MCPS is cuttting compacted math and cohorted literacy enrichment

[Anonymous]

There's an election in a matter of weeks, and Board of Ed seats are on there. As they are non-partisan, they are on every ballot, regardless of party affiliation. Remember to vote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So admittedly I am far removed from my own high school experience and my kids are still in ES, but the MS/HS math pathways surprised me a bit- do kids no longer take geometry and trig?

Pre-calc in 9th also seems a bit crazy to me (again this is coming from someone who graduated in the 90s where "accelerated" meant pre-calc in 11th and AP Calc in 12th). But I don't understand what some of these students are meant to take in 12th if they've already had two years of calculus by then.

Acceleration looks like this:

Alg 7th
Geometry 8th
Alg2/Trig 9th
Precalc 10th
Calc 11th
MVC/Diffeq/Stats 12th

That's the route both my kids took (now in college, one about to go). The one in college is a dual math major. They easily passed all their accelerated math classes including MVC/Diffeq. MAPS scores always at highest %ile, PARCC scores always exceeding expectations, 5 on AP cal, 800 on SAT math. Kid would've been incredibly bored in ES without HGC (former name of CES) and compacted math. No, we did not ever tutor DC.

There are a lot of highly educated parents around here, so it's no surprise that there are a lot advanced learners here.

MCPS really is racing to the bottom. We had intentionally moved here for the magnets and acceleration programs. So glad to be done with MCPS before they killed every program that made it great.

On the link provided in the OP, it looks like starting in 2027-2028, there are three potential math pathways students will take (slide 14) where pre-calc may be taken anywhere from 9th-11 grade. Am I understanding this correctly? What is the difference between Math 6, Accel Math 6, and Grade 6 Pre-Alg?

I am partly asking this because we are currently overseas and I've been trying to keep track of where my kids (who currently attend an international school) will land when we return in a couple years. Which is hard when MCPS keeps making changes!

Math 6 = 6th grade math, on track to start algebra in 9th
Accel Math 6/AMP 6+ = 6th & half of 7th grade math (with the other half of 7th+8th taken in 7th grade), on track to start algebra in 8th-- for strong kids in grade-level 5th grade math or kids who did compacted 5/6 who could use a slowdown/reinforcement
Grade 6 Pre-Alg = 7th & 8th grade math (with 6th grade math completed in grade 5 as part of compacted math), on track to start algebra in 7th

Algebra in..

7th - advanced
8th - on track
9th - behind

No.

9th - on-level
8th - advanced / gifted&talented, including most of "selective college" prep.
7th - highly advanced, likely STEM-focused, "UMC" stereotype
6th - math-contest culture, "Asian immigrant scientist parent" stereotype

That's the dumb down version. The version my kids (HS/college aged) group in was the one I posted where 9th Alg is considered behind, and 7th is advanced/compacted math track.

[Anonymous]

My kids' ES compacted math teacher just announced her retirement, which appears to be a surprise. I hope these changes didn't push her to quit early-she is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So admittedly I am far removed from my own high school experience and my kids are still in ES, but the MS/HS math pathways surprised me a bit- do kids no longer take geometry and trig?

Pre-calc in 9th also seems a bit crazy to me (again this is coming from someone who graduated in the 90s where "accelerated" meant pre-calc in 11th and AP Calc in 12th). But I don't understand what some of these students are meant to take in 12th if they've already had two years of calculus by then.

Acceleration looks like this:

Alg 7th
Geometry 8th
Alg2/Trig 9th
Precalc 10th
Calc 11th
MVC/Diffeq/Stats 12th

That's the route both my kids took (now in college, one about to go). The one in college is a dual math major. They easily passed all their accelerated math classes including MVC/Diffeq. MAPS scores always at highest %ile, PARCC scores always exceeding expectations, 5 on AP cal, 800 on SAT math. Kid would've been incredibly bored in ES without HGC (former name of CES) and compacted math. No, we did not ever tutor DC.

There are a lot of highly educated parents around here, so it's no surprise that there are a lot advanced learners here.

MCPS really is racing to the bottom. We had intentionally moved here for the magnets and acceleration programs. So glad to be done with MCPS before they killed every program that made it great.

On the link provided in the OP, it looks like starting in 2027-2028, there are three potential math pathways students will take (slide 14) where pre-calc may be taken anywhere from 9th-11 grade. Am I understanding this correctly? What is the difference between Math 6, Accel Math 6, and Grade 6 Pre-Alg?

I am partly asking this because we are currently overseas and I've been trying to keep track of where my kids (who currently attend an international school) will land when we return in a couple years. Which is hard when MCPS keeps making changes!

Math 6 = 6th grade math, on track to start algebra in 9th
Accel Math 6/AMP 6+ = 6th & half of 7th grade math (with the other half of 7th+8th taken in 7th grade), on track to start algebra in 8th-- for strong kids in grade-level 5th grade math or kids who did compacted 5/6 who could use a slowdown/reinforcement
Grade 6 Pre-Alg = 7th & 8th grade math (with 6th grade math completed in grade 5 as part of compacted math), on track to start algebra in 7th

Algebra in..

7th - advanced
8th - on track
9th - behind

No.

9th - on-level
8th - advanced / gifted&talented, including most of "selective college" prep.
7th - highly advanced, likely STEM-focused, "UMC" stereotype
6th - math-contest culture, "Asian immigrant scientist parent" stereotype

I don't disagree that Algebra I is a high school level course and some of it may be a result of the current curriculum.

But students taking Algebra I in high school are likely struggling students.

Just look at the MCAP Algebra I proficiency rates on mdreportcard for MCPS. Middle schools top the list.

The highest high school is Churchill, ranked at number 32 out of schools listed with Algebra I test takers, and with a proficiency of 22.2 percent. Followed by Poolesville at 20.8 percent, Whitman is two spots below that with 16.5 percent.

Students are capable of taking Algebra I in middle school and students will raise to the level they're pushed to.

Look at the charter school in DC that won the math competition recently:
https://wtop.com/dc/2026/03/how-students-in-southeast-outperformed-peers-in-some-of-dcs-wealthiest-neighborhoods-on-citywide-math-test/

And it's what the main character was saying in the film Stand and Deliver, which is based on a true story.

There's nothing wrong with taking Algebra I in high school and I believe that students should be placed appropriately at their level to make sure they fully learn what's being taught.

But it seems like MCPS's solution is to try to lower the bar instead of raising the bottom to reach the bar.

btw I was looking at the 2018-2019 PARCC proficiency rates because one can argue that the MCAP proficiency rates are generally low, schools/students were still dealing with the results of the shutdown due to the pandemic and students may not have given full effort in an exam they know they don't need to pass to graduate.

None of the above applies to the PARCC, where students still had to meet the graduation requirements.

That year, the schools with the highest proficiency rates were still middle schools. Takoma Park, Pyle and Westland topping the list at 92.2, 92 and 91 percent respectively.

The highest high school was Whitman with a 45.2 percent proficiency rate, ranked as the 21st school. The next high school after is Poolesville ranked 30 with 32.7 percent. Followed by Churchill, ranked 32 at 32 percent, then Walter Johnson ranked 36 at 26.3 percent.

Students that take Algebra I in high school have not been doing well in the state assessments, which is an indicator of their performance.

You can probably boost the proficiency rates by slowtracking students and forcing them all to take at later years. But that doesn't seem to be fair to those students.

[Anonymous]

I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So admittedly I am far removed from my own high school experience and my kids are still in ES, but the MS/HS math pathways surprised me a bit- do kids no longer take geometry and trig?

Pre-calc in 9th also seems a bit crazy to me (again this is coming from someone who graduated in the 90s where "accelerated" meant pre-calc in 11th and AP Calc in 12th). But I don't understand what some of these students are meant to take in 12th if they've already had two years of calculus by then.

Acceleration looks like this:

Alg 7th
Geometry 8th
Alg2/Trig 9th
Precalc 10th
Calc 11th
MVC/Diffeq/Stats 12th

That's the route both my kids took (now in college, one about to go). The one in college is a dual math major. They easily passed all their accelerated math classes including MVC/Diffeq. MAPS scores always at highest %ile, PARCC scores always exceeding expectations, 5 on AP cal, 800 on SAT math. Kid would've been incredibly bored in ES without HGC (former name of CES) and compacted math. No, we did not ever tutor DC.

There are a lot of highly educated parents around here, so it's no surprise that there are a lot advanced learners here.

MCPS really is racing to the bottom. We had intentionally moved here for the magnets and acceleration programs. So glad to be done with MCPS before they killed every program that made it great.

On the link provided in the OP, it looks like starting in 2027-2028, there are three potential math pathways students will take (slide 14) where pre-calc may be taken anywhere from 9th-11 grade. Am I understanding this correctly? What is the difference between Math 6, Accel Math 6, and Grade 6 Pre-Alg?

I am partly asking this because we are currently overseas and I've been trying to keep track of where my kids (who currently attend an international school) will land when we return in a couple years. Which is hard when MCPS keeps making changes!

We moved here for the schools. I wouldn't move here now for the schools if I were you.

Unless you have to be in moco, i would make different choice—being completely honest. Dont say i didnt warn you. The so-called good schools here have dealbreaking downsides in retrospect. You can piece together what i mean by looking at the many posts. Admin does not value achievement as much as they do short-sighted equity that in action accomplishes the opposite. Leadership is everything and this is not the one. If you move here it is difficult to relocate—make your move a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So admittedly I am far removed from my own high school experience and my kids are still in ES, but the MS/HS math pathways surprised me a bit- do kids no longer take geometry and trig?

Pre-calc in 9th also seems a bit crazy to me (again this is coming from someone who graduated in the 90s where "accelerated" meant pre-calc in 11th and AP Calc in 12th). But I don't understand what some of these students are meant to take in 12th if they've already had two years of calculus by then.

Acceleration looks like this:

Alg 7th
Geometry 8th
Alg2/Trig 9th
Precalc 10th
Calc 11th
MVC/Diffeq/Stats 12th

That's the route both my kids took (now in college, one about to go). The one in college is a dual math major. They easily passed all their accelerated math classes including MVC/Diffeq. MAPS scores always at highest %ile, PARCC scores always exceeding expectations, 5 on AP cal, 800 on SAT math. Kid would've been incredibly bored in ES without HGC (former name of CES) and compacted math. No, we did not ever tutor DC.

There are a lot of highly educated parents around here, so it's no surprise that there are a lot advanced learners here.

MCPS really is racing to the bottom. We had intentionally moved here for the magnets and acceleration programs. So glad to be done with MCPS before they killed every program that made it great.

On the link provided in the OP, it looks like starting in 2027-2028, there are three potential math pathways students will take (slide 14) where pre-calc may be taken anywhere from 9th-11 grade. Am I understanding this correctly? What is the difference between Math 6, Accel Math 6, and Grade 6 Pre-Alg?

I am partly asking this because we are currently overseas and I've been trying to keep track of where my kids (who currently attend an international school) will land when we return in a couple years. Which is hard when MCPS keeps making changes!

Math 6 = 6th grade math, on track to start algebra in 9th
Accel Math 6/AMP 6+ = 6th & half of 7th grade math (with the other half of 7th+8th taken in 7th grade), on track to start algebra in 8th-- for strong kids in grade-level 5th grade math or kids who did compacted 5/6 who could use a slowdown/reinforcement
Grade 6 Pre-Alg = 7th & 8th grade math (with 6th grade math completed in grade 5 as part of compacted math), on track to start algebra in 7th

Algebra in..

7th - advanced
8th - on track
9th - behind

No.

9th - on-level
8th - advanced / gifted&talented, including most of "selective college" prep.
7th - highly advanced, likely STEM-focused, "UMC" stereotype
6th - math-contest culture, "Asian immigrant scientist parent" stereotype

I don't disagree that Algebra I is a high school level course and some of it may be a result of the current curriculum.

But students taking Algebra I in high school are likely struggling students.

Just look at the MCAP Algebra I proficiency rates on mdreportcard for MCPS. Middle schools top the list.

The highest high school is Churchill, ranked at number 32 out of schools listed with Algebra I test takers, and with a proficiency of 22.2 percent. Followed by Poolesville at 20.8 percent, Whitman is two spots below that with 16.5 percent.

Students are capable of taking Algebra I in middle school and students will raise to the level they're pushed to.

Look at the charter school in DC that won the math competition recently:
https://wtop.com/dc/2026/03/how-students-in-southeast-outperformed-peers-in-some-of-dcs-wealthiest-neighborhoods-on-citywide-math-test/

And it's what the main character was saying in the film Stand and Deliver, which is based on a true story.

There's nothing wrong with taking Algebra I in high school and I believe that students should be placed appropriately at their level to make sure they fully learn what's being taught.

But it seems like MCPS's solution is to try to lower the bar instead of raising the bottom to reach the bar.

At our MS you can't even get into AMP 6+ (which would get you to Algebra in 8th) unless you completed compacted math at your ES. So my 80th percentile MAP-M kid and her similarly scoring peers will all be taking Algebra 1 in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

I don't agree. Your "nuanced analysis" of calling something a scam does not make it so. My kid was so bored in grade 3 math. She finds Compacted Math 4/5 much more interesting with a cohorted group and a faster pace, I am dreading if MCPS keeps this crap decision and she has to go back to the old pace (plus repeat the stuff she already learned from 5th grade math.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

I don't agree. Your "nuanced analysis" of calling something a scam does not make it so. My kid was so bored in grade 3 math. She finds Compacted Math 4/5 much more interesting with a cohorted group and a faster pace, I am dreading if MCPS keeps this crap decision and she has to go back to the old pace (plus repeat the stuff she already learned from 5th grade math.)

And your nuanced analysis involving a sample size of one 8 year old proves my point - parents love the program, but it's not helpful in the long run. Congrats that your little one was ready for long division in 3rd grade, though. That's so amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

I don't agree. Your "nuanced analysis" of calling something a scam does not make it so. My kid was so bored in grade 3 math. She finds Compacted Math 4/5 much more interesting with a cohorted group and a faster pace, I am dreading if MCPS keeps this crap decision and she has to go back to the old pace (plus repeat the stuff she already learned from 5th grade math.)

And your nuanced analysis involving a sample size of one 8 year old proves my point - parents love the program, but it's not helpful in the long run. Congrats that your little one was ready for long division in 3rd grade, though. That's so amazing.

Feel free to disregard my experience as a parent, and the experience of many other parents who have posted on this thread. But you seem like you need to go back to elementary school and learn that just because you choose to insult something without using evidence, that doesn't mean that's the correct way to wake an argument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

I don't agree. Your "nuanced analysis" of calling something a scam does not make it so. My kid was so bored in grade 3 math. She finds Compacted Math 4/5 much more interesting with a cohorted group and a faster pace, I am dreading if MCPS keeps this crap decision and she has to go back to the old pace (plus repeat the stuff she already learned from 5th grade math.)

And your nuanced analysis involving a sample size of one 8 year old proves my point - parents love the program, but it's not helpful in the long run. Congrats that your little one was ready for long division in 3rd grade, though. That's so amazing.

Is that you Niki Porter? So glad you are willing to listen to parents and what their kids need instead of making up statistics and using data improperly to try to justify taking compacted math away. /s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

I don't agree. Your "nuanced analysis" of calling something a scam does not make it so. My kid was so bored in grade 3 math. She finds Compacted Math 4/5 much more interesting with a cohorted group and a faster pace, I am dreading if MCPS keeps this crap decision and she has to go back to the old pace (plus repeat the stuff she already learned from 5th grade math.)

And your nuanced analysis involving a sample size of one 8 year old proves my point - parents love the program, but it's not helpful in the long run. Congrats that your little one was ready for long division in 3rd grade, though. That's so amazing.

Is that you Niki Porter? So glad you are willing to listen to parents and what their kids need instead of making up statistics and using data improperly to try to justify taking compacted math away. /s

Definitely sounds like MCPS central office staff-rude and badly written.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is overall a good thing. Compacted Math was pretty much a scam that just made parents feel good that their kid was getting “advanced math” when, in reality, the classes simply glossed over a skipped a lot of content so they could plow through the material. Maybe now the curriculum will allow for the depth that will pay off in the long term for kids.

I don't agree. Your "nuanced analysis" of calling something a scam does not make it so. My kid was so bored in grade 3 math. She finds Compacted Math 4/5 much more interesting with a cohorted group and a faster pace, I am dreading if MCPS keeps this crap decision and she has to go back to the old pace (plus repeat the stuff she already learned from 5th grade math.)

Could it possibly be that the eureka math was the slow paced, teach them the 5 ways to do something with long word problems that made lots of kids super bored? I’m hoping the Desmos stuff is better but gosh my kid (not in compacted) could not get thru Eureka homework most nights because of all the round about ways they had to show to get to the same damn answer. I felt it was not good for kids with attention issues. I think that’s why the kids who are naturally good at math would get so bored. Meanwhile the module tests are nothing like the homework, no long word problems or tedious stuff. But I’m not a teacher so I have no idea what their thoughts are on teaching the curriculum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not reading all 27 pages of this but advanced math students don't need to take Calc A/B then B/C. An advanced student should go right into B/C. WTF is MCPS doing

We need a competent Chief Academic Officer- Niki Porter isn’t good enough.

She is terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's an election in a matter of weeks, and Board of Ed seats are on there. As they are non-partisan, they are on every ballot, regardless of party affiliation. Remember to vote.

Montoya is the only incumbent running, and she is unopposed.