teacher? Or are the kids having trouble readjusting to in-person? So far, any curriculum skipped in Geometry wouldn’t have affected Algebra 2x, would it? Or is it the missing Algebra 1 content from the shutdown 2 years ago that’s the problem?

My 9th grader says their Algebra 2 teacher isn’t thrilling, and seems a little distracted and overloaded, but is doing a good job of introducing the concepts, then helping kids work through the problems in class. So far, my kid has a low A, and is mostly just happy not to be trying to deal with all the virtual tools they used last year. Paper and pencil and calculator seems to be working much better.

Is your kid in regular or honors algebra 2?

[Anonymous]

I looked over my child's Formative exam and coursework for the Quarter to date after reading this thread and learning that my son did poorly on the exam for Honors Alg 2. My child reported that the class average was a D (same grade DS received) and the highest grade was a low B. My child's cumulative grade is now a low B. I looked over DS exam and noted that he would have received a C because of silly mistakes. However, most of what he got wrong wasn't fully covered in the class materials and one problem was only a lecture/in-class exercise according to my child. I couldn't find any homework assignments on Canvas and in his folder, so I believe my child is correct. I set down with my child this week and went over the test and re-taught the material. He also did similar problems using Khan Academy and now understands the material.

My takeaway: 1) not sure if it is the teacher or the curriculum, but the kids don't do enough practice to reinforce the material. 2) The exam does not fully line up with what is covered in the unit. I understand that Honors requires deeper thinking, which should be reflected in the exam questions. However, the assignments must cover the basic concepts and should also push students so that they can apply that knowledge to the test. 3) There are few graded assignments in the class and therefore, one missed assignment or low grade on an assignment significantly impacts the overall grade. In fact, there are only 7 graded items in the Gradebook under ParentVue. That is ridiculous as we are at the end of the term.

I can't do anything about the curriculum and/or teacher. Therefore, the only solution to make sure DS understands the material and earns an A or B in the course is to hire a tutor and/or have DS do Khan Academy each week to supplement next Quarter. I understand the need for help occasionally from a parent, teacher or tutor, and using resources like Khan Academy to clarify concepts but parents having to basically supplement a course is a problem.

[Anonymous]

Is this WJ?

[Anonymous]

I noticed teacher stopped entering grades into myMCPS classroom where you can see the mean score in the class. Had wondered if this was intentional because most kids were nearly failing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I noticed teacher stopped entering grades into myMCPS classroom where you can see the mean score in the class. Had wondered if this was intentional because most kids were nearly failing.

Most schools aren't using canvas for grading this year. We were told to keep it in synergy so as to not confuse parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked over my child's Formative exam and coursework for the Quarter to date after reading this thread and learning that my son did poorly on the exam for Honors Alg 2. My child reported that the class average was a D (same grade DS received) and the highest grade was a low B. My child's cumulative grade is now a low B. I looked over DS exam and noted that he would have received a C because of silly mistakes. However, most of what he got wrong wasn't fully covered in the class materials and one problem was only a lecture/in-class exercise according to my child. I couldn't find any homework assignments on Canvas and in his folder, so I believe my child is correct. I set down with my child this week and went over the test and re-taught the material. He also did similar problems using Khan Academy and now understands the material.

My takeaway: 1) not sure if it is the teacher or the curriculum, but the kids don't do enough practice to reinforce the material. 2) The exam does not fully line up with what is covered in the unit. I understand that Honors requires deeper thinking, which should be reflected in the exam questions. However, the assignments must cover the basic concepts and should also push students so that they can apply that knowledge to the test. 3) There are few graded assignments in the class and therefore, one missed assignment or low grade on an assignment significantly impacts the overall grade. In fact, there are only 7 graded items in the Gradebook under ParentVue. That is ridiculous as we are at the end of the term.

I can't do anything about the curriculum and/or teacher. Therefore, the only solution to make sure DS understands the material and earns an A or B in the course is to hire a tutor and/or have DS do Khan Academy each week to supplement next Quarter. I understand the need for help occasionally from a parent, teacher or tutor, and using resources like Khan Academy to clarify concepts but parents having to basically supplement a course is a problem.

Yes, all of this. If this is Churchill, it has been this way for many years. Many parents have asked the school to look at these issues and nothing has changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I noticed teacher stopped entering grades into myMCPS classroom where you can see the mean score in the class. Had wondered if this was intentional because most kids were nearly failing.

Most schools aren't using canvas for grading this year. We were told to keep it in synergy so as to not confuse parents.

That too was so useful. It was really helpful to see where your kid compared to the rest of the class. I wish they’d bring it back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I noticed teacher stopped entering grades into myMCPS classroom where you can see the mean score in the class. Had wondered if this was intentional because most kids were nearly failing.

Most schools aren't using canvas for grading this year. We were told to keep it in synergy so as to not confuse parents.

That too was so useful. It was really helpful to see where your kid compared to the rest of the class. I wish they’d bring it back.

At our school it’s still being used - but it stopped mid term for Alg 2 honors. Looked like kids were nearly flunking every quiz.