APS - Dreambox level for Pre-Algebra in 6th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

To parent place what would you consider the minimum scores (not the APS impossible bar).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

To parent place what would you consider the minimum scores (not the APS impossible bar).

Just sign up for Kumon....that will get Larla on the advanced math track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

To parent place what would you consider the minimum scores (not the APS impossible bar).

Go with the APS recommendation. Don't set your student up for failure.

[Anonymous]

Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

To parent place what would you consider the minimum scores (not the APS impossible bar).

It’s not setting every student up for failure. APS cut offs are unrealistically high (& new).

Go with the APS recommendation. Don't set your student up for failure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that taking algebra in 7th grade probably does not matter for college but I am hoping it will keep my kid from being bored and unchallenged in math next year (I am the parent with a 5th grader doing Beast Academy). I have two other kids, but this one just catches on to math concepts super quickly and is so bummed out by how slow his school math class is.

We parent-placed our child in pre algebra this year and I'm glad we did. Math 6 would have been a long, boring slog. APS offers no other intensified classes at the MS right now, and that won't change until 2023, so this is at least one class that my DC has to do actual work to earn good grades. Learning how to work hard and study is as much part of the process so that the world of high school and AP and intensified classes isn't as much of a shock.

So you can parent-place a kid? Is it a fight to do it, or can you simply enroll?

Not that PP, but in our case they definitely pushed back & did not want to move the kid.

To parent place what would you consider the minimum scores (not the APS impossible bar).

Go with the APS recommendation. Don't set your student up for failure.

DP. We parent placed last year, and thank goodness we did. Math 6 would’ve been horrible for our kid, who was always a top student in math but didn’t test well this past year. Pre-Alg hasn’t been super easy, but kid has gotten As, and it’s the only class where student needs to actually try a little bit. DC is so much happier this year, and says the pace is much better. Kid just needed someone to expect more and go faster. The wheels didn’t fall off. No idea if DC will remain on the highest track long term, but the math teacher is effusive with praise of DC. The math coach pushed back when I first requested, but I told the school that I knew my child best. It was the correct decision for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

I actually have children identified as gifted. They do mathnasium because they are bored in class and have gotten to the point in Dreambox where they are seeing concepts way ahead of their grade but don't fully understand the fundamentals. Mathnasium is helping to bridge that gap and keeping them engaged in math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

How can we look at this through an equity lens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

How can we look at this through an equity lens?

AoPS pre-algebra is $76 for the paper book plus the online book combo. There are tons of free videos available on their site, and the Alcumus is also free. There is nothing you can get from your school (or Mathnasium) that can compete with the math education you will get from AoPS. They train our US math Olympiad team.

If $76 is too much, Kahn academy is free.

My 4th grader is finishing up Beast Academy Level 5 this summer then going on to AoPs pre algebra. School math is really easy for him and I'm not bothered by that right now. School is still overall a good experience, and by high school he'll be able to take some more interesting course work and he'll be very prepared because we took a slow and deep approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

How can we look at this through an equity lens?

We can demand that APS actually has their classroom teachers scaffold/differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of all the students in a room rather than treating high ability or advanced kids with a "they'll be fine" mentality. That way, high ability kids of all SES backgrounds can get access to an appropriate education, not just those whose parents can afford to pay for it elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

How can we look at this through an equity lens?

We can demand that APS actually has their classroom teachers scaffold/differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of all the students in a room rather than treating high ability or advanced kids with a "they'll be fine" mentality. That way, high ability kids of all SES backgrounds can get access to an appropriate education, not just those whose parents can afford to pay for it elsewhere.

Well, first, there would have to actually BE a usable elementary math curriculum available to APS teachers. Right now we don't have that. So we are making up everything, and then having to differentiate from that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

How can we look at this through an equity lens?

We can demand that APS actually has their classroom teachers scaffold/differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of all the students in a room rather than treating high ability or advanced kids with a "they'll be fine" mentality. That way, high ability kids of all SES backgrounds can get access to an appropriate education, not just those whose parents can afford to pay for it elsewhere.

Well, first, there would have to actually BE a usable elementary math curriculum available to APS teachers. Right now we don't have that. So we are making up everything, and then having to differentiate from that.

I thought teachers just used dreambox for curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mathnasium is where the gifted go.

If you’re gifted you don’t need Mathnasium.

You don't if you're fine with your child not getting a year's worth of growth in math because the school is not meeting their needs. Lots of parents of GT kids provide outside enrichment to engage their children when APS doesn't. My child is now in middle school but the elementary school failed in meeting the needs of advanced kids, especially during the pandemic when their needs were completely ignored. A lot of us who have the resources to do so turned to outside sources to educate our kids.

How can we look at this through an equity lens?

We can demand that APS actually has their classroom teachers scaffold/differentiate the curriculum to meet the needs of all the students in a room rather than treating high ability or advanced kids with a "they'll be fine" mentality. That way, high ability kids of all SES backgrounds can get access to an appropriate education, not just those whose parents can afford to pay for it elsewhere.

Well, first, there would have to actually BE a usable elementary math curriculum available to APS teachers. Right now we don't have that. So we are making up everything, and then having to differentiate from that.

PP here and I hear you. Even the best of teachers have their hands tied if they are set up by the system to fail. Incredibly frustrating for teachers and parents.