Blair Magnet Program

[Anonymous]

How much homework is there, really?

Do the kids who claim 2+hrs of math homework /night stick with it all year at that rate, or do they get faster at the homework, or do they drop down to the lower level class?

Are any of the other classes homework intensive on their own?

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Any idea what the highest MAP M score is this year? My kid said 291 is the highest score at her school, she is in magnet (Roberto Clemente), and applied for Poolsville SMAC.

I have seen in the past DCUM many students score above 300. Any parent here whose kid has more than 295 or 300, just for Curocity?

DC is at a W feeder MS. There were 3 300+scores in the Fall and 4 300+ scores in Winter. The highest Winter score was around 320

Putting aside the fact that no one got 320, how on earth would you know that? Are you the math teacher? Or an administrator at the school? If not, you absolutely do not know this,

How do you know this?

Obviously I don't have access to the scores, but top scores are often talked about. I guess you don't realize how much kids talk about this. Teachers comment on top scores also, and not only math teachers either.

It's different for more average kids where nobody cares whether someone scored 245 or 251. But this is more like sports. DC went to all state and kids from all over MD were taking about MAP scores, including very high scores they once heard someone getting.

Kids lie. I’ve heard from more than one teacher that most kids are lying about their MAP scores. As a parent I have as much knowledge as you do about how much kids talk about this.

Also I know that there is no 320 score because it’s not possible with the test. Look it up at NWEA.

LOL

It's true. Because the test has 45 question and fractional value, the rounding works out that you can get 319 or 321 but never 320.

It’s true, but not for the reasons you state. The actual max possible score is closer to 310 and that is statistically similar to 300 or even 290

the maximum score is 350. however, for that to happen the test needs to start at the hardest level questions.

the knowledge differential between 310 and 290 is pretty big. the top of the range is pretty hard to climb. DC knows several kids who have been languishing in the 305-310 range for a while.

(+5 pts for memorizing trivia about the normal distribution, usually not covered in math class because it's not really math)

[Anonymous]

How do they decide who goes to Functions? How DC is currently in H Geometry but their MAP was 315+

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much homework is there, really?

Do the kids who claim 2+hrs of math homework /night stick with it all year at that rate, or do they get faster at the homework, or do they drop down to the lower level class?

Are any of the other classes homework intensive on their own?

My 9th grade magnet student, who is in Precalc and not Functions, has much more homework than their sibling who is a junior taking 4 AP classes in a non-magnet school. Getting better since the start of the year, but still significant amounts of time spent. It's primarily math but some contribution from the other classes. My kid came in with a MAP-M around 270 and no significant outside enrichment or acceleration in math. Other kids with different backgrounds might not be spending this much time on homework.

The magnet program has been an adjustment and a challenge, but it's a really good challenge and the right fit for them, and they are doing well. They are glad to have chosen it and feel like they are learning a lot.

[Anonymous]

Can anyone say how Functions compares to AoPS classes such as Algebra 2 and precalculus?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone say how Functions compares to AoPS classes such as Algebra 2 and precalculus?

AoPS is more advanced (broader/deeper/harder),
but requires much less homework (plenty of optional homework on Alcumus),
and covers the overall 2 courses content in a little under 2 school years
(vs Functions "1 school year, but almost everyone already took algebra 2 the previous year"),
and doesn't give A/B/C grades,
so it's very much "choose how much work you want to put in"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone say how Functions compares to AoPS classes such as Algebra 2 and precalculus?

AoPS is more advanced (broader/deeper/harder),
but requires much less homework (plenty of optional homework on Alcumus),
and covers the overall 2 courses content in a little under 2 school years
(vs Functions "1 school year, but almost everyone already took algebra 2 the previous year"),
and doesn't give A/B/C grades,
so it's very much "choose how much work you want to put in"

Thanks PP. Yes, the setup (grades, homework etc) is very different obviously. A lot of kids at AOPS are learning very little according to my DC.

However, my main interest are differences in content as well as difficulty of the problems e.g. AOPS homework problems compared to Functions problems that show up on tests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much homework is there, really?

Do the kids who claim 2+hrs of math homework /night stick with it all year at that rate, or do they get faster at the homework, or do they drop down to the lower level class?

Are any of the other classes homework intensive on their own?

My kid is in 9th grade and taking the precalc class and says 1-1.5 hours a day total of homework, most of which is math. It was a pretty rough start in September and they had to get used to the pace but put in solid work and ended up doing well. And my kid is not a math super fan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much homework is there, really?

Do the kids who claim 2+hrs of math homework /night stick with it all year at that rate, or do they get faster at the homework, or do they drop down to the lower level class?

Are any of the other classes homework intensive on their own?

My kid is in 9th grade and taking the precalc class and says 1-1.5 hours a day total of homework, most of which is math. It was a pretty rough start in September and they had to get used to the pace but put in solid work and ended up doing well. And my kid is not a math super fan.

I have a 10th grader. Very organized and also very conscientious. Typically spends 1-3 hours a night on homework and more at weekends. This has been consistent since 9th. Staying up past midnight with homework also not unusual. It’s intense enough that DC will not stay home when sick for fear of getting behind.

Math is the heaviest lift. Physics in 9th was also time consuming and sometimes comp sci (took the accelerated path). But kids can get away with doing less - esp if they are just doing the minimum to scrape an A or even get a B. Math homework is often 6-8 pages of time consuming complex problems. But it’s graded for completion only. If you have the type of kid who doesn’t care what they hand in and/or doesn’t need that practice then they can skip through it much more quickly or just submit anything and get the same practice prep grade, but I wouldn’t advise it.

If your kid isn’t ready for an intense workload don’t push them. It’s a lot and it’s relentless.

[Anonymous]

Math is the most time consuming for almost every kid. Even those who took years of Aops and do functions find each homework takes a minimum of 1-2 hours.

DC had no background of outside enrichment in any of the core subjects of science, math or cs.
I would advise taking the non-accelerated cs path. Your child will still learn a lot but it's very manageable and will leave more room in the schedule to deal with math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone say how Functions compares to AoPS classes such as Algebra 2 and precalculus?

AoPS is more advanced (broader/deeper/harder),
but requires much less homework (plenty of optional homework on Alcumus),
and covers the overall 2 courses content in a little under 2 school years
(vs Functions "1 school year, but almost everyone already took algebra 2 the previous year"),
and doesn't give A/B/C grades,
so it's very much "choose how much work you want to put in"

Thanks PP. Yes, the setup (grades, homework etc) is very different obviously. A lot of kids at AOPS are learning very little according to my DC.

However, my main interest are differences in content as well as difficulty of the problems e.g. AOPS homework problems compared to Functions problems that show up on tests.

The easier parts of the AOPS required homework are as hard as the harder Magnet homework/test problems. Magnet has a lot of repetitive, busywork homework in the huge packets. AoPS has fewer assigned problems, but each is more distinctive, complex, and interesting. AoPS homework includes the sort of advanced/enriched content that the magnet Math Team studies after school.


Some info at
https://artofproblemsolving.com/school/handbook/current/homework#descriptions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do they decide who goes to Functions? How DC is currently in H Geometry but their MAP was 315+

If your child is in TPMS the teacher will make the recommendation. Otherwise they will evaluate during factoring camp at the beginning of the summer. Even if your child is not recommended they can ask to be put in Functions or if they are put in Functions they can ask to not be in it.

There is some flexibility the first few weeks. One of DC's friends asked not to be in Functions on the first day even though they were recommended for it and later a high number of other classmates dropped out during the trial period. If you don't hit a certain grade on the assessments by a certain time you are automatically dropped. You don't have a choice at that point.

[Anonymous]

Bit of advice. Stop talking about MAP scores. You'll sound silly. They are irrelevant in the magnet. Many kids have MAP above 300 and there's no correlation between MAP and the classes they take and how they do or whether they are a star on the math team or would never touch math team with a 10 foot pole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone say how Functions compares to AoPS classes such as Algebra 2 and precalculus?

AoPS is more advanced (broader/deeper/harder),
but requires much less homework (plenty of optional homework on Alcumus),
and covers the overall 2 courses content in a little under 2 school years
(vs Functions "1 school year, but almost everyone already took algebra 2 the previous year"),
and doesn't give A/B/C grades,
so it's very much "choose how much work you want to put in"

Thanks PP. Yes, the setup (grades, homework etc) is very different obviously. A lot of kids at AOPS are learning very little according to my DC.

However, my main interest are differences in content as well as difficulty of the problems e.g. AOPS homework problems compared to Functions problems that show up on tests.

The easier parts of the AOPS required homework are as hard as the harder Magnet homework/test problems. Magnet has a lot of repetitive, busywork homework in the huge packets. AoPS has fewer assigned problems, but each is more distinctive, complex, and interesting. AoPS homework includes the sort of advanced/enriched content that the magnet Math Team studies after school.


Some info at
https://artofproblemsolving.com/school/handbook/current/homework#descriptions

Thank you very much, this is extremely helpful. I am familiar with AoPS homework, which I like precisely for the reasons you state. I didn't expect magnet homework to be repetitive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bit of advice. Stop talking about MAP scores. You'll sound silly. They are irrelevant in the magnet. Many kids have MAP above 300 and there's no correlation between MAP and the classes they take and how they do or whether they are a star on the math team or would never touch math team with a 10 foot pole.

Interesting. I have 3 kids and have followed their map scores for years. If found them to be pretty reflective of their math skills.