Any 5th graders in Algebra 1 ?
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Anonymous
Because FCPS has a cohort These tween high school grads always come from counties where their "high schoo graduate" education is on-level, the same level as 30 kids in 10th grade in one wealthy suburban school, and they go to college to take the equivalent of suburban AP/magnet school classes. |
Anonymous
Reading comprehension is vital for productive conversation. As is refraining from making outlandish unsupported comments. The kids failing college calculus are obviously not the kids who SKIPPED college calculus! The one failing are the kids who sat through honors courses that teach nothing and then showed up for calculus totally unprepared. |
Anonymous
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My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.
I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early. |
Anonymous
Again, the kids who took algebra in 5th are not only taking calc, but multi as well. They are unlikely to retake single variable calculus - at the most, they might retake calc 3. |
Anonymous
Which school? |
Anonymous
MAP 255 in 5th grade got an Alg 2 placement in 6th?? Good luck; you'll need it. |
Anonymous
A MAP 6+ score of 255 is 90th percentile for 10th graders nationally, definitely more take Algebra 2 and master the content to pass with A. I’m sure someone else will jump in saying their kid scored 280 in 2nd grade on who knows what version of the MAP test. The vast majority of posters have never seen a MAP report that gives a detailed list of topics the student should work on. If it overlaps with the Algebra 2 curriculum then that’s the correct placement which anyways should be based on multiple measures. MAP, IXL or MDTP are all fine. IXL is slightly better because it covers more areas, but takes longer compared to the others. |
Anonymous
FCPS uses the iReady and not MAP. My DS is in 7th grade and took the MAP for the first time this year, we have not received the score yet so I have no idea how he did. His iReady scores were consistently grade levels ahead. He would normally score 20 points past the end of year desired score max in the fall. We choose enrichment at RSM and encouraging his love of math competitions vs fighting with the school to move him ahead in math. We did not want the MS experience in 6th grade, we thought it was too much and not socially appropriate. He enjoyed the RSM class, and still enjoys the math competition class, and uses math at school as an opportunity to practice skills. He has not asked about taking Geometry this summer. He would need to give up two summer camps that involve activities that he loves to do take math. I am not mentioning it to him because I don’t see the point of this type of acceleration. He has avenues to work on math that challenge him and that he enjoys. I get that other families make different choices, people should do what they feel is best for their child. There are many ways to engage a ES child in math, find the path that works for you. |
Anonymous
It's not really about what score corresponds to a high schooler who never learned algebra 1 well and is scraping by. It's looking down the barrel of 4 years of post-calculus math in high school with test scores in the low-to-mid range of students who are still getting at least some value out of reinforcement of 2-years previous content. MAP 255 means barely passing knowledge of on-level geometry for non-university-bound kids, not A-level mastery of Algebra and Geometry for a 1-in-1000 hyper accelerated kid. ES parents don't realize that you can't climb the math ladder just by being bright and getting a handle on the new stuff every year, like in social studies or science. You need to remember and understand almost everything from all the previous years, which gets harder every year as the body of knowledge grows and each next year adds more on top of the foundation of the previous, especially at the post-calculus level. |
Anonymous
If the student wants to be eligible for UC, Geometry needs to be taken in 7th grade, so it makes more sense to take Algebra 2 before. Being in the 90th percentile in a class is a good rule of thumb for getting most out of the instruction. I don’t really see the point of taking a class when you’re by far the best student in it and have already mastered the material inside out. The interpretation of the MAP scores as scraping by is exaggerated. It depends on what version was used, but definitely it’s not scraping by or barely passing knowledge. For the MAP rubric in the grade the teacher gives max points if the score is above 240. IXL needs to be on grade level. There a many options for later classes including computer science that count as math, DE, AP, even repeating classes if needed, graduating early if there’s enough credit etc. |
Anonymous
| HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thanks for the laugh, OP! |
Anonymous
Not true for any "UC" I've ever heard of. What UC are you talking about? Even if so...
No, that would be Algebra 1 before Geometry, not Algebra 2 before Geometry.
90th percentile on national norms is nowhere near "the best student in it" in a wealthy suburban district, and neither is "have already mastered the material inside out" because the tests don't even try to test for that.
OK you are definitely thinking about Algebra 2 not Algebra 1. |
Anonymous
I meant, you are definitely thinking about Algebra 1 not Algebra 2. |
Anonymous
Disregarding your lame patronizing attitude, I know what class my child is taking. Sounds like you’re too lazy or too dumb to do a simple google search, let me help you with that. https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/freshman-requirements/subject-requirement-a-g.html The part relevant to geometry: A geometry course or an integrated math course with a sufficient amount of geometry content must be completed. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades if the high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses. The consideration for the other posters is that for kids accelerated to Algebra 1 in 5th, they should check the UC eligibility if interested in applying in the future to Berkeley or UCLA. If a student completes Algebra 1 in 5th grade, it’s better they take geometry later than 6th to meet the UC eligibility requirements, otherwise they might need to repeat Geometry later on. This could mean doing Algebra 1 in 5th, Algebra 2 in 6th, Geometry in 7th, Precalculus in 8th etc. You’re free to decide on whatever criteria for your child’s classes, others can do the same for their own. |
Anonymous
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Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry is not that unusual a path. That is what I took but I have serious LDs and struggled with math. The idea was that I would do better with Algebra 2 directly following Algebra 1. In all honesty, I don’t really understand why the path is Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 but math is not my jam. My DS loves math and is really, really good at it, which is why I am here.
There are different paths for different kids. Parents will make different decisions based on what they think is best for their kids. I am not sure why people get upset with that idea. |