Algebra I - 7th grade expectations

[Anonymous]

My son is also in 7th grade in Algebra. He is doing very well. Works pretty hard. Also goes to mathnasium once or twice a week so I think the practice does help him. So maybe consider a mathnasium or a tutor once a week? Even an online tutor if inconvenient from Outschool or varsity tutors? Even FCPS has those resources.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are a few kids who take algebra in 7th who are just really good naturally in math and excel without having done any enrichment.

Now add to that all the kids who are are smart kids who have done a lot of math enrichment including doing AOPS pre-algebra or the first half if the AOPS algebra book in 6th or the summer beforehand. Or they have been doing kumon since preschool or Russian math or Singapore math at home.

So half the class is not going to struggle while half will especially if you don’t have the best math teacher. Algebra is too important not to have a firm grasp on. I would have her retake in 8th. Or move down a level, supple t at home then retake in 8th. Or get a tutor and put in the hours needed to do well.

In my son’s year, a lot of students moved down to math 7 honors. The first two groups of kids PP mentions make any math class annoying, to be honest. And teachers feel the pressure to just plow through the material because 2/3 of the class doesn’t really even need the class. We moved our son down, and he has had a much better experience through middle and high school. There are not as many “know it alls” in math 7 honors and subsequent classes. It has helped my son develop stronger math skills and he will leave high school more likely to major/have a career in a math related field than if he had stayed in algebra 7. And isn’t that the real goal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mastering math is all about consistent practice. AAP Level IV is too basic, and students aren’t provided with enough practice problems to build a deep understanding. It is not until student gets to Algebra 1 they realize the gaps in learning. Many students have been successful with learning Algebra 1 in 6th grade because they had sufficient depth in the prerequisite math in previous years. At the other end of spectrum, there are kids enrolled in algebra 1 in 8th grade and still fail miserably because of shallow math learning in previous years masked by inflated grades.

+1 million. My 7th grader in Algebra 1 gets the Algebra 1 concepts just fine and completely falls flat on making stupid math mistakes sometimes. We noticed this starting in 6th and I fully blame it on her 4th and 5th grade teachers not giving much practice as homework because (and I'm quoting one of them here) "we don't want to grade it."

Yes, I should have given extra homework at the time, but I assumed because she was doing well she was mastering it. She'll end up being fine but it was a little bit of a shock when we noticed.

OP here, school is Longfellow. The above PP completely describes my kid. I have found it very difficult to know how to best navigate it all when our kid is otherwise an A student, never have to force her to study, has always done well etc…we trusted the process and the referral from last year that she was more then ready for Algebra 1, and in many ways I think she is, but the faster pacing has been difficult for her and she does make careless mistakes despite demonstrating that she understands the broader concepts. I guess we look into tutoring at this point.

My child is likely in the same class. It’s not just the pacing, there are things not being taught and/or only briefly covered as “review” bc the assumption/expectation is that most of these kids are learning elsewhere. Your daughter sounds more than ready for the class. Get the tutor. We started as soon as we figured out what was going on and one 45 min session/week is filling the gaps and DC is getting all As again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of posts blaming the teachers. There are bad apples in every profession, but this is also such a reflection of our times.

Taking Alegebra I Honors in 7th is an accelerated path. It’s not for everyone. I’m sure your child is very bright, but that doesn’t mean this level of acceleration is appropriate for them. It’s a high school level class and things get real at that point… it’s a big departure from elementary school whether you were doing well in AAP LIV or not.

This is not a humble brag, but my 8th grade DC has a 100 in that class. They feel bad about themselves that they waited until 8th, but they also see most of the 7th graders in the class struggling, as it’s the first time those kids have had to really work at something. You can be very smart and not ready to take a high school credit class your first year out of ES. And that’s okay. The math only gets much harder from here.

Both my kids took or are taking Algebra I Honors in 7th. First maintained an A at all points all year and current 7th grader has done the same so far. She said she always has to help the two 8th graders who sit next to her. Older kid is a 9th grader in Algebra II Honors and he is the only one in the class with a grade of 100. Unless you prepped for the Iowa, generally, the kids with the most math aptitude will be the ones taking Algebra in 7th (or younger).

[Anonymous]

PP with two kids who took/are taking Algebra in 7th. Wanted to clarify my kids have never done outside enrichment. They both are just naturally good at math. DH and I both were, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP with two kids who took/are taking Algebra in 7th. Wanted to clarify my kids have never done outside enrichment. They both are just naturally good at math. DH and I both were, too.

DP. I'm naturally good at math too, but it's hard to overcome the kind of topics not being covered issue a different PP said was happening at Longfellow. In Algebra and beyond there's only so much you can quickly reason your own way too. One of OP's concerns was that math homework took an hour. If you're teaching yourself it's going to take a while, good at math or not.

[Anonymous]

My fear is the makeup of the class in 7th after 6th grade AAP. The push is for all to take algebra in 8th. To do so kids are going to go from 6th grade regular to 7th honors.
How much of the 7th honors is going to turn into a slow down for the non former AAP kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lots of posts blaming the teachers. There are bad apples in every profession, but this is also such a reflection of our times.

Taking Alegebra I Honors in 7th is an accelerated path. It’s not for everyone. I’m sure your child is very bright, but that doesn’t mean this level of acceleration is appropriate for them. It’s a high school level class and things get real at that point… it’s a big departure from elementary school whether you were doing well in AAP LIV or not.

This is not a humble brag, but my 8th grade DC has a 100 in that class. They feel bad about themselves that they waited until 8th, but they also see most of the 7th graders in the class struggling, as it’s the first time those kids have had to really work at something. You can be very smart and not ready to take a high school credit class your first year out of ES. And that’s okay. The math only gets much harder from here.

+1

It’s a HS level class that is 2 years accelerated. Not every bright kid should take it.

There should be a high threshold for accelerating 2-3 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of posts blaming the teachers. There are bad apples in every profession, but this is also such a reflection of our times.

Taking Alegebra I Honors in 7th is an accelerated path. It’s not for everyone. I’m sure your child is very bright, but that doesn’t mean this level of acceleration is appropriate for them. It’s a high school level class and things get real at that point… it’s a big departure from elementary school whether you were doing well in AAP LIV or not.

This is not a humble brag, but my 8th grade DC has a 100 in that class. They feel bad about themselves that they waited until 8th, but they also see most of the 7th graders in the class struggling, as it’s the first time those kids have had to really work at something. You can be very smart and not ready to take a high school credit class your first year out of ES. And that’s okay. The math only gets much harder from here.

+1

It’s a HS level class that is 2 years accelerated. Not every bright kid should take it.

There should be a high threshold for accelerating 2-3 years.

The middle school teachers will tell you that there is, and that the kids placed into the class can hack it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of posts blaming the teachers. There are bad apples in every profession, but this is also such a reflection of our times.

Taking Alegebra I Honors in 7th is an accelerated path. It’s not for everyone. I’m sure your child is very bright, but that doesn’t mean this level of acceleration is appropriate for them. It’s a high school level class and things get real at that point… it’s a big departure from elementary school whether you were doing well in AAP LIV or not.

This is not a humble brag, but my 8th grade DC has a 100 in that class. They feel bad about themselves that they waited until 8th, but they also see most of the 7th graders in the class struggling, as it’s the first time those kids have had to really work at something. You can be very smart and not ready to take a high school credit class your first year out of ES. And that’s okay. The math only gets much harder from here.

+1

It’s a HS level class that is 2 years accelerated. Not every bright kid should take it.

There should be a high threshold for accelerating 2-3 years.

The middle school teachers will tell you that there is, and that the kids placed into the class can hack it.

I would say that any who pass the test for placement have the raw materials to hack it but that does not mean that they all are able to handle the class.

DS is in Algebra 1, rarely has homework, and has an A. He is in his MS Math Counts club and enjoys taking math competitions so I guess he falls into the one posters category of annoying kids who find the class easy and the Teacher is potentially skimming through materials to keep from being bored. He has friends in Algebra 1 H who were in the same Advanced Math class who have an hour or so of homework and are working hard for their B. I have not heard their parents or the kids complaining about the class, they expected it to be challenging because it is a HS level class. There are kids who have move to 7th H because they found the pace of Algebra 1 too much and felt that 7th H was a better fit. Some of it is drive, some of it is stronger basic skills, some of it better grasp of math concepts, and some of it is how hard you want to work>

Parents and students have the choice of deciding if they want to stay in a challenging class that is moving at a quick pace or move into a class that is still accelerated but not moving at as fast of a pace. Maybe some of the kids have a bad Teacher and that is the explanation. Maybe it is that the kids are smart and have good math skills but they don’t have as strong a grasp as other kids and they are struggling to keep up with the class. Maybe it is a combination of both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is taking Algebra in 7th and not having issues. His friends who worked hard in 6th grade are working hard for Bs this year in Algebra. It is a high school class that moves at a fast pace. It is an honors class so there are extensions. It could be that it is a stretch for your child. It is a stretch my kids friends but they don’t seem upset by it. You can get a tutor or the answer might be to move to 7th H.

Or your kid has an easier teacher it easier grading. My kid is in AP calc BC and had high As until today when the teacher returned a test that the high was a 9/20. 1 person got that grade…this is a teacher issue, when it happens to most or all the class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lots of posts blaming the teachers. There are bad apples in every profession, but this is also such a reflection of our times.

Taking Alegebra I Honors in 7th is an accelerated path. It’s not for everyone. I’m sure your child is very bright, but that doesn’t mean this level of acceleration is appropriate for them. It’s a high school level class and things get real at that point… it’s a big departure from elementary school whether you were doing well in AAP LIV or not.

This is not a humble brag, but my 8th grade DC has a 100 in that class. They feel bad about themselves that they waited until 8th, but they also see most of the 7th graders in the class struggling, as it’s the first time those kids have had to really work at something. You can be very smart and not ready to take a high school credit class your first year out of ES. And that’s okay. The math only gets much harder from here.

+1

It’s a HS level class that is 2 years accelerated. Not every bright kid should take it.

There should be a high threshold for accelerating 2-3 years.

The middle school teachers will tell you that there is, and that the kids placed into the class can hack it.

That wasn’t the experience in my kids’ peer groups a few years ago. A couple bright kids who were pushed too far ahead hated math after that year. Hope that means they’ve raised the bar.

[Anonymous]

Why do people assume that kids who are ready for Algebra ought to earn an easy A in Algebra? A kid could be ready for Algebra and still need to work pretty hard in the class. An hour of homework seems pretty normal, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people assume that kids who are ready for Algebra ought to earn an easy A in Algebra? A kid could be ready for Algebra and still need to work pretty hard in the class. An hour of homework seems pretty normal, too.

There is a big difference between getting a B and a D.

[Anonymous]

My DS is also taking Algebra 1 Honors in 7th. We're finding it's a huge step from elementary school arithmetic to a HS Algebra class, despite what posters have argued. To me this relates the maturity level of the student and their ability to think in more abstract ways. It's no longer, did they get the right answer, but why is the answer correct. That requires the maturity to slow down to really "think" about a wrong answer and practice to be able to avoid the easy mistakes, a lot of which happens outside of class. Not all 12 year olds are ready to do that... just as not all 12 month olds are ready to walk. My feeling is that it's a developmental timing thing, not a question of intelligence (or by analogy, future athletic ability.)

OP, bottom line, I hear a LOT of kids retake it in 8th if they don't get the grade they want for their HS transcript. As another poster suggested, I'm now stepping in to help fill gaps.