Any smart kid learns math on their own without the school class. |
If everything is working properly, we should see Math 6 SOL scores drop, both participants and scores, and Math 5 SOL scores rise. |
Working properly from whose perspective? If I'm reading your post correctly, you expect fewer 5th graders/participants will take the Math 6 SOL and thus more will take the Math 5 SOL. That's plausible as heterogenous classes in grades 3 & 4 may not prepare kids as well for advanced math. But, given that the argument in favor of E3 is that it will open the door for more kids to take advanced math, your scenario would mean that E3 has failed in its goal. That outcome would not seem to be working properly from FCPS's perspective. No? |
Of course it is. 8th grade Algebra is advanced and that's the goal explicitly set by FCPS. We do not need to spend resources on putting kids into 7th grade algebra, plus it's not equitable. If they meet the requirements, so be it, but the goal is to bring everyone up to 8th grade algebra. So in this model more kids get exposed to the advanced math concepts in the heterogenous classes as preparation for better Math outcomes along that track. It helps close the gap too. |
| This is really hard on teachers to implement. And it does not take into account the special ed kids who need the regular lessons at a slow and steady pace. Not everyone needs acceleration. |
Because if you compare the curriculum between AAP and GenEd for anything besides math, you will see that it's really not all that different. In the long run, AAP will result in 1-2 years ahead in the HS math course sequence. Once 9th grade starts, AAP makes no difference, it's either Honors, AP, or IB which is open to everyone. Not the case for every school or teacher of course, but on the whole really not that advanced outside of math. |
Ah, I see. In your scenario, FCPS will be mainly interested in 5th grade SOL scores to ensure that more kids are on track to take algebra in 8th. That's plausible. The one wrinkle is that if there is a drop-off in 5th graders taking the Math 6 SOL/scoring poorly in E3 schools, FCPS will likely hear concerns voiced by parents of advanced math students across FCPS. But, of course, that assumes parents are able to analyze scores in E3 schools. If no one knows what schools are doing E3, that analysis will be hard to do and the risk of potential parent backlash is reduced. |
That’s just what the FCPS PIIP states regarding e3 as a tool to achieve greater 8th grade algebra. Merging classes with differing levels is difficult and 7th grade Algebra is not the goal. It seems likely that the most advanced students will lose a bit of advancement. The E3 curriculum is also slower than the previous 4th grade advanced math. So for the same reason that some students will benefit from more advanced content to accelerate them to 8th grade Algebra, some students progress towards 7th grade algebra will be hindered due to less acceleration early on. I don’t think anyone is going to have much of an issue with these results even if the schools were known. It’s really not that big of a deal. |
|
So with E3 math, where do they make the jump so that they can do algebra 1 in 8th? It has to happen somewhere. Right now, outside of the pilots, the jump happens mainly in 4th grade where they do 4th and 5th grade math and then in 5th grade they are ready for the 6th grade curriculum.
My 5th grader, who did the e3 pilot does not seem ready for 6th grade math and from what I’ve heard, neither are his classmates. So with E3, would they just skip from 6th grade math to 7th grade honors math (that’s a year of curriculum skipped) and then 8th grade honors algebra? |
Agree merging classes with differing levels is difficult. While some parents may not feel strongly about 7th grade algebra, others do so it will be interesting to see what parent reaction is like if the 7th grade algebra share does erode with E3. But the bigger issue is with heterogenous classes themselves. Many families move to FCPS precisely because of its advanced elementary classes. VMPI's proposal for heterogenous secondary classes was a big reason for its demise so it is surprising that FCPS is making a similar heterogenous push now, just with elementary. While E3 as described would still get kids to 8th grade algebra in theory, current advanced math kids would lose the beneficial peer effect they currently have and kids needing a slower pace would lose out too. If FCPS continues to expand use of E3 in elementary schools, that will be a big deal. |
Eh. I don’t know. This is what the hard work of equity looks like and the county seems very supportive of this. |
| How do you know if your kid is doing E3 math? |
+2000 This is why they simply need flexible groupings among grade levels for ALL kids. Forget AAP. Some kids are highly advanced in one subject over all others, some kids are advanced across the board, and some kids are not advanced. Having each teacher handle one level each (per core subject) and letting kids move up or down as needed makes so much more sense than locking them into two separate groups/tracks. |
+1 Which is why AAP is ridiculously unnecessary if flexible groupings would be used. And before anyone jumps in to screech that "one teacher can't handle multiple different groups!!" - that's not what I'm talking about. Each teacher would take one group. Among grade level teams, which are usually made up of 5-6 teachers, that would be plenty. |
Wow. Reason 1,424,895 to get rid of AAP and just offer flexible groupings. Toxic parents like you produce toxic kids. |