6th Grade Math Options

[Anonymous]

The google doc was guidance that applied to last year's decision making for the current school year. This year, there should be different guidance for 2022-23 placement since there have been fewer gaps and there has been more time to plan reintegration of skipped curriculum from 2020-21 (including Spring 2020) into later years' classes. I still expect there to be some differences from the way things were decided pre-pandemic, but it should be closer to normal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

Your post is confusing. How do ES kids do AIM except if they go take it at the local middle school? If that is what you want, then you need to talk talk to the principal and see if your child can go to the MS to take AIM. You may need to drive them and it may be a scheduling issue as the ES and MS schedules don't line up.

Generally kids who take Algebra in 6th are not taking AIM. It is annoying because you may know a rare child who did AIM in 5th but that was specific to that child and not at all standard. Their parents probably fought to get them into AIM and the parents drive or the school bused them over to the MS. I haven't heard of one ES offering AIM, have you?

AIM is pre algebra. You can also just pay for an algebra prep class or pre-algebra over the summer if you are worried.

What answer do you want? You are looking for a unicorn and you need to talk to your ES or MS, not strangers on the internet.

There is no advantage of starting Algebra in 6th vs. 7th. Our child wanted to do it at they hated the strategies that came with compacted and lower math levels. I would have waited till 7th if it was my decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The google doc was guidance that applied to last year's decision making for the current school year. This year, there should be different guidance for 2022-23 placement since there have been fewer gaps and there has been more time to plan reintegration of skipped curriculum from 2020-21 (including Spring 2020) into later years' classes. I still expect there to be some differences from the way things were decided pre-pandemic, but it should be closer to normal.

Should[i] being the operative word. I think the powers that be in central are trying to slow down the math pathway, not support acceleration and enrichment. The attempt to use pandemic as an excuse to slow everyone down got strongly opposed by parents last year, who heard about it via teacher leaks not direct communication from Central, so it became "a thing," which caused Central to backtrack a bit last Spring. ES parents with a math kid should assume that they will have to keep pushing for appropriate math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

Your post is confusing. How do ES kids do AIM except if they go take it at the local middle school? If that is what you want, then you need to talk talk to the principal and see if your child can go to the MS to take AIM. You may need to drive them and it may be a scheduling issue as the ES and MS schedules don't line up.

Generally kids who take Algebra in 6th are not taking AIM. It is annoying because you may know a rare child who did AIM in 5th but that was specific to that child and not at all standard. Their parents probably fought to get them into AIM and the parents drive or the school bused them over to the MS. I haven't heard of one ES offering AIM, have you?

AIM is pre algebra. You can also just pay for an algebra prep class or pre-algebra over the summer if you are worried.

What answer do you want? You are looking for a unicorn and you need to talk to your ES or MS, not strangers on the internet.

There is no advantage of starting Algebra in 6th vs. 7th. Our child wanted to do it at they hated the strategies that came with compacted and lower math levels. I would have waited till 7th if it was my decision.

PP with math kid here. The PP's post you're confused by isn't from me. I'm not annoyed by any of the information people have been kind enough to share and will do the work on my own to figure out what of it may be relevant to us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

Your post is confusing. How do ES kids do AIM except if they go take it at the local middle school? If that is what you want, then you need to talk talk to the principal and see if your child can go to the MS to take AIM. You may need to drive them and it may be a scheduling issue as the ES and MS schedules don't line up.

Generally kids who take Algebra in 6th are not taking AIM. It is annoying because you may know a rare child who did AIM in 5th but that was specific to that child and not at all standard. Their parents probably fought to get them into AIM and the parents drive or the school bused them over to the MS. I haven't heard of one ES offering AIM, have you?

AIM is pre algebra. You can also just pay for an algebra prep class or pre-algebra over the summer if you are worried.

What answer do you want? You are looking for a unicorn and you need to talk to your ES or MS, not strangers on the internet.

There is no advantage of starting Algebra in 6th vs. 7th. Our child wanted to do it at they hated the strategies that came with compacted and lower math levels. I would have waited till 7th if it was my decision.

OMG you are a difficult person. There is no standard way this is done. Did you really miss the whole point and why did you start attacking the poor PP who asked this question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

Your post is confusing. How do ES kids do AIM except if they go take it at the local middle school? If that is what you want, then you need to talk talk to the principal and see if your child can go to the MS to take AIM. You may need to drive them and it may be a scheduling issue as the ES and MS schedules don't line up.

Generally kids who take Algebra in 6th are not taking AIM. It is annoying because you may know a rare child who did AIM in 5th but that was specific to that child and not at all standard. Their parents probably fought to get them into AIM and the parents drive or the school bused them over to the MS. I haven't heard of one ES offering AIM, have you?

AIM is pre algebra. You can also just pay for an algebra prep class or pre-algebra over the summer if you are worried.

What answer do you want? You are looking for a unicorn and you need to talk to your ES or MS, not strangers on the internet.

There is no advantage of starting Algebra in 6th vs. 7th. Our child wanted to do it at they hated the strategies that came with compacted and lower math levels. I would have waited till 7th if it was my decision.

PP with math kid here. The PP's post you're confused by isn't from me. I'm not annoyed by any of the information people have been kind enough to share and will do the work on my own to figure out what of it may be relevant to us.

Sorry about that. Your best bet is to reach out to the middle school and see what they are willing to do as each MS is different and some are offering Algebra in 6th, some aren't and each have their own criteria. For us, it wasn't listed in the course guide but offered on the course registration form. We just checked Algebra to see what would happen. Other families I know they reached out to offer them Algebra if they wanted it. Some choose it, some choose AIM. AIM is just pre-algebra.

The big issue comes in 8th grade as to if the school has Algebra 2 or if your child has to go to the high school to take Algebra 2. Usually MCPS will bus the kids between the schools if they take it in HS. But, you also need to be prepared to drive/carpool as a back up.

Doing AIM in 5th would be really hard as the ES and MS schedules are very different and you'd probably have to bring your child to the MS to do it.

If you are leaning toward it, you can also do courses others list here such as APOS to supplement in 5th grade. We opted to do summer classes vs. school year classes. There are private schools that offer prep classes over the summer (or full courses you can use as prep classes to see if your child can handle that level of math and give them prep/another way to do it). We find them really helpful.

Honestly, I think its pretty pointless to do it in 6th, but my child wanted it. You still need four years of math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

Your post is confusing. How do ES kids do AIM except if they go take it at the local middle school? If that is what you want, then you need to talk talk to the principal and see if your child can go to the MS to take AIM. You may need to drive them and it may be a scheduling issue as the ES and MS schedules don't line up.

Generally kids who take Algebra in 6th are not taking AIM. It is annoying because you may know a rare child who did AIM in 5th but that was specific to that child and not at all standard. Their parents probably fought to get them into AIM and the parents drive or the school bused them over to the MS. I haven't heard of one ES offering AIM, have you?

AIM is pre algebra. You can also just pay for an algebra prep class or pre-algebra over the summer if you are worried.

What answer do you want? You are looking for a unicorn and you need to talk to your ES or MS, not strangers on the internet.

There is no advantage of starting Algebra in 6th vs. 7th. Our child wanted to do it at they hated the strategies that came with compacted and lower math levels. I would have waited till 7th if it was my decision.

PP with math kid here. The PP's post you're confused by isn't from me. I'm not annoyed by any of the information people have been kind enough to share and will do the work on my own to figure out what of it may be relevant to us.

Sorry about that. Your best bet is to reach out to the middle school and see what they are willing to do as each MS is different and some are offering Algebra in 6th, some aren't and each have their own criteria. For us, it wasn't listed in the course guide but offered on the course registration form. We just checked Algebra to see what would happen. Other families I know they reached out to offer them Algebra if they wanted it. Some choose it, some choose AIM. AIM is just pre-algebra.

The big issue comes in 8th grade as to if the school has Algebra 2 or if your child has to go to the high school to take Algebra 2. Usually MCPS will bus the kids between the schools if they take it in HS. But, you also need to be prepared to drive/carpool as a back up.

Doing AIM in 5th would be really hard as the ES and MS schedules are very different and you'd probably have to bring your child to the MS to do it.

If you are leaning toward it, you can also do courses others list here such as APOS to supplement in 5th grade. We opted to do summer classes vs. school year classes. There are private schools that offer prep classes over the summer (or full courses you can use as prep classes to see if your child can handle that level of math and give them prep/another way to do it). We find them really helpful.

Honestly, I think its pretty pointless to do it in 6th, but my child wanted it. You still need four years of math.

So, in the typical school, if still super strong in math the Alegebra in 6th crowd can take BC Calc in 10th, Mutlivariable Calc in 11th, and AP Statistics in 12th (or something at Montgomery College).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, the more information the post the more nervous I get about accidentally IDing him, but he has been taking higher level math classes outside of school and doing well, which is both good for him (it's challenging, keeps him humble, and teaches him how to work) and contributing to the boredom problem at school big time. He's slated for Lakelands.

I’m sorry. So you are sending him to an outside math school that exposes him to untaught content and then bragging about a map score that reflects access to advanced/untaught content? And that you say is directly contributing to his boredom in school? It is not a race to skip foundational levels of math at age 9. It’s fine if he enjoys the outside math but I think it’s a stretch to say his map score indicates he’s an extreme outlier especially since he’s being tutored in the content outside of school.

What are you sorry about? No, I'm not bragging about his MAP score, I'm not even sure what it is, I don't even know what that test covers. I provided it to the best of my recollection because a PP specifically asked. I don't care about how he does on a standardized multiple choice math test and I totally agree it's not evidence that he's an extreme outlier. He's not skipping anything foundational, he's just already done everything he's doing now and I think has already done nearly everything he's slated to do in 5th grade compacted, and by the end of this year will probably have already done everything covered in AIM. He enjoys the outside work; I won't stop him from doing it just so he won't be quite as bored in school. It's very obviously good for him, you'll have to take my word for it. But if there's another way to be less bored in school, that would be good because he's getting more and more upset about it.

Kids in Algebra in 6th don't do AIM. However, its school specific on what their criteria is and if they offer it. And, not all schools offer Algebra 2 so your child may be sent to a high school.

I've seen you post a number of times about this same topic and you always assume your child's experience is the same as everyone else's. It's getting annoying because your information is confusing people. I know a child that did do AIM before going to Alg in 6th. Every school does it differently in terms of allowing exceptions or not and in terms of the procedures they use for those exceptions if they allow them.

Your post is confusing. How do ES kids do AIM except if they go take it at the local middle school? If that is what you want, then you need to talk talk to the principal and see if your child can go to the MS to take AIM. You may need to drive them and it may be a scheduling issue as the ES and MS schedules don't line up.

Generally kids who take Algebra in 6th are not taking AIM. It is annoying because you may know a rare child who did AIM in 5th but that was specific to that child and not at all standard. Their parents probably fought to get them into AIM and the parents drive or the school bused them over to the MS. I haven't heard of one ES offering AIM, have you?

AIM is pre algebra. You can also just pay for an algebra prep class or pre-algebra over the summer if you are worried.

What answer do you want? You are looking for a unicorn and you need to talk to your ES or MS, not strangers on the internet.

There is no advantage of starting Algebra in 6th vs. 7th. Our child wanted to do it at they hated the strategies that came with compacted and lower math levels. I would have waited till 7th if it was my decision.

PP with math kid here. The PP's post you're confused by isn't from me. I'm not annoyed by any of the information people have been kind enough to share and will do the work on my own to figure out what of it may be relevant to us.

Sorry about that. Your best bet is to reach out to the middle school and see what they are willing to do as each MS is different and some are offering Algebra in 6th, some aren't and each have their own criteria. For us, it wasn't listed in the course guide but offered on the course registration form. We just checked Algebra to see what would happen. Other families I know they reached out to offer them Algebra if they wanted it. Some choose it, some choose AIM. AIM is just pre-algebra.

The big issue comes in 8th grade as to if the school has Algebra 2 or if your child has to go to the high school to take Algebra 2. Usually MCPS will bus the kids between the schools if they take it in HS. But, you also need to be prepared to drive/carpool as a back up.

Doing AIM in 5th would be really hard as the ES and MS schedules are very different and you'd probably have to bring your child to the MS to do it.

If you are leaning toward it, you can also do courses others list here such as APOS to supplement in 5th grade. We opted to do summer classes vs. school year classes. There are private schools that offer prep classes over the summer (or full courses you can use as prep classes to see if your child can handle that level of math and give them prep/another way to do it). We find them really helpful.

Honestly, I think its pretty pointless to do it in 6th, but my child wanted it. You still need four years of math.

So, in the typical school, if still super strong in math the Alegebra in 6th crowd can take BC Calc in 10th, Mutlivariable Calc in 11th, and AP Statistics in 12th (or something at Montgomery College).

That makes sense. I honestly didn't look to consider what classes are in high school and figured we'd worry about it later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The google doc was guidance that applied to last year's decision making for the current school year. This year, there should be different guidance for 2022-23 placement since there have been fewer gaps and there has been more time to plan reintegration of skipped curriculum from 2020-21 (including Spring 2020) into later years' classes. I still expect there to be some differences from the way things were decided pre-pandemic, but it should be closer to normal.

Should[i] being the operative word. I think the powers that be in central are trying to slow down the math pathway, not support acceleration and enrichment. The attempt to use pandemic as an excuse to slow everyone down got strongly opposed by parents last year, who heard about it via teacher leaks not direct communication from Central, so it became "a thing," which caused Central to backtrack a bit last Spring. ES parents with a math kid should assume that they will have to keep pushing for appropriate math.

+1. They are creating barrier after barrier to slow down the math pathways without data to justify the changes. They are using the pandemic as an excuse. I suspect it will help close the achievement gap if high flyers have their wings clipped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The google doc was guidance that applied to last year's decision making for the current school year. This year, there should be different guidance for 2022-23 placement since there have been fewer gaps and there has been more time to plan reintegration of skipped curriculum from 2020-21 (including Spring 2020) into later years' classes. I still expect there to be some differences from the way things were decided pre-pandemic, but it should be closer to normal.

Should[i] being the operative word. I think the powers that be in central are trying to slow down the math pathway, not support acceleration and enrichment. The attempt to use pandemic as an excuse to slow everyone down got strongly opposed by parents last year, who heard about it via teacher leaks not direct communication from Central, so it became "a thing," which caused Central to backtrack a bit last Spring. ES parents with a math kid should assume that they will have to keep pushing for appropriate math.

+1. They are creating barrier after barrier to slow down the math pathways without data to justify the changes. They are using the pandemic as an excuse. I suspect it will help close the achievement gap if high flyers have their wings clipped.

If MCPS is not envisioning "equity" as pushing everyone to achieve to the best of their ability, they have it wrong, IMO. High expectations for all students. High levels of support for all students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did this change occur? I remember a few years back, if a student took compacted math (5-6) in fifth, he/she took IM or AIM in seventh, then Algebra in 8th. Now, it seems that someone who takes compacted math in sixth does not automatically end up in Algebra in 8th. Is this accurate?

Correct.

Placement in AIM or AMP6+ depends on teacher recommendations, which include looking at grades and MAP scores. So it's not automatic to move into AIM after compacted math anymore. They made it harder last year because of virtual learning and the fact that not everything was covered as planned last year. We'll have to see going forward how many students go into AIM vs AMP6+. Kids who end up in the lottery pool for the middle school math/science magnets should automatically go into AIM, though.

So they do not consider teacher recommendations for magnet but they need teacher recommendations for tiny acceleration? MCPS looks more and more like a circus

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP and I just really love that this thread is full of support for OP advocating for her kid instead of doubting and undermining her.

I'm the PP who advocated AIM next year and I'm just taking PP at her word that her kid is that advanced. I also know from expereince, though, that MCPS won't allow this if the child hasn't already mastered the material. so I figure "give the advice and let the school figure out the gatekeeping."

If you let the school figure out in this environment, they will just give you basics. Nothing more. MCPS is all about equity not excellence. Lottery process is a good example of this at works

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does 6th grade math placement work? My 4th grader is, for lack of a better way to put it, a total math whiz and bored in his compacted math class. The curriculum site lists Algebra 1 as an "other option" for 6th grade. Is that something a kid could test into, or what?

If you have a 4th grader now, you should advocate for them to do pre-algebra (AIM) next year, which will set them up for Algebra in 6th. Don't wait another year, start now.

Why? The kid has to take math every year so what math classes would they take in grades 7-12 if they did Algebra in 6th grade? That Algebra grade will get factored into HS GPA. Do you really want to put all that pressure on your kid the first year they are in Middle School?

Assuming the child is really good ath math, this would work:

6th - Algebra
7th - Geometry
8th - Algebra II (either at home school or HS)
9th - Pre-Calculus
10th - AP Calculus
11th - AP Statistics or M/V Calculus
12th - Whichever one of the above the child didn't take in 11th

There are even more advanced options, but this is a solid set of classes and not wildly accelerated.

There are MCPS middle schools where only 28% are proficient in english and 10% are proficient in maths. I wonder what courses do they offer in those schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When did this change occur? I remember a few years back, if a student took compacted math (5-6) in fifth, he/she took IM or AIM in seventh, then Algebra in 8th. Now, it seems that someone who takes compacted math in sixth does not automatically end up in Algebra in 8th. Is this accurate?

Correct.

AIM is in 6th after one completes compacted 5/6 in 5th, next comes Algebra in 7th.