Algebra I - 7th grade expectations

[Anonymous]

The pacing for math classes is now determined pretty exclusively by the district. We have pacing guides and assessment windows that are being strictly enforced (at least at my school). We used to have more freedom to slow down when our students needed more time and then make it up later in the year.

This is supposed to ensure that students are having the same expectations/experience across schools, and that if a student moves, they will be able to jump right in at the new school without gaps.

[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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

There are kids who love math and are really good at it that have been attending outside math programs because FCPS does not have resources in place to handle kids who are even farther ahead in math then the AAP/Advanced Math acceleration. There are kids who have been in said programs because their parents think that acceleration is important, see the repeated threads on how to get 5th and 6th graders into Algebra on this forum. So yes, there are a good number of kids who have been exposed to Algebra before and find the material this year to be less challenging than other students. DS has taken a math competition class since 4th grade, he loves the class. He has been finding Algebra 1 to be not easy but not challenging either. The pacing of the class is fine for him. He has not had much homework and does not feel stressed by the tests. But he is used to timed tests and having to explain his answers because he has been doing that since 4th grade.

I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

This was our experience so if you are one of the families not getting outside tutoring, make sure your kid knows that other kids are or this is when kids who once loved math may start to think they are not as good in math as they thought. That thinking is entirely false, but may feel like it if the rest of the class already knows a concept. Suddenly your kid getting it in 5 minutes may seem slow v fast, because everyone else in class didn’t even need those 5 minutes. Make sure kid knows they are NOT behind if they are actually learning Algebra IN the class- that was originally how meant to learn it and they can still do well. Just others for whatever reason may already know things, but that doesn’t mean your kid not still on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

There are kids who love math and are really good at it that have been attending outside math programs because FCPS does not have resources in place to handle kids who are even farther ahead in math then the AAP/Advanced Math acceleration. There are kids who have been in said programs because their parents think that acceleration is important, see the repeated threads on how to get 5th and 6th graders into Algebra on this forum. So yes, there are a good number of kids who have been exposed to Algebra before and find the material this year to be less challenging than other students. DS has taken a math competition class since 4th grade, he loves the class. He has been finding Algebra 1 to be not easy but not challenging either. The pacing of the class is fine for him. He has not had much homework and does not feel stressed by the tests. But he is used to timed tests and having to explain his answers because he has been doing that since 4th grade.

I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I went to TJ in the late '90s/early '00s. Teachers absolutely will teach in less depth if the class is more ahead. Doesn't matter if the teacher is amazing or terrible (and I had both), they all teach to the top if they have a top.

That said, at our mid-SES AAP center I only knew of 2 or 3 kids in outside math enrichment and many more who made Algebra 1 Honors. Find me a middle school where more than 50% of the 7th graders in Algebra have done AOPS or RSM. I bet it doesn't exist. Too many other possible extracurriculars for kids to do. The people who post on here as if it's every kid are suffering from serious selection bias in their circles.

And FTR my kid is fine in Algebra 1 as a 7th grader without outside math enrichment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

There are kids who love math and are really good at it that have been attending outside math programs because FCPS does not have resources in place to handle kids who are even farther ahead in math then the AAP/Advanced Math acceleration. There are kids who have been in said programs because their parents think that acceleration is important, see the repeated threads on how to get 5th and 6th graders into Algebra on this forum. So yes, there are a good number of kids who have been exposed to Algebra before and find the material this year to be less challenging than other students. DS has taken a math competition class since 4th grade, he loves the class. He has been finding Algebra 1 to be not easy but not challenging either. The pacing of the class is fine for him. He has not had much homework and does not feel stressed by the tests. But he is used to timed tests and having to explain his answers because he has been doing that since 4th grade.

I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I went to TJ in the late '90s/early '00s. Teachers absolutely will teach in less depth if the class is more ahead. Doesn't matter if the teacher is amazing or terrible (and I had both), they all teach to the top if they have a top.

That said, at our mid-SES AAP center I only knew of 2 or 3 kids in outside math enrichment and many more who made Algebra 1 Honors. Find me a middle school where more than 50% of the 7th graders in Algebra have done AOPS or RSM. I bet it doesn't exist. Too many other possible extracurriculars for kids to do. The people who post on here as if it's every kid are suffering from serious selection bias in their circles.

And FTR my kid is fine in Algebra 1 as a 7th grader without outside math enrichment.

Longfellow. This exists at Longfellow.

[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.

+ 1
People seem to want it both ways. They want their kid to be accelerated but they also want it to be easy. And if it’s not easy, it’s the teacher’s fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

There are kids who love math and are really good at it that have been attending outside math programs because FCPS does not have resources in place to handle kids who are even farther ahead in math then the AAP/Advanced Math acceleration. There are kids who have been in said programs because their parents think that acceleration is important, see the repeated threads on how to get 5th and 6th graders into Algebra on this forum. So yes, there are a good number of kids who have been exposed to Algebra before and find the material this year to be less challenging than other students. DS has taken a math competition class since 4th grade, he loves the class. He has been finding Algebra 1 to be not easy but not challenging either. The pacing of the class is fine for him. He has not had much homework and does not feel stressed by the tests. But he is used to timed tests and having to explain his answers because he has been doing that since 4th grade.

I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I went to TJ in the late '90s/early '00s. Teachers absolutely will teach in less depth if the class is more ahead. Doesn't matter if the teacher is amazing or terrible (and I had both), they all teach to the top if they have a top.

That said, at our mid-SES AAP center I only knew of 2 or 3 kids in outside math enrichment and many more who made Algebra 1 Honors. Find me a middle school where more than 50% of the 7th graders in Algebra have done AOPS or RSM. I bet it doesn't exist. Too many other possible extracurriculars for kids to do. The people who post on here as if it's every kid are suffering from serious selection bias in their circles.

And FTR my kid is fine in Algebra 1 as a 7th grader without outside math enrichment.

I would bet that Carson has over 50% of the kids in Algebra 1 in 7th grade who have been involved in math enrichment, which does not have to mean AoPS or RSM. Enrichment could be Mathnasium, Sylvian, Curie, language school (I know some cover math in the native language) or individual tutoring. There are about 1,600 kids taking Algebra 1 H in 7th grade, if the numbers are similar this year as the past few years. It is not hard for me to believe that 800 of those kids have participated in some form of math enrichment program across the county. I can easily get to 150 kids through the known classes at RSM's FCPS locations and AoPS, never mind the other options. DS has friends from a rec sport he plays who were in his class because their parents wanted to make sure their kid was in Algebra in 7th, they dropped the class this year after getting into Algebra.

I have no doubt that there are kids doing well in Algebra 1 H at 7th graders who have no outside enrichment, we know plenty of kids who did well in the class without enrichment. We know other kids who participated in enrichment and found the class easy. We know people whose kids are in an Algebra class while taking the class to make sure that they get an A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

There are kids who love math and are really good at it that have been attending outside math programs because FCPS does not have resources in place to handle kids who are even farther ahead in math then the AAP/Advanced Math acceleration. There are kids who have been in said programs because their parents think that acceleration is important, see the repeated threads on how to get 5th and 6th graders into Algebra on this forum. So yes, there are a good number of kids who have been exposed to Algebra before and find the material this year to be less challenging than other students. DS has taken a math competition class since 4th grade, he loves the class. He has been finding Algebra 1 to be not easy but not challenging either. The pacing of the class is fine for him. He has not had much homework and does not feel stressed by the tests. But he is used to timed tests and having to explain his answers because he has been doing that since 4th grade.

I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I went to TJ in the late '90s/early '00s. Teachers absolutely will teach in less depth if the class is more ahead. Doesn't matter if the teacher is amazing or terrible (and I had both), they all teach to the top if they have a top.

That said, at our mid-SES AAP center I only knew of 2 or 3 kids in outside math enrichment and many more who made Algebra 1 Honors. Find me a middle school where more than 50% of the 7th graders in Algebra have done AOPS or RSM. I bet it doesn't exist. Too many other possible extracurriculars for kids to do. The people who post on here as if it's every kid are suffering from serious selection bias in their circles.

And FTR my kid is fine in Algebra 1 as a 7th grader without outside math enrichment.

Longfellow. This exists at Longfellow.

Would guess most feeder schools but can only speak to Cooper and Rocky Run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Many of kids in class had already taken Algebra prior to start of class so the MS math was review and afterschool they were taking next level course (so next year math in school will also be review for those students). The other half had tutors for most part. The teacher also addressed class as review as it was a review for majority there. Was odd.

There are kids who love math and are really good at it that have been attending outside math programs because FCPS does not have resources in place to handle kids who are even farther ahead in math then the AAP/Advanced Math acceleration. There are kids who have been in said programs because their parents think that acceleration is important, see the repeated threads on how to get 5th and 6th graders into Algebra on this forum. So yes, there are a good number of kids who have been exposed to Algebra before and find the material this year to be less challenging than other students. DS has taken a math competition class since 4th grade, he loves the class. He has been finding Algebra 1 to be not easy but not challenging either. The pacing of the class is fine for him. He has not had much homework and does not feel stressed by the tests. But he is used to timed tests and having to explain his answers because he has been doing that since 4th grade.

I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I went to TJ in the late '90s/early '00s. Teachers absolutely will teach in less depth if the class is more ahead. Doesn't matter if the teacher is amazing or terrible (and I had both), they all teach to the top if they have a top.

That said, at our mid-SES AAP center I only knew of 2 or 3 kids in outside math enrichment and many more who made Algebra 1 Honors. Find me a middle school where more than 50% of the 7th graders in Algebra have done AOPS or RSM. I bet it doesn't exist. Too many other possible extracurriculars for kids to do. The people who post on here as if it's every kid are suffering from serious selection bias in their circles.

And FTR my kid is fine in Algebra 1 as a 7th grader without outside math enrichment.

Longfellow. This exists at Longfellow.

And when Vern was teaching there, I'd guess it was close to 100% of kids in his classes who were enriched.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I would disagree with this. Teachers are guided by the level of the majority of the kids in the class, and many teachers will teach toward the middle in an honors class. If a lot of kids are weaker, the teacher will spend a lot more time reviewing and covering the basic curriculum in a ton of detail, but they may not do many of the extensions. If the kids in the class already seem to know the material, the teacher is more likely to move at a faster pace and provide more extensions. It is likely that the Honors Algebra I class at Longfellow is a lot harder than the Honors Algebra class at one of the lower SES middle schools. If your kid isn't doing prep at a school like Longfellow, Algebra I will likely be much harder than it truly ought to be. It doesn't mean the class will be too challenging for a kid not doing outside math, but it does mean that the kid will need to work harder, spend more time on homework, and go to teacher hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I doubt Teachers are skimming through work because some kids are farther ahead. I think they are sticking to a curriculum that has been approved by the school. I think the curriculum is supposed to move at this pace. The Honors class has extensions that the normal Algebra class does not have. They are covering a lot of material that is more complicated, is demanding, and they are expected to pick it up quickly.

I would disagree with this. Teachers are guided by the level of the majority of the kids in the class, and many teachers will teach toward the middle in an honors class. If a lot of kids are weaker, the teacher will spend a lot more time reviewing and covering the basic curriculum in a ton of detail, but they may not do many of the extensions. If the kids in the class already seem to know the material, the teacher is more likely to move at a faster pace and provide more extensions. It is likely that the Honors Algebra I class at Longfellow is a lot harder than the Honors Algebra class at one of the lower SES middle schools. If your kid isn't doing prep at a school like Longfellow, Algebra I will likely be much harder than it truly ought to be. It doesn't mean the class will be too challenging for a kid not doing outside math, but it does mean that the kid will need to work harder, spend more time on homework, and go to teacher hours.

By 7th grade OP probably knows if she's at one of the schools where enrichment is a thing, unless she's literally never stood at the bus stop/walker pick-up with her kid.

[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.

At Longfellow, there is one really good Alg H teacher and two who are very mediocre to downright bad. If your child has one of the "Ps", it may have more to do with the teaching quality than the student quality. Get her some tutoring to shore up what the teacher isn't capable of doing and hang in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD has been in level IV AAP throughout, scored in the 98th percentile last year on the IAAT with zero tutoring. She is self-motivated and works hard, but 7th grade has been unexpectedly challenging. In her own words, she can work her way through the assignments but it is very time consuming. She typically has an hour+ of homework/night for math. She’s frustrated that she doesn’t have time to review and study upcoming material because she has used up all her time working through equations. She has a B+ at the end of the 1st quarter, but received a D on the first exam of the second quarter. She feels like the teacher is moving too quickly through teaching the material, not that she is incapable of doing it. How can we best support her? (She is not alone, more than half the class is in the same boat as far as we can tell, with 1-3 kids who are excelling.)

+1 at Longfellow

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD has been in level IV AAP throughout, scored in the 98th percentile last year on the IAAT with zero tutoring. She is self-motivated and works hard, but 7th grade has been unexpectedly challenging. In her own words, she can work her way through the assignments but it is very time consuming. She typically has an hour+ of homework/night for math. She’s frustrated that she doesn’t have time to review and study upcoming material because she has used up all her time working through equations. She has a B+ at the end of the 1st quarter, but received a D on the first exam of the second quarter. She feels like the teacher is moving too quickly through teaching the material, not that she is incapable of doing it. How can we best support her? (She is not alone, more than half the class is in the same boat as far as we can tell, with 1-3 kids who are excelling.)

+1 at Longfellow

Our kids must be in the same class. Lessons taught by video and there is ridiculously difficult grading. My child’s friend has a different teacher and doesn’t lose as many points for the same error.