APS MS ELA curriculum and differentiation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The 7th grade intensified reading isn't elective. They read, take notes as they go, and write essays. Last year at DHMS, the intensified students read The Outsiders, House Arrest, their favorite book, and a book from a list, in addition to other daily assignments. Our student chose Salt to the Sea. I read the books with him and House Arrest and Salt to the Sea are serious books with a lot in them to write about. For the 8th grade intensified class, they've already written three essays and have taken several grammar quizzes. So far, my 8th grade student has read two books that he chose himself, and both are 500+ pages long. There's a ton of data on allowing kids to have some reasonable choice on what they read.

I am not a cheerleader for APS, but we do have experience in DCPS and the difference between the two systems is vast. Be honest with yourself as to what you value and can compromise on with a move. Fairfax is a ways out there. Unless you're coming from the far NW or maybe Brookland, even McLean feels very distant if you're used to being in the city.

Not every parent or student wants a TJ/STEM experience. I don't see my student thriving in a STEM heavy environment at all.

College acceptances are loosely tracked and reported on: https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/ivy-league-elite-college-admissions/; https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/most-popular-colleges-arlington-va-class-of-2025/; https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/college-applications-arlington-va-2024/....

7th grade winter Lexile score range
25% = 925L, 50% = 1080L, 75% = 1230

For a 7th grade intensified English class, think maybe 1230+ ??
House Arrest by K.A. Holt has a Lexile of 610L
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys has a Lexile of 560L

3rd grade winter Lexile score range
25% = 480L, 50% = 645L, 75% = 810L

Please question every single assignment your kids are doing in these so-called intensified classes. The teacher should never have allowed these books and should probably be sued for malpractice if that were actually a thing. Or else please don't complain that AP/SAT scores in the future are lower than you thought.

I dont think those Lexile ranges work the way you're asserting. The Outsiders is a totally classic 7th grade novel and it has a Lexile of 750L. It would be 100% inappropriate for 3rd graders.

Content is not the same thing as reading level. Of course age-appropriateness should be considered. However, if you don't care about the complexity of a book then why not just watch a movie with complex themes, with subtitles, and discuss as a class? The purpose of English class should be to improve language level and fluency while also developing critical reasoning skills. It should be hard, especially if it's an honors/intensified class.

Hemingway is in the 700s for Lexile and his work is plenty challenging. I don't think Lexile is the only way to define challenging literature. And I certainly wouldn't want my kid assigned Harry Potter over Hemingway, just because Harry Potter has a higher Lexile level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The 7th grade intensified reading isn't elective. They read, take notes as they go, and write essays. Last year at DHMS, the intensified students read The Outsiders, House Arrest, their favorite book, and a book from a list, in addition to other daily assignments. Our student chose Salt to the Sea. I read the books with him and House Arrest and Salt to the Sea are serious books with a lot in them to write about. For the 8th grade intensified class, they've already written three essays and have taken several grammar quizzes. So far, my 8th grade student has read two books that he chose himself, and both are 500+ pages long. There's a ton of data on allowing kids to have some reasonable choice on what they read.

I am not a cheerleader for APS, but we do have experience in DCPS and the difference between the two systems is vast. Be honest with yourself as to what you value and can compromise on with a move. Fairfax is a ways out there. Unless you're coming from the far NW or maybe Brookland, even McLean feels very distant if you're used to being in the city.

Not every parent or student wants a TJ/STEM experience. I don't see my student thriving in a STEM heavy environment at all.

College acceptances are loosely tracked and reported on: https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/ivy-league-elite-college-admissions/; https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/most-popular-colleges-arlington-va-class-of-2025/; https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/college-applications-arlington-va-2024/....

7th grade winter Lexile score range
25% = 925L, 50% = 1080L, 75% = 1230

For a 7th grade intensified English class, think maybe 1230+ ??
House Arrest by K.A. Holt has a Lexile of 610L
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys has a Lexile of 560L

3rd grade winter Lexile score range
25% = 480L, 50% = 645L, 75% = 810L

Please question every single assignment your kids are doing in these so-called intensified classes. The teacher should never have allowed these books and should probably be sued for malpractice if that were actually a thing. Or else please don't complain that AP/SAT scores in the future are lower than you thought.

I dont think those Lexile ranges work the way you're asserting. The Outsiders is a totally classic 7th grade novel and it has a Lexile of 750L. It would be 100% inappropriate for 3rd graders.

Content is not the same thing as reading level. Of course age-appropriateness should be considered. However, if you don't care about the complexity of a book then why not just watch a movie with complex themes, with subtitles, and discuss as a class? The purpose of English class should be to improve language level and fluency while also developing critical reasoning skills. It should be hard, especially if it's an honors/intensified class.

Hemingway is in the 700s for Lexile and his work is plenty challenging. I don't think Lexile is the only way to define challenging literature. And I certainly wouldn't want my kid assigned Harry Potter over Hemingway, just because Harry Potter has a higher Lexile level.

Literally no is arguing for reading Harry Potter. I'm talking about actual literature. I hope your kids are reading something more difficult for leisure then. There's no way to improve English ability without exposure to hard English texts. Our kids were/are freely reading books laying around the house by Dickens, Swift, Marx, Locke, and other philosophers by around 9th grade, because they had been reading difficult books in elementary school and middle school. Now, they surely didn't fully comprehend the philosophers at the time, but they were able to get a general understanding. What books do you think kids read in college? For core humanities classes that were required for all undergraduate students back in the day, I had to read Tocqueville, Augustine, Swift, Plato, Shakespeare, etc.

Yes, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Orwell, Golding, etc. are important as well thematically. But someone with a high Lexile score will surely be able to read and understand it better than someone at a lower Lexile score. And then how about when they have to write an analysis about it?

And those comic books that someone else mentioned? Those are on some reading lists because the level of APS English classes is a joke--there literally must be a general range of at least 5 grade levels of ability in every class, many below grade level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The 7th grade intensified reading isn't elective. They read, take notes as they go, and write essays. Last year at DHMS, the intensified students read The Outsiders, House Arrest, their favorite book, and a book from a list, in addition to other daily assignments. Our student chose Salt to the Sea. I read the books with him and House Arrest and Salt to the Sea are serious books with a lot in them to write about. For the 8th grade intensified class, they've already written three essays and have taken several grammar quizzes. So far, my 8th grade student has read two books that he chose himself, and both are 500+ pages long. There's a ton of data on allowing kids to have some reasonable choice on what they read.

I am not a cheerleader for APS, but we do have experience in DCPS and the difference between the two systems is vast. Be honest with yourself as to what you value and can compromise on with a move. Fairfax is a ways out there. Unless you're coming from the far NW or maybe Brookland, even McLean feels very distant if you're used to being in the city.

Not every parent or student wants a TJ/STEM experience. I don't see my student thriving in a STEM heavy environment at all.

College acceptances are loosely tracked and reported on: https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/ivy-league-elite-college-admissions/; https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/most-popular-colleges-arlington-va-class-of-2025/; https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/college-applications-arlington-va-2024/....

7th grade winter Lexile score range
25% = 925L, 50% = 1080L, 75% = 1230

For a 7th grade intensified English class, think maybe 1230+ ??
House Arrest by K.A. Holt has a Lexile of 610L
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys has a Lexile of 560L

3rd grade winter Lexile score range
25% = 480L, 50% = 645L, 75% = 810L

Please question every single assignment your kids are doing in these so-called intensified classes. The teacher should never have allowed these books and should probably be sued for malpractice if that were actually a thing. Or else please don't complain that AP/SAT scores in the future are lower than you thought.

I dont think those Lexile ranges work the way you're asserting. The Outsiders is a totally classic 7th grade novel and it has a Lexile of 750L. It would be 100% inappropriate for 3rd graders.

Content is not the same thing as reading level. Of course age-appropriateness should be considered. However, if you don't care about the complexity of a book then why not just watch a movie with complex themes, with subtitles, and discuss as a class? The purpose of English class should be to improve language level and fluency while also developing critical reasoning skills. It should be hard, especially if it's an honors/intensified class.

Hemingway is in the 700s for Lexile and his work is plenty challenging. I don't think Lexile is the only way to define challenging literature. And I certainly wouldn't want my kid assigned Harry Potter over Hemingway, just because Harry Potter has a higher Lexile level.

Literally no is arguing for reading Harry Potter. I'm talking about actual literature. I hope your kids are reading something more difficult for leisure then. There's no way to improve English ability without exposure to hard English texts. Our kids were/are freely reading books laying around the house by Dickens, Swift, Marx, Locke, and other philosophers by around 9th grade, because they had been reading difficult books in elementary school and middle school. Now, they surely didn't fully comprehend the philosophers at the time, but they were able to get a general understanding. What books do you think kids read in college? For core humanities classes that were required for all undergraduate students back in the day, I had to read Tocqueville, Augustine, Swift, Plato, Shakespeare, etc.

Yes, Hemingway, Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Orwell, Golding, etc. are important as well thematically. But someone with a high Lexile score will surely be able to read and understand it better than someone at a lower Lexile score. And then how about when they have to write an analysis about it?

And those comic books that someone else mentioned? Those are on some reading lists because the level of APS English classes is a joke--there literally must be a general range of at least 5 grade levels of ability in every class, many below grade level.

So what books are you suggesting for 6th and 7th graders? What I'm getting from your post is a lot of fluff but no substance.

Both The Outsiders and Lord of the Flies are classic choices for middle school English, but neither is good enough per your lofty standards.

[Anonymous]

Gag me with a spoon. I get it now. It’s about the racism. Yes, it is correct that in APS, and also Fairfax, they don’t read a lot of old white man philosophy and there’s diversity in the student body.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gag me with a spoon. I get it now. It’s about the racism. Yes, it is correct that in APS, and also Fairfax, they don’t read a lot of old white man philosophy and there’s diversity in the student body.

You're a typical online troll trying to punch above your weight class. What non-racist books do you suggest? Please submit a list so that I can show you that many of them are probably more racist. Did you want me to list Tubman, Paton, Haley, Truong Nhu Tang, Sun Tzu, Confucius, etc.? Thanks for your concern but they're also on the shelf. Many of the books in the house were assigned in K-12, undergrad, or grad school at some point and we're not even humanities majors. Our kids are actually STEM focused so they've also read math and science books. But we don't censor actual literature. We do, however, have none of those modern age, poorly edited, 500L "books that have sentences only to make everyone that agrees with me feel good while we gag others with a spoon" laying around. Not to say our kids haven't read that fluff either but those were library books or assigned in English and history classes and most were one session reads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gag me with a spoon. I get it now. It’s about the racism. Yes, it is correct that in APS, and also Fairfax, they don’t read a lot of old white man philosophy and there’s diversity in the student body.

You're a typical online troll trying to punch above your weight class. What non-racist books do you suggest? Please submit a list so that I can show you that many of them are probably more racist. Did you want me to list Tubman, Paton, Haley, Truong Nhu Tang, Sun Tzu, Confucius, etc.? Thanks for your concern but they're also on the shelf. Many of the books in the house were assigned in K-12, undergrad, or grad school at some point and we're not even humanities majors. Our kids are actually STEM focused so they've also read math and science books. But we don't censor actual literature. We do, however, have none of those modern age, poorly edited, 500L "books that have sentences only to make everyone that agrees with me feel good while we gag others with a spoon" laying around. Not to say our kids haven't read that fluff either but those were library books or assigned in English and history classes and most were one session reads.

DP. Goodness, get over yourself. You sound more ridiculous every time you post. My kid was reading Jules Verne and Sherlock Holmes books for fun in middle school (though I’m sure those don’t meet your standard). He also read Percy Jackson & Wings of Fire.

And I agree that APS English classes are lackluster prior to AP lang, but this is not unique to APS by any stretch. And when I was in middle school, we did not read whole books as a class. That started in HS. We chose our own books, just as kids mainly do in APS middle school now. Your expectations are over the top, with you even dismissing great, classic literature because it doesn’t have a high enough Lexile.