Not being in Math 4/5?
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Anonymous
| HI. My DD is in the "grade level math" this year at her elementary school (Whitman Cluster). How will this affect her down the road as far as math is concerned? Will she still be on a track to take Calculus in high school? Or does this set her up to be behind other more advanced math students? |
Anonymous
Yes, she is on track to take calculus in 12th grade. Yes, she will be behind more advanced math students -- by definition. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/math/math-curriculum-plan.aspx |
Anonymous
Your DD is on track to take Calc in 12th grade. This is considered "on level" under C2.0. But, it will be 1 year behind some kids who have been offered compacted 4/5/6 math in 4/5 grade; those kids will take Calc in 11th grade and be able to take another math in 12th grade. Some things to consider -- currently students must take 4 years of math in HS to graduate. Those who take Calc earlier than 12th grade must have a total of 4 math credits in HS to graduate unless they file paperwork to be excused from further math (currently permitted). So, if your child doesn't really like math, it's not like they'll get out of it earlier and be able to do other stuff (unless they file the paperwork). Also, it may mean being mixed in classes with older kids in HS (could be 10th, 11th and 12th graders in one Calc class). If your child does like math, they can continue after Calc with college-level math outside of HS thru MCPS credit arrangements or they can take another AP math like AP Stats. |
Anonymous
| 14:14 and 14:19 - you're awesome. THanks for your posts. I had visions of my daughter not being in enough math to have a solid college application..all due to what happened in 3rd grade. Yikes. |
Anonymous
| Our DS also did not get placed into Compacted Math. We inquired with our school and we're told that they will be re-assessing kids in September to see if there are others who qualify. So you may still have a chance, OP. |
Anonymous
| OP, she is on track to work as a toll collector on the Jersey turnpike. Get a grip. |
Anonymous
| PP- nasty and unnecessary. |
Anonymous
| There seems to more chances in middle school to "catch up" to the higher group. |
Anonymous
I would just add to this -- in general, IMO, getting to Calc in high school is critical for two things -- a competitive application to a top-ranking school (although it's no guarantee of admission) and having a student who has enough math preparation to be able to pick any college major without starting out behind. Calculus is a prerequisite for many science classes. If you haven't already done it by the time you start college, you will have to do it first year and delay taking science courses until later. Kids who are interested in going to a college well known for it's math/science/engineering may do better if they have more than Calc. All that said, it's really hard to predict what kids will be interested in when they're in 4th grade (which is when the compacted math track starts now). So, there are other ways of "catching up" -- taking a math course over the summer or taking an extra year to finish college so you can do a science major, etc. |
Anonymous
|
Thanks to the helpful PP(s) who posted the link to the curriculum and explanation. I have found the school's communication re compacted math to be dismal. As in: last year, I discovered the existence of compacted math from my 4th grade DD who mentioned that there was an advanced math class. No notification of the existence of this class to parents of children who were not selected.
My daughter is a good, solid math student (with several ESs in math topics on her report card and scoring advanced on standardized tests). No teacher has mentioned compacted math for her. I decided that I did not want to push it. I looked at the "standard" common core progression, and in my opinion, that actually *is* an accelerated track already! I was an advanced math student myself, above grade level in a competitive private school, and followed the exact progression of the standard common core track (AP Calc in my senior year). This was an appropriately challenging speed for me. I was a really good math student, but not headed to study math in college. I think that the number of students who are truly ready to do AP Calc in Jr year of high school are very few. This year in my daughter's school, more than 1/4 of the class is in the compacted math class. It is the largest math class (by number of students). I'm feeling pretty comfortable with my daughter's placement at the moment. I completely understand/relate to the OP's concern. Lack of transparency by the school exacerbates those worries! |
Anonymous
|
My elementary school had no communication about compacted math other than a letter IF you were placed. No letter if you were not placed and no idea what it even was. I was walking around the end of 3rd grade like what IS compacted math.
I'm pretty happy my son isn't in compacted math b/c my school does it bussing the kids to the local middle school and the bus leaves crazy early. My son is one of those kids who needs a lot of sleep, and I kind of think for my kid, he is better off sleeping until 8 then bussing for advanced math. But every kid is different. |
Anonymous
| I suppose the school doesn't want to hear from parents whose kids aren't in compacted math, but I still think they have an obligation to notify and own their decisions. |
Anonymous
| Not sure how people don't know about this. I researched what options were out there for my good math student and confirmed at the teacher conferences in 3rd grade that my child was being tested. |
Anonymous
|
"Not sure how people don't know about this. I researched what options were out there for my good math student and confirmed at the teacher conferences in 3rd grade that my child was being tested."
because it is hard to know what you don't know. If you are unaware it is out there how would you even know to ask about this? |
Anonymous
| Because if you don't have an older child or friends with older kids and it would never occur to you to do research that there are other options b.c MCPS says there is no differentiation, and no one has ever used the term "compacted math" before |