Accelerated Math

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Algebra in 8th via the traditional math route is still considered advanced in other regions. Unless your child knows for sure that he wants to be a STEM major that heavily leans into math, then he will be fine. My DD got into compacted math, and while she’s not struggling, I want to pull back because she’s not at all interested in STEM. But I feel like now we’re stuck because she will have to repeat a year in math. She is going to take algebra in 7th next year so either we repeat pre algebra or algebra next year.

How are you stuck? If your didn't take prealgebra in 6th then you would have repeated the material anyway, just stretched across 2 years instead of 1. If the math is getting too hard, repeating is exactly what you should want to do.

She took pre algebra in 6th but if I don’t send her to algebra next year, she will have to repeat prealgebra. She did fine in it and had As and a high Map but she doesn’t want a career in STEM. Now she will have to repeat pre algebra or continue the accelerated path so hence we feel stuck. To OP, acceleration is not all that it’s cracked up to be and you might end up counting your blessings staying in the traditional math program down the road.

You are not stuck. She can take Alg1 >Geo>2yr Alg 2> Precal> Financial Math

Or some other combination. If she’s truly doing fine then it’s just a natural progression. If not, slow down. Repeat pre-Alg may give her the foundation she needs.

The problem with that is the way that slowdown looks to colleges, along with the boredom/cohort of 2yr Alg 2. Better to go Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc AB>AP Calc BC or, if trying to show rigor while avoiding the second-level college courses like MVC, DiffEq & LA, Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc BC>AP Stats. That can be tough in the Junior/Calc year, though, for a student who is not mathy. On the other hand, Stats is really valuable in many, many careers (not just STEM), and in life, in general.

Stats is always a great one. I took it in high school once, in college twice, and in mba once…. Nearly the same course each time.

Is MC/UMD the only place that offers MVC/DiffEq other than magnets for MCPS?

I think MVC is in several high schools, not just magnets. Our school has it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - we were in a similar situation. In 3rd grade, my kid's teacher told him all year (and me in conferences/emails) that he would be in compacted math for 4/5, that he had a "mind for math" etc. He did poorly on one benchmark/performance matters exam (that apparently the whole class did less well on than other benchmark exams). His MAP-M scores and grades were all good, but because last year they switched to a central district review, he was placed in regular grade 4 math.

I talked to his 3rd grade teacher and the math placement specialist. The 3rd grade teacher HEAVILY advocated for him but the math placement specialist wouldn't budge and said that they would reassess after the fall MAP-M and performance matters tests. On the advice of a fellow parent, I escalated to the principal. Due to the timing of the letter plus me trying to go through each channel and only use the principal as a last resort, we didn't get to talk until July. She agreed to let my son into compacted 4/5 math, but said they'd be monitoring him and put him down to grade 4 math if he was struggling. (She also suggested that some of the kids that are good at math do poorly on the benchmark/performance matters tests because they do too much "mental math" because it's a computerized test and they don't use scratch paper, which may be the case for my son).

Turns out he did fine, his grades were all good, and when I mentioned to his 4th grade teacher that we were worried about putting him in compacted math due to the recommendation at the end of the previous year, she immediately said, "Oh, he's DEFINITELY in the right math placement - he's really good at math!"

My point is that you know your child best and should advocate if you think it's the best course of action for him. I didn't want to wait until the fall and have him miss a quarter or a half a year and then have to catch up. I personally thought it was better for him to try it and then move down than be super behind if he had to move up. I probably wouldn't make the same choice for my younger child who would be devastated to be moved downward, but would be willing to work really hard to catch up.

I have a kid like this. He is very good at math - gets 100s on every test in Calc BC as a sophomore with ease. But in third grade they didn’t want to put him in compacted math because his MAP scores were just okay. We eventually convinced the school he should be in compacted math because it was obvious outside the MAP score that he was really strong. MAP sometimes really misidentifies certain kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Algebra in 8th via the traditional math route is still considered advanced in other regions. Unless your child knows for sure that he wants to be a STEM major that heavily leans into math, then he will be fine. My DD got into compacted math, and while she’s not struggling, I want to pull back because she’s not at all interested in STEM. But I feel like now we’re stuck because she will have to repeat a year in math. She is going to take algebra in 7th next year so either we repeat pre algebra or algebra next year.

How are you stuck? If your didn't take prealgebra in 6th then you would have repeated the material anyway, just stretched across 2 years instead of 1. If the math is getting too hard, repeating is exactly what you should want to do.

She took pre algebra in 6th but if I don’t send her to algebra next year, she will have to repeat prealgebra. She did fine in it and had As and a high Map but she doesn’t want a career in STEM. Now she will have to repeat pre algebra or continue the accelerated path so hence we feel stuck. To OP, acceleration is not all that it’s cracked up to be and you might end up counting your blessings staying in the traditional math program down the road.

You are not stuck. She can take Alg1 >Geo>2yr Alg 2> Precal> Financial Math

Or some other combination. If she’s truly doing fine then it’s just a natural progression. If not, slow down. Repeat pre-Alg may give her the foundation she needs.

The problem with that is the way that slowdown looks to colleges, along with the boredom/cohort of 2yr Alg 2. Better to go Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc AB>AP Calc BC or, if trying to show rigor while avoiding the second-level college courses like MVC, DiffEq & LA, Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc BC>AP Stats. That can be tough in the Junior/Calc year, though, for a student who is not mathy. On the other hand, Stats is really valuable in many, many careers (not just STEM), and in life, in general.

Stats is always a great one. I took it in high school once, in college twice, and in mba once…. Nearly the same course each time.

Is MC/UMD the only place that offers MVC/DiffEq other than magnets for MCPS?

I think MVC is in several high schools, not just magnets. Our school has it

Taking it at MC as a part of DE, though, would give college credit for it…seems better

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percent of kids are in accelerated math in grade 3?

That’s easy. 0%.

PP was probably asking about what share of kids are placed into accelerated math from grade 3.

+1 Are there data published about what % of kids are in Compact Math 4/5, Grade 7 Algebra etc (ideally by school)?

Does MCPS make any of these data available? There's so much chatter on this board about these accelerated options, but it's hard to tell if 10% of the kids are in these programs or 2%?

[Anonymous]

So if I understand correctly for the middle school accelerated math track 6+, it covers all of common core grade 6 and half of grade 7. For the kids that do algebra in grade 7, when do they cover the other half of common core topics of grade 7?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if I understand correctly for the middle school accelerated math track 6+, it covers all of common core grade 6 and half of grade 7. For the kids that do algebra in grade 7, when do they cover the other half of common core topics of grade 7?

The combo of AMP 6+ and AMP 7+ mixes modules from all of 6th, 7th and 8th (all "Pre-Algebra") to achieve compaction. It's not straight-line acceleration. Acceleration might begin in 6th grade with 6+. It might continue from Math 5/6 in 5th grade with 7+ (or the old AIM) in 6th grade.

Please check the various recent threads already out there, which discuss, to a degree, curricular discontinuities associated with the latter (typical of those taking Algebra in 7th grade) :

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/1207176.page

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/15/1209317.page

[Anonymous]

So we can decline compacted math when the school notifies us right? We have not heard from our ES yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Algebra in 8th via the traditional math route is still considered advanced in other regions. Unless your child knows for sure that he wants to be a STEM major that heavily leans into math, then he will be fine. My DD got into compacted math, and while she’s not struggling, I want to pull back because she’s not at all interested in STEM. But I feel like now we’re stuck because she will have to repeat a year in math. She is going to take algebra in 7th next year so either we repeat pre algebra or algebra next year.

How are you stuck? If your didn't take prealgebra in 6th then you would have repeated the material anyway, just stretched across 2 years instead of 1. If the math is getting too hard, repeating is exactly what you should want to do.

She took pre algebra in 6th but if I don’t send her to algebra next year, she will have to repeat prealgebra. She did fine in it and had As and a high Map but she doesn’t want a career in STEM. Now she will have to repeat pre algebra or continue the accelerated path so hence we feel stuck. To OP, acceleration is not all that it’s cracked up to be and you might end up counting your blessings staying in the traditional math program down the road.

You are not stuck. She can take Alg1 >Geo>2yr Alg 2> Precal> Financial Math

Or some other combination. If she’s truly doing fine then it’s just a natural progression. If not, slow down. Repeat pre-Alg may give her the foundation she needs.

The problem with that is the way that slowdown looks to colleges, along with the boredom/cohort of 2yr Alg 2. Better to go Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc AB>AP Calc BC or, if trying to show rigor while avoiding the second-level college courses like MVC, DiffEq & LA, Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc BC>AP Stats. That can be tough in the Junior/Calc year, though, for a student who is not mathy. On the other hand, Stats is really valuable in many, many careers (not just STEM), and in life, in general.

Stats is always a great one. I took it in high school once, in college twice, and in mba once…. Nearly the same course each time.

Is MC/UMD the only place that offers MVC/DiffEq other than magnets for MCPS?

I think MVC is in several high schools, not just magnets. Our school has it

I think MVC in HS is a dual enrollment class with MC but the professor comes to the school because there is a large enough cohort to make a full class. I can’t confirm that for sure but that is my understanding. Also may be different at a magnet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So we can decline compacted math when the school notifies us right? We have not heard from our ES yet.

Yes you can decline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if I understand correctly for the middle school accelerated math track 6+, it covers all of common core grade 6 and half of grade 7. For the kids that do algebra in grade 7, when do they cover the other half of common core topics of grade 7?

The kids that do Algebra in grade 7 mostly started MS with AMP 7+ or are skipping at their own understanding of the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What percent of kids are in accelerated math in grade 3?

That’s easy. 0%.

PP was probably asking about what share of kids are placed into accelerated math from grade 3.

Most kids are not in ES compacted pact. The majority are on track to take Alg 1 in 8th. MCPS is doing a big push to get kids taking Alg when they really are ready for the content. Be that 7,8,9 or in some cases 6.

+1 Are there data published about what % of kids are in Compact Math 4/5, Grade 7 Algebra etc (ideally by school)?

Does MCPS make any of these data available? There's so much chatter on this board about these accelerated options, but it's hard to tell if 10% of the kids are in these programs or 2%?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So if I understand correctly for the middle school accelerated math track 6+, it covers all of common core grade 6 and half of grade 7. For the kids that do algebra in grade 7, when do they cover the other half of common core topics of grade 7?

The kids that do Algebra in grade 7 mostly started MS with AMP 7+ or are skipping at their own understanding of the risk.

I don't think that's true, at least not in all schools. My kids' guidance counselor told me that 1/3 of the kids were doing grade 7 algebra and the majority come from 6+.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Algebra in 8th via the traditional math route is still considered advanced in other regions. Unless your child knows for sure that he wants to be a STEM major that heavily leans into math, then he will be fine. My DD got into compacted math, and while she’s not struggling, I want to pull back because she’s not at all interested in STEM. But I feel like now we’re stuck because she will have to repeat a year in math. She is going to take algebra in 7th next year so either we repeat pre algebra or algebra next year.

How are you stuck? If your didn't take prealgebra in 6th then you would have repeated the material anyway, just stretched across 2 years instead of 1. If the math is getting too hard, repeating is exactly what you should want to do.

She took pre algebra in 6th but if I don’t send her to algebra next year, she will have to repeat prealgebra. She did fine in it and had As and a high Map but she doesn’t want a career in STEM. Now she will have to repeat pre algebra or continue the accelerated path so hence we feel stuck. To OP, acceleration is not all that it’s cracked up to be and you might end up counting your blessings staying in the traditional math program down the road.

You are not stuck. She can take Alg1 >Geo>2yr Alg 2> Precal> Financial Math

Or some other combination. If she’s truly doing fine then it’s just a natural progression. If not, slow down. Repeat pre-Alg may give her the foundation she needs.

The problem with that is the way that slowdown looks to colleges, along with the boredom/cohort of 2yr Alg 2. Better to go Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc AB>AP Calc BC or, if trying to show rigor while avoiding the second-level college courses like MVC, DiffEq & LA, Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc BC>AP Stats. That can be tough in the Junior/Calc year, though, for a student who is not mathy. On the other hand, Stats is really valuable in many, many careers (not just STEM), and in life, in general.

Stats is always a great one. I took it in high school once, in college twice, and in mba once…. Nearly the same course each time.

Is MC/UMD the only place that offers MVC/DiffEq other than magnets for MCPS?

I think MVC is in several high schools, not just magnets. Our school has it

I think MVC in HS is a dual enrollment class with MC but the professor comes to the school because there is a large enough cohort to make a full class. I can’t confirm that for sure but that is my understanding. Also may be different at a magnet.

No, it's taught by the HS teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Algebra in 8th via the traditional math route is still considered advanced in other regions. Unless your child knows for sure that he wants to be a STEM major that heavily leans into math, then he will be fine. My DD got into compacted math, and while she’s not struggling, I want to pull back because she’s not at all interested in STEM. But I feel like now we’re stuck because she will have to repeat a year in math. She is going to take algebra in 7th next year so either we repeat pre algebra or algebra next year.

How are you stuck? If your didn't take prealgebra in 6th then you would have repeated the material anyway, just stretched across 2 years instead of 1. If the math is getting too hard, repeating is exactly what you should want to do.

She took pre algebra in 6th but if I don’t send her to algebra next year, she will have to repeat prealgebra. She did fine in it and had As and a high Map but she doesn’t want a career in STEM. Now she will have to repeat pre algebra or continue the accelerated path so hence we feel stuck. To OP, acceleration is not all that it’s cracked up to be and you might end up counting your blessings staying in the traditional math program down the road.

You are not stuck. She can take Alg1 >Geo>2yr Alg 2> Precal> Financial Math

Or some other combination. If she’s truly doing fine then it’s just a natural progression. If not, slow down. Repeat pre-Alg may give her the foundation she needs.

The problem with that is the way that slowdown looks to colleges, along with the boredom/cohort of 2yr Alg 2. Better to go Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc AB>AP Calc BC or, if trying to show rigor while avoiding the second-level college courses like MVC, DiffEq & LA, Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc BC>AP Stats. That can be tough in the Junior/Calc year, though, for a student who is not mathy. On the other hand, Stats is really valuable in many, many careers (not just STEM), and in life, in general.

Stats is always a great one. I took it in high school once, in college twice, and in mba once…. Nearly the same course each time.

Is MC/UMD the only place that offers MVC/DiffEq other than magnets for MCPS?

I think MVC is in several high schools, not just magnets. Our school has it

Taking it at MC as a part of DE, though, would give college credit for it…seems better

They get state college credit for course taken at the HS.
Out of state elite colleges have their own credit by exam or don't give transfer credit for community college classes taken in high school.

And going to MC messes up the student's schedule.

https://www-math.umd.edu/newsletter-single/855-high-school-students-earn-math-credits-by-exam.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Taking Algebra in 8th via the traditional math route is still considered advanced in other regions. Unless your child knows for sure that he wants to be a STEM major that heavily leans into math, then he will be fine. My DD got into compacted math, and while she’s not struggling, I want to pull back because she’s not at all interested in STEM. But I feel like now we’re stuck because she will have to repeat a year in math. She is going to take algebra in 7th next year so either we repeat pre algebra or algebra next year.

How are you stuck? If your didn't take prealgebra in 6th then you would have repeated the material anyway, just stretched across 2 years instead of 1. If the math is getting too hard, repeating is exactly what you should want to do.

She took pre algebra in 6th but if I don’t send her to algebra next year, she will have to repeat prealgebra. She did fine in it and had As and a high Map but she doesn’t want a career in STEM. Now she will have to repeat pre algebra or continue the accelerated path so hence we feel stuck. To OP, acceleration is not all that it’s cracked up to be and you might end up counting your blessings staying in the traditional math program down the road.

You are not stuck. She can take Alg1 >Geo>2yr Alg 2> Precal> Financial Math

Or some other combination. If she’s truly doing fine then it’s just a natural progression. If not, slow down. Repeat pre-Alg may give her the foundation she needs.

The problem with that is the way that slowdown looks to colleges, along with the boredom/cohort of 2yr Alg 2. Better to go Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc AB>AP Calc BC or, if trying to show rigor while avoiding the second-level college courses like MVC, DiffEq & LA, Alg 2>Precalc>AP Calc BC>AP Stats. That can be tough in the Junior/Calc year, though, for a student who is not mathy. On the other hand, Stats is really valuable in many, many careers (not just STEM), and in life, in general.

Stats is always a great one. I took it in high school once, in college twice, and in mba once…. Nearly the same course each time.

Is MC/UMD the only place that offers MVC/DiffEq other than magnets for MCPS?

No. Check your local school bulletin.