Algebra 1 - 7th grade

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any chance a student who studies over the summer could take a test in the fall and transfer from 7H to Algebra?


You can just call the guidance counselor and say you want your kid in Alg 1 even though they didn’t qualify. I already said upthread that my friend did it.


I would ask to do this as well. If his current (or most recent) 6th teacher can recommend him for it and his test scores with close, I think a reasonable counselor would ok this. You can ask to have it be probationary for the first 6 weeks with the understanding if the Alg I teacher does not feel his is ready, he can be placed back into the math level below.


This is not a thing. I asked to have my DD moved into Algebra at 7th and the hardline response was that if DD not meet the criteria (IOWA & SOL qualifying scores from AAP) there was NO chance.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any chance a student who studies over the summer could take a test in the fall and transfer from 7H to Algebra?


You can just call the guidance counselor and say you want your kid in Alg 1 even though they didn’t qualify. I already said upthread that my friend did it.


I would ask to do this as well. If his current (or most recent) 6th teacher can recommend him for it and his test scores with close, I think a reasonable counselor would ok this. You can ask to have it be probationary for the first 6 weeks with the understanding if the Alg I teacher does not feel his is ready, he can be placed back into the math level below.


This is not a thing. I asked to have my DD moved into Algebra at 7th and the hardline response was that if DD not meet the criteria (IOWA & SOL qualifying scores from AAP) there was NO chance.


Idk if it varies by school or if my friend was cut a break because of the pandemic. It was two years ago now.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any chance a student who studies over the summer could take a test in the fall and transfer from 7H to Algebra?


You can just call the guidance counselor and say you want your kid in Alg 1 even though they didn’t qualify. I already said upthread that my friend did it.


I would ask to do this as well. If his current (or most recent) 6th teacher can recommend him for it and his test scores with close, I think a reasonable counselor would ok this. You can ask to have it be probationary for the first 6 weeks with the understanding if the Alg I teacher does not feel his is ready, he can be placed back into the math level below.


This is not a thing. I asked to have my DD moved into Algebra at 7th and the hardline response was that if DD not meet the criteria (IOWA & SOL qualifying scores from AAP) there was NO chance.


Idk if it varies by school or if my friend was cut a break because of the pandemic. It was two years ago now.


Yeah, this varies by school. My child is starting in a new district for 6th grade next year and I told the counselor to put him in Alg I because that is where his current math teacher said he needed to be-and she is placing him in it with zero questions or requests for tests scores
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Any chance a student who studies over the summer could take a test in the fall and transfer from 7H to Algebra?


You can just call the guidance counselor and say you want your kid in Alg 1 even though they didn’t qualify. I already said upthread that my friend did it.


I would ask to do this as well. If his current (or most recent) 6th teacher can recommend him for it and his test scores with close, I think a reasonable counselor would ok this. You can ask to have it be probationary for the first 6 weeks with the understanding if the Alg I teacher does not feel his is ready, he can be placed back into the math level below.


This is not a thing. I asked to have my DD moved into Algebra at 7th and the hardline response was that if DD not meet the criteria (IOWA & SOL qualifying scores from AAP) there was NO chance.


Idk if it varies by school or if my friend was cut a break because of the pandemic. It was two years ago now.


It varies by school. Not every school has enough qualified 7th graders to then form geometry classes in 8th. I know two kids last year bumped into Algebra for 7th last year and it looks like the school will have just enough to fill out geometry in 8th next year. They may not be the only ones the school had to offer Algebra to make the numbers work
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:M7H is prealgebra honors (FKA math 8). It covers most of 1st semester algebra at a less in depth level, and then does a random survey of geometry, probability, etc.

It's really strong preparation for algebra 1 honors in 8th grade. Taught well, your child will not be bored.

The caveat is that it is open enrollment, so if the culture at your school is that everyone takes honors everything regardless of qualifications, the course may not be a true honors math class and may just be a regular prealgebra class, in which case it would be more repetitive.

--math teacher


+1
Anonymous
Math 7H was challenging for my DC who didn't qualify for Alg 1 honors and interesting enough for my DC who had a 99th percentile on the IAAT and a high pass advanced score on the SOL. One of the teachers used a college-level math survey text book.

I know it varies by school, but in my kids' LL IV program, the students who were officially in AAP tended to be placed into 7th grade algebra whether they passed the benchmarks or not. My DS was pupil-placed in the Level IV classroom, and once his scores were back, we received multiple "warning" notices that read like "Your idiot child will be placed in Algebra I 7H unless you put an end to this nonsense and tell us you want him in the lower class." I DID want him in the lower class, but that had more to do with the insane Algebra teachers at the MS rather than his math abilities.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DS asked his math teacher today about Math 7HN. He told him that it would be "the easiest class that you take" and to be prepared to review a lot of material. Teacher said some material would be new but for the most part DS would coast. That's not reassuring.

I wish FCPS had a better solution for this.


The new solution is Algebra I in 8th grade for all.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Math 7H was challenging for my DC who didn't qualify for Alg 1 honors and interesting enough for my DC who had a 99th percentile on the IAAT and a high pass advanced score on the SOL. One of the teachers used a college-level math survey text book.

I know it varies by school, but in my kids' LL IV program, the students who were officially in AAP tended to be placed into 7th grade algebra whether they passed the benchmarks or not. My DS was pupil-placed in the Level IV classroom, and once his scores were back, we received multiple "warning" notices that read like "Your idiot child will be placed in Algebra I 7H unless you put an end to this nonsense and tell us you want him in the lower class." I DID want him in the lower class, but that had more to do with the insane Algebra teachers at the MS rather than his math abilities.


Which MS is this.. Longfellow?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DS asked his math teacher today about Math 7HN. He told him that it would be "the easiest class that you take" and to be prepared to review a lot of material. Teacher said some material would be new but for the most part DS would coast. That's not reassuring.

I wish FCPS had a better solution for this.


The new solution is Algebra I in 8th grade for all.


That is what they are moving towards.
Anonymous
Any experience with Alg I vs Math 7H at Thoreau? My kid scored 98 percentile on the IAAT and 571 on SOL. We are leaning toward Math 7H because we have reservations about the math track this would mean in the years ahead as well as the pressure it would bring with having math count toward HS GPA in middle school. He waffles back and forth as to which math he wants to take.
Anonymous
My son will be 11 when he starts middle school. I don't want him taking a hs level course.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:My son will be 11 when he starts middle school. I don't want him taking a hs level course.


Were you answering a different question than the rest of us?
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DS asked his math teacher today about Math 7HN. He told him that it would be "the easiest class that you take" and to be prepared to review a lot of material. Teacher said some material would be new but for the most part DS would coast. That's not reassuring.

I wish FCPS had a better solution for this.


The new solution is Algebra I in 8th grade for all.


That is what they are moving towards.


Which is laughable considering majority of US isn’t even meeting grade level proficiency form math
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DS asked his math teacher today about Math 7HN. He told him that it would be "the easiest class that you take" and to be prepared to review a lot of material. Teacher said some material would be new but for the most part DS would coast. That's not reassuring.

I wish FCPS had a better solution for this.


The new solution is Algebra I in 8th grade for all.

I don't think that's where FCPS is heading. It seems the focus is only within certain groups.
1) FCPS is trying to boost the share of underrepresented students taking Algebra 1 in MS, but that is different from boosting the share of all kids taking MS accelerated math.
2) FCPS is piloting E3 which may result in fewer kids qualifying for 7th grade Algebra 1 (meaning more of those kids might take Algebra 1 in 8th).
However, there have been no signs that FCPS is making a broad effort to move all kids from 9th grade Algebra 1 to 8th grade Algebra 1.

FCPS has been very consistent amongst NoVa schools districts in having a pre-announced, unchanging threshold for MS Algebra qualification and as a result, has had a steadier share of accelerated MS math students over time. Even when it was nationally popular to put all kids in Algebra 1 in MS, FCPS's MS accelerated math share never breached 70%.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:OP here. My DS asked his math teacher today about Math 7HN. He told him that it would be "the easiest class that you take" and to be prepared to review a lot of material. Teacher said some material would be new but for the most part DS would coast. That's not reassuring.

I wish FCPS had a better solution for this.


The new solution is Algebra I in 8th grade for all.

I don't think that's where FCPS is heading. It seems the focus is only within certain groups.
1) FCPS is trying to boost the share of underrepresented students taking Algebra 1 in MS, but that is different from boosting the share of all kids taking MS accelerated math.
2) FCPS is piloting E3 which may result in fewer kids qualifying for 7th grade Algebra 1 (meaning more of those kids might take Algebra 1 in 8th).
However, there have been no signs that FCPS is making a broad effort to move all kids from 9th grade Algebra 1 to 8th grade Algebra 1.

FCPS has been very consistent amongst NoVa schools districts in having a pre-announced, unchanging threshold for MS Algebra qualification and as a result, has had a steadier share of accelerated MS math students over time. Even when it was nationally popular to put all kids in Algebra 1 in MS, FCPS's MS accelerated math share never breached 70%.


I was referring more to reducing the 6th and 7th grade algebra 1. VMPI was pushing to have everyone in algebra 1 in 8th grade and not 9th grade, but this was more a matter of how they described the classes, and it would be more like algebra 1 in 9th grade for all.
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