At what point do we pull the plug?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

Sounds to me like a scathing indictment of AAP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

Sounds to me like a scathing indictment of AAP.

NP. Except that my DC's experience in 3rd-6th grade AAP was nothing like that and neither was Algebra I in 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

From what I have seen on this forum, center schools vary. The more competitive center schools seem to have more of the kids-already-know-the-stuff style of teaching while centers that are less competitive/prestigious/high SES do more "actual teaching" to students who are learning things for the first time in class. (Caveat: the teaching-through-quizzes/exit tickets/tests style of teaching seems to come from teaching colleges and is something that new teachers do more than older teachers do.) Changing the admissions for TJ may help with this - but it might take a few years to change at the elementary school level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

Hi there. I'm the poster who first replied to you suggesting that you stick it out.

You're absolutely right. The MO of the child being expected to learn the material before it is presented to them in the classroom in middle school is pedagogically unsound and exacerbates differences in resources.

It's problematic and I hear you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

The ELA and S/SS AAP curriculum has been really good for my DC, getting him to think and stretch. Advanced Math is not the only element of AAP.

[Anonymous]

And this is why they need Advanced LA and Advanced Social Studies and Advanced Science and Advanced Math. Move the kids every class so that they are in the class level that they need. There are too many kids who need Advanced LA but are not picking up the Advanced Math. We deferred AAP and it was the right call. Advanced Math is what DS needs but he is not a confident writer. He is better off in the regular LA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is 7th grade AAP and taking Algebra Honors. MS has been an adjustment in many ways. DC has always excelled in school, especially in math, but is struggling with the Algebra. Being challenged s little bit is good, but it’s manifesting itself in anxiety, stomach upset, and moodiness which is atypical of our normally upbeat child. Is it too soon to switch to 7th honors, or do we stick it out longer? Any similar first hand experiences welcome.

I am so sorry you have to face this situation.

I see this situation quite often. What you have is a learning gap in math somewhere in elementary school. The first time the gap shows up is in Algebra.

What I would do in this situation is look at pre-algebra concepts, see where the gaps are and hire a tutor to close those gaps. Just hiring a tutor to help with Algebra would be a band aid solution and the problem would continue into high school.

I'd agree with this. They probably haven't even started anything new.....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is 7th grade AAP and taking Algebra Honors. MS has been an adjustment in many ways. DC has always excelled in school, especially in math, but is struggling with the Algebra. Being challenged s little bit is good, but it’s manifesting itself in anxiety, stomach upset, and moodiness which is atypical of our normally upbeat child. Is it too soon to switch to 7th honors, or do we stick it out longer? Any similar first hand experiences welcome.

I am so sorry you have to face this situation.

I see this situation quite often. What you have is a learning gap in math somewhere in elementary school. The first time the gap shows up is in Algebra.

What I would do in this situation is look at pre-algebra concepts, see where the gaps are and hire a tutor to close those gaps. Just hiring a tutor to help with Algebra would be a band aid solution and the problem would continue into high school.

I'd agree with this. They probably haven't even started anything new.....

Middle school math is fuzzy, but FCPS website says:

"Students receiving advanced math will be instructed at the grade level above POS"

Taking it literally, that would put 6th grade AAP math at Math 7 (not Math 7H aka 8 aka Prelagebra), and 7th grade Algebra as a skip from there.

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/grading-and-reporting/elementary-school/elementary-progress-report-grade-level-9

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/middle/mathematics/prealgebra

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

What exactly is the problem?

Is DC struggling with homework? Confused in lecture? Low score on a test?
Or one of a dozen other issues related to starting middle school?

It's been 8 days. Barely anything has happened. Even if there are huge gaps in preparation, it's unlikely to have any effect yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

What exactly is the problem?

Is DC struggling with homework? Confused in lecture? Low score on a test?
Or one of a dozen other issues related to starting middle school?

It's been 8 days. Barely anything has happened. Even if there are huge gaps in preparation, it's unlikely to have any effect yet.

I am a completely different parent than OP (which speaks to the issues with math instruction in AAP).

My child is in 6th grade. But in our experience, there is ZERO direct instruction. No google slides. Just a video and the teacher does a few examples with the students, has the students work on worksheets, and then they do an assessment. Then it's onto the next. Rinse and repeat. No real direct instruction is happening at our AAP center so far when it comes to math. My kid is in 6th and we will NOT push algebra. Considering how common these problems are, this is a systemic issue instead of an issue with a specific kid.

[Anonymous]

Is this a problem with AAP specifically, or all math classes in FCPS?

Are the non-AAP classes doing the same weak instruction, but more slowly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is utterly exhausting.

So, the expectation now is I need to privately enroll my child in a class BEFORE they take the class to be successful in the class?

I was pretty against Alg. 1 in 7th grade with my 6th grader, but this whole approach is so frustrating. It all mimics my kid's experience in AAP -- the teachers expect these kids to have learned whatever concepts that were being taught for the first time "before" so class is actually just a quick review and assessment. and if they haven't, it's up to the student (i.e. their parents) to fill in the gaps.

Your frustration is understandable. What you described isn't education.

Frankly (PP here), this is why I find AAP, as a whole, to be utter trash. It's been incredibly disappointing to see how much the "extension" is really just blowing through topics and running assessments quickly. Even the whole "mascot time" has been a joke. My child last year struggled in class and was buried in work and her teacher was not just useless, he went out of his way to make her feel like an idiot with those "this isn't hard" and "you're in AAP, you should be smart."

I spent thousands on private tutoring where she learned 5th and 6th grade math, she got a "perfect" SOL score and on paper is doing fine. But this isn't how it's supposed to work. She was literally failing absent my own intervention as a parent. And it just keeps going?

Because in AAP in FCPS, math instruction is basically a quick demo, a worksheet, and then assessment. Rinse, repeat.

Compared to my other general education child (who oddly has a stronger math grasp due to actually being taught math), there is zero tier 1 interventions, zero small group instruction, and zero support if your child doesn't automatically "get" the topic. It's just assess and move on.

And then the kids stuggle. Either in Alg. 1 honors or higher math or in their freshman classes where they are (again) retaking classes they already took.

It's all just so, so frustrating.

Honestly, maybe AAP wasn’t the right fit for your child.

What's incredible is that this is the take away. It's that my child (who by the way had incredibly 150 quant cogat and a 140 verbal) shouldn't be in AAP. I didn't refer my kid.

There is never, ever a question of maybe this AAP program, particularly the math -- which frankly is the only meaningful difference I can see -- is problematic and needs to be changed.

What exactly is the problem?

Is DC struggling with homework? Confused in lecture? Low score on a test?
Or one of a dozen other issues related to starting middle school?

It's been 8 days. Barely anything has happened. Even if there are huge gaps in preparation, it's unlikely to have any effect yet.

I am a completely different parent than OP (which speaks to the issues with math instruction in AAP).

My child is in 6th grade. But in our experience, there is ZERO direct instruction. No google slides. Just a video and the teacher does a few examples with the students, has the students work on worksheets, and then they do an assessment. Then it's onto the next. Rinse and repeat. No real direct instruction is happening at our AAP center so far when it comes to math. My kid is in 6th and we will NOT push algebra. Considering how common these problems are, this is a systemic issue instead of an issue with a specific kid.

This is teacher dependent. My kid’s AAP teachers have never shown videos. They have been great math teachers.

[Anonymous]

This post is interesting because mine has been asking me if I think other schools taught different/more math than what they had b/c “everyone” in class seems to already know what is being taught. If that is indeed the case, I’d rather mine drop as that is just asking for heartache. What happened to learning math in math class?

[Anonymous]

Get a tutor to help him do homework and look at the upcoming assignments