Algebra in 6th grade - new selection process?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see how many of the Algebra in 6th grade kids are actually going to take Geometry now in 7th. My guess? Close to 0.

+1

We are planning to finish Geometry in summer, so DC would take Algebra 2 in 7th.

Summer Geometry is not an option for those finishing 6th grade.

Where did you get an information about no summer geo for current 6th graders in algebra 1?

NP: it was emphatically stated at out school’s info night back in the fall when the county reps did their rah rah algebra spiel. “So if this is successful, and our daughter takes geometry over the summer—“ “No. These students will not be eligible to do geometry over the summer.”

That was 3 months ago so maybe all the rules and ideas have changed, but as of the beginning of the year it was not an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see how many of the Algebra in 6th grade kids are actually going to take Geometry now in 7th. My guess? Close to 0.

+1

We are planning to finish Geometry in summer, so DC would take Algebra 2 in 7th.

Summer Geometry is not an option for those finishing 6th grade.

Where did you get an information about no summer geo for current 6th graders in algebra 1?

NP: it was emphatically stated at out school’s info night back in the fall when the county reps did their rah rah algebra spiel. “So if this is successful, and our daughter takes geometry over the summer—“ “No. These students will not be eligible to do geometry over the summer.”

That was 3 months ago so maybe all the rules and ideas have changed, but as of the beginning of the year it was not an option.

That's what I recall from the call as well... was smh as I think part of the motivation here was to offer a path for acceleration that avoids the widely regarded misstep of trying to squeeze in Geometry as a summer course, and what does someone ask right out the gate? Can my kid take Geometry in summer school between 6th and 7th. It was ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see how many of the Algebra in 6th grade kids are actually going to take Geometry now in 7th. My guess? Close to 0.

+1

We are planning to finish Geometry in summer, so DC would take Algebra 2 in 7th.

Summer Geometry is not an option for those finishing 6th grade.

Where did you get an information about no summer geo for current 6th graders in algebra 1?

NP: it was emphatically stated at out school’s info night back in the fall when the county reps did their rah rah algebra spiel. “So if this is successful, and our daughter takes geometry over the summer—“ “No. These students will not be eligible to do geometry over the summer.”

That was 3 months ago so maybe all the rules and ideas have changed, but as of the beginning of the year it was not an option.

Interesting. And why wouldn’t it be an option? Is it because this so called Algebra in 6th grade isn’t a real course?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see how many of the Algebra in 6th grade kids are actually going to take Geometry now in 7th. My guess? Close to 0.

+1

We are planning to finish Geometry in summer, so DC would take Algebra 2 in 7th.

Summer Geometry is not an option for those finishing 6th grade.

Where did you get an information about no summer geo for current 6th graders in algebra 1?

NP: it was emphatically stated at out school’s info night back in the fall when the county reps did their rah rah algebra spiel. “So if this is successful, and our daughter takes geometry over the summer—“ “No. These students will not be eligible to do geometry over the summer.”

That was 3 months ago so maybe all the rules and ideas have changed, but as of the beginning of the year it was not an option.

Interesting. And why wouldn’t it be an option? Is it because this so called Algebra in 6th grade isn’t a real course?

Maybe because it’s not developmentally appropriate for 11/12 yr olds to spend 8 hours/day over the entire summer taking an intensive high school geometry class? Public schools have no business endorsing this level of acceleration on a large scale and I commend FCPS for saying no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Curious to see how many of the Algebra in 6th grade kids are actually going to take Geometry now in 7th. My guess? Close to 0.

+1

We are planning to finish Geometry in summer, so DC would take Algebra 2 in 7th.

why the rush?

The great race to nowhere.

Pretty much. Take a look at the engineering, math, and science curricula at the top universities and try to figure out where Algebra II in 7th grade fits into that…

[Anonymous]

Just want to ask for an update - how is it going for the students who have opted in to Algebra 1 in 6th grade? Are the pre-algebra/math7 concepts covered as part of Alg-1 or are the student expected to pick up these concepts by the time they start the Alg-1 classes or is it pretty much school/teacher dependent?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just want to ask for an update - how is it going for the students who have opted in to Algebra 1 in 6th grade? Are the pre-algebra/math7 concepts covered as part of Alg-1 or are the student expected to pick up these concepts by the time they start the Alg-1 classes or is it pretty much school/teacher dependent?

This. No curriculum is provided, it's up to each teacher to do it how they please.

Our school seems to be weaving it in where it's necessary. What is allotted a week in the M7H curriculum is covered in 40 minutes in 6th grade, but it's working. My child and the friends he brings home who sometimes end up doing math homework together are bright and picking it up quickly.

The most recent stat from Reid is that "95% of 6th graders are passing" which is a really blurry statistic that means nothing...because is that an A or a D? If each teacher is writing their own exams, are they actually passing grade level material? Too high or too low? The SOLs will tell the story to some extent--if kids aren't pass advancing those in large percentages, there are issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just want to ask for an update - how is it going for the students who have opted in to Algebra 1 in 6th grade? Are the pre-algebra/math7 concepts covered as part of Alg-1 or are the student expected to pick up these concepts by the time they start the Alg-1 classes or is it pretty much school/teacher dependent?

This. No curriculum is provided, it's up to each teacher to do it how they please.

Our school seems to be weaving it in where it's necessary. What is allotted a week in the M7H curriculum is covered in 40 minutes in 6th grade, but it's working. My child and the friends he brings home who sometimes end up doing math homework together are bright and picking it up quickly.

The most recent stat from Reid is that "95% of 6th graders are passing" which is a really blurry statistic that means nothing...because is that an A or a D? If each teacher is writing their own exams, are they actually passing grade level material? Too high or too low? The SOLs will tell the story to some extent--if kids aren't pass advancing those in large percentages, there are issues.

Thanks! It is sad the way this was rolled out not giving enough time for the students to prepare to take up Alg-1 in 6th grade. Granted, the bright kids will probably be able to cope up fine, but as you said we won't know until the SOL stats are released. I HOPE at least the current Adv. math 5th graders are being prepared for Alg-1 in 6th, if they choose to take that path.