Algebra in 6th grade - new selection process?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a poor, haphazard decision by Gatehouse. We are opting out but now my child is thinking if they should be doing it because some of their friends are doing the class. My school also did a Math 7 assessment this week to see if the kids who had qualified based off of SOL scores and iReady have an understanding of the content taught in Math 7. My child’s scored above the (75%) benchmark they were looking for. My child is now confused and I’m so annoyed at Gatehouse for putting the kids in this dilemma for no reason. There is absolutely no advantage of doing algebra 1 in 6th grade even if you want to major and do a Ph.D in math later on. Let the kids enjoy their last year of elementary school without worrying about midterms and finals!

FCPS elementary school is already a year longer than most elementary schools.

If you mean 6th grade should be part of middle school, that still doesn’t make it ok to be pushing 11 yr olds towards a high school level course when they should be focusing on building a strong foundation for later courses in math. I asked the school admin if there was an advantage to taking this in 6th grade and said there is no advantage at all and all students in AAP will end up on the same math path in high school.

That's not quite true. They *could* end up on the same path, but they could also go beyond. Whether that's an advantage? Depends on what you're measuring. An advantage for college admissions? Probably not. An advantage for not being bored and losing interest in math in 6th grade? Probably. If you don't think your child would be bored this year (or don't think being bored is going to cause any lasting issues), then there is probably no value.

[Anonymous]

Are these using Gradebook?

[Anonymous]

One could argue there's no advantage to AAP either, since all kids end up in honors/AP classes by the time they hit middle school. Most would argue that there is still benefit, as it keeps kids engaged and sometimes challenged vs. letting them coast entirely.

This is just a more extreme version of that.

I don't think it's likely all 50% of AAP students identified need that extra, but I don't doubt that a percent will benefit. Having the course available isn't the issue, it's pushing kids into it automatically based on a data point without looking at the kid as a whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a poor, haphazard decision by Gatehouse. We are opting out but now my child is thinking if they should be doing it because some of their friends are doing the class. My school also did a Math 7 assessment this week to see if the kids who had qualified based off of SOL scores and iReady have an understanding of the content taught in Math 7. My child’s scored above the (75%) benchmark they were looking for. My child is now confused and I’m so annoyed at Gatehouse for putting the kids in this dilemma for no reason. There is absolutely no advantage of doing algebra 1 in 6th grade even if you want to major and do a Ph.D in math later on. Let the kids enjoy their last year of elementary school without worrying about midterms and finals!

FCPS elementary school is already a year longer than most elementary schools.

If you mean 6th grade should be part of middle school, that still doesn’t make it ok to be pushing 11 yr olds towards a high school level course when they should be focusing on building a strong foundation for later courses in math. I asked the school admin if there was an advantage to taking this in 6th grade and said there is no advantage at all and all students in AAP will end up on the same math path in high school.

That's not quite true. They *could* end up on the same path, but they could also go beyond. Whether that's an advantage? Depends on what you're measuring. An advantage for college admissions? Probably not. An advantage for not being bored and losing interest in math in 6th grade? Probably. If you don't think your child would be bored this year (or don't think being bored is going to cause any lasting issues), then there is probably no value.

My child scored an 80% on the math 7 assessment so will probably know most of the content taught but I can’t keep pushing them to higher level courses because I fear they will be ‘bored’. As an adult we have to sit through presentations and countless meetings and learn to engage even if the content is boring. Anyways of course this is the parents call but I have decided against it. My child might want to do geometry in the summer before 8th grade but I have no idea if they will be ready for it and we’ll make that decision together when the time comes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is such a poor, haphazard decision by Gatehouse. We are opting out but now my child is thinking if they should be doing it because some of their friends are doing the class. My school also did a Math 7 assessment this week to see if the kids who had qualified based off of SOL scores and iReady have an understanding of the content taught in Math 7. My child’s scored above the (75%) benchmark they were looking for. My child is now confused and I’m so annoyed at Gatehouse for putting the kids in this dilemma for no reason. There is absolutely no advantage of doing algebra 1 in 6th grade even if you want to major and do a Ph.D in math later on. Let the kids enjoy their last year of elementary school without worrying about midterms and finals!

FCPS elementary school is already a year longer than most elementary schools.

If you mean 6th grade should be part of middle school, that still doesn’t make it ok to be pushing 11 yr olds towards a high school level course when they should be focusing on building a strong foundation for later courses in math. I asked the school admin if there was an advantage to taking this in 6th grade and said there is no advantage at all and all students in AAP will end up on the same math path in high school.

That's not quite true. They *could* end up on the same path, but they could also go beyond. Whether that's an advantage? Depends on what you're measuring. An advantage for college admissions? Probably not. An advantage for not being bored and losing interest in math in 6th grade? Probably. If you don't think your child would be bored this year (or don't think being bored is going to cause any lasting issues), then there is probably no value.

My child scored an 80% on the math 7 assessment so will probably know most of the content taught but I can’t keep pushing them to higher level courses because I fear they will be ‘bored’. As an adult we have to sit through presentations and countless meetings and learn to engage even if the content is boring. Anyways of course this is the parents call but I have decided against it. My child might want to do geometry in the summer before 8th grade but I have no idea if they will be ready for it and we’ll make that decision together when the time comes.

We told DS to view the class as excellent skills practice, which would help him as he moved into higher level math in MS and HS. He was taking a competition math class where he learned new concepts and was challenged. Math at school was a place to practice foundational skills.

[Anonymous]

Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One could argue there's no advantage to AAP either, since all kids end up in honors/AP classes by the time they hit middle school. Most would argue that there is still benefit, as it keeps kids engaged and sometimes challenged vs. letting them coast entirely.

This is just a more extreme version of that.

I don't think it's likely all 50% of AAP students identified need that extra, but I don't doubt that a percent will benefit. Having the course available isn't the issue, it's pushing kids into it automatically based on a data point without looking at the kid as a whole.

At our school at least they also got feedback from 5th grade teachers about which students might benefit from the class. Then the AP called parents to discuss whether their child should take the class. It was still up to the parents, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

What school? Or what region? Is this one doing virtual, at MS or was it to be in person at the ES?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

Our school didn’t start today either. Kid came home saying they studied the “real number system” which isn’t an algebra standard at all.

Hmmm…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

Our school didn’t start today either. Kid came home saying they studied the “real number system” which isn’t an algebra standard at all.

Hmmm…

My kid the real number system last year in Alg 1 HN in middle school.

[Anonymous]

Along with the Math 7 Content Assessment Score, did anyone get a breakdown of the assessment? We only got the score but no breakdown.

[Anonymous]

My kid told me many of their friends in Algebra class opt out and return to Math 7 after 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

Our school didn’t start today either. Kid came home saying they studied the “real number system” which isn’t an algebra standard at all.

Hmmm…

My kid the real number system last year in Alg 1 HN in middle school.

That's a M8/Prealgebra standard. I don't know why teachers are covering it. It's not anywhere in the Algebra 1 standards.

Algebra 1: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48985/638603403347570000
M8: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48945/638741652670270000 (8.NS.2 The student will investigate and describe the relationship between the subsets of the real number system.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

Our school didn’t start today either. Kid came home saying they studied the “real number system” which isn’t an algebra standard at all.

Hmmm…

My kid the real number system last year in Alg 1 HN in middle school.

That's a M8/Prealgebra standard. I don't know why teachers are covering it. It's not anywhere in the Algebra 1 standards.

Algebra 1: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48985/638603403347570000
M8: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48945/638741652670270000 (8.NS.2 The student will investigate and describe the relationship between the subsets of the real number system.)

Maybe because it is important and they know kids have not learned it yet? The one benefit to A1H in 6th is that there will be math every day, vs the block structure, so there might be more time to cover some of the basics before diving into the A1H material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school was supposed to start algebra 1 today but apparently there were some delays and the teacher wasn’t there and they aren’t sure if they will start this week. Two weeks in and the students have not taken a single algebra class. This seems to have all the hallmarks of a disaster!

Our school didn’t start today either. Kid came home saying they studied the “real number system” which isn’t an algebra standard at all.

Hmmm…

My kid the real number system last year in Alg 1 HN in middle school.

That's a M8/Prealgebra standard. I don't know why teachers are covering it. It's not anywhere in the Algebra 1 standards.

Algebra 1: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48985/638603403347570000
M8: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/48945/638741652670270000 (8.NS.2 The student will investigate and describe the relationship between the subsets of the real number system.)

Maybe because it is important and they know kids have not learned it yet? The one benefit to A1H in 6th is that there will be math every day, vs the block structure, so there might be more time to cover some of the basics before diving into the A1H material.

But how long is the math every day?

And, as covered previously, the MS 6th graders are getting an extra 90m study hall in their schedule with the Algebra teacher containing only 6th-grade Algebra students to cover missed topics. I still see being in the MS for this pilot as having a number of advantages over being in the ES.