Academic Rigor of APS Middle Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are interested in what your kid is learning in middle school, you can sign up for an observer canvas account. It lets you see what the teacher posts in canvas but not assignments they link to in google docs or other systems. I find it easier to sit down periodically with my middle schooler and his iPad and have him show me what he’s doing in each subject.

Observer accounts are a waste. Just login to your kid's account directly.

+100 I don't see why they even bother with those parent accounts, pretty useless IME

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I would like to hear from other APS parents and get their thoughts on the academic rigor of APS middle schools.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way but hear me out. DC is in 8th grade, is taking Algebra, and is mostly a straight A student (had a B one quarter in 6th and 7th grade), which, to be honest, is confounding to me. DC is not particularly a motivated student, and is the kind of kid who will put in what he needs to to get the desired outcome, no more, no less. Whenever I ask if there's any homework or a test to study for, DC responds that it was done at school, if they get any homework at all. I remember when I was that age, I had to bust my ass to get straight As. I wouldn't even know my child was actually even in school if it wasn't for ParentVue, which is the only reason I know DC is actually doing all of the assignments. But it's difficult for me to gauge how much DS is actually learning and absorbing. Maybe DC just a natural learner and grasps concepts more easily than I did, in which case, great! Or maybe APS expects the bare minimum which makes it easy for a student to just coast. I don't know. And it's not from lack of trying to understand or asking questions. Whenever I ask about school, I usually just get one or two-word responses. Everything is good or fine.

This is a longwinded way of saying I'm worried that the middle school isn't doing its job to properly prepare its students for the rigors of high school. Anyone else worried about this? How did your "coaster" do transitioning from MS to HS?



Don't worry, APS is watering down the HS classes, too.



Agree. Our experience was:

5th grade teachers pressuring students via "when you're in middle school, you're gonna hafta ______ and you won't be able to ______."
6th grade: prophecy unfulfilled.
MS: "when you're in high school......"
HS: generally little homework for most classes, no homework for some, AP class homework heaviest but not nearly what we kept being told it would be. Plus, little or no consequences for turning work in late and multiple opportunities for "grade recovery" or "grade improvement."

Wish we had (and had been able to) go private.

You are assuming that ES, MS, and HS teachers talk regularly and know what the other teaches. This is not the case. The teachers of the younger students are probably just doing their best to meet an assumed standard, and think this talk will motivate the unmotivated.

[Anonymous]

I'm wondering which HS isn't assigning homework, especially for intensified and AP classes. This is not the norm for most people I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically, ppl think that adult who are in college won't be able to figure out the workload unless overworked as kids?

Actually, yes. I was a “gifted” kid who coasted through school with all A’s, including lots of AP classes. When I got to college I had to learn challenging material at the same time as learning study skills and time management- things most other kids learned in Jr High and HS and had years to practice with adult support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They got rid of homework because of equity. Not everyone has a stable home situation and some need to care for younger siblings or elderly relatives. So nothing assigned out of school, and in fact we are forfeiting instruction time for study time, because they can’t study at home either.

Equity is a real problem. This is not the way to solve it.

No homework in 8th grade? Maybe not even high school? College will be crushing

+1.

I have a 10th grader and a current APS MS 8th grader, both straight As the entire way through and never saw them research/write papers or even study. They do score high on assessments and SOLs. I assumed every kid in MS gets all As and now with being allowed to make constant corrections and take retakes there is no reason why they all don’t have straight As.

We do private HS and it’s been night and day. My kid still gets As, but the amount of work required for it, the expectations and the rigor is so much greater. It’s worth every penny we spend. And the teachers at his school are phenomenal. He isn’t bored like MS. He is very engaged and self-motivated because it’s not someone just regurgitating from a text.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I would like to hear from other APS parents and get their thoughts on the academic rigor of APS middle schools.

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way but hear me out. DC is in 8th grade, is taking Algebra, and is mostly a straight A student (had a B one quarter in 6th and 7th grade), which, to be honest, is confounding to me. DC is not particularly a motivated student, and is the kind of kid who will put in what he needs to to get the desired outcome, no more, no less. Whenever I ask if there's any homework or a test to study for, DC responds that it was done at school, if they get any homework at all. I remember when I was that age, I had to bust my ass to get straight As. I wouldn't even know my child was actually even in school if it wasn't for ParentVue, which is the only reason I know DC is actually doing all of the assignments. But it's difficult for me to gauge how much DS is actually learning and absorbing. Maybe DC just a natural learner and grasps concepts more easily than I did, in which case, great! Or maybe APS expects the bare minimum which makes it easy for a student to just coast. I don't know. And it's not from lack of trying to understand or asking questions. Whenever I ask about school, I usually just get one or two-word responses. Everything is good or fine.

This is a longwinded way of saying I'm worried that the middle school isn't doing its job to properly prepare its students for the rigors of high school. Anyone else worried about this? How did your "coaster" do transitioning from MS to HS?



Don't worry, APS is watering down the HS classes, too.



Agree. Our experience was:

5th grade teachers pressuring students via "when you're in middle school, you're gonna hafta ______ and you won't be able to ______."
6th grade: prophecy unfulfilled.
MS: "when you're in high school......"
HS: generally little homework for most classes, no homework for some, AP class homework heaviest but not nearly what we kept being told it would be. Plus, little or no consequences for turning work in late and multiple opportunities for "grade recovery" or "grade improvement."

Wish we had (and had been able to) go private.

You are assuming that ES, MS, and HS teachers talk regularly and know what the other teaches. This is not the case. The teachers of the younger students are probably just doing their best to meet an assumed standard, and think this talk will motivate the unmotivated.

Actually, no such assumption. That's the exact problem - no coordination between levels. Bigger problem is that the elementary teachers are correct and the middle and high schools are not upholding the correct standards (turning in assignments on time, teaching how to study and prepare for an exam, dealing with the grade you got instead of providing multiple times to retake or resubmit or grader recovery....) It's a huge disservice to the students who WILL be required to do those things when they get a job or go to college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm wondering which HS isn't assigning homework, especially for intensified and AP classes. This is not the norm for most people I know.

Nobody said "no homework." Light workloads and lots of opportunity to complete what would be homework in class. There are exceptions of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So basically, ppl think that adult who are in college won't be able to figure out the workload unless overworked as kids?

Actually, yes. I was a “gifted” kid who coasted through school with all A’s, including lots of AP classes. When I got to college I had to learn challenging material at the same time as learning study skills and time management- things most other kids learned in Jr High and HS and had years to practice with adult support.

There's a big difference between "overworked" and just "worked." Having homework every night is not "overworked." Having to write a ten page paper outside of class over the course of a quarter isn't "overworked." Having to read complete novels and write essays isn't "overworked."

Taking 5 AP classes at once plus extracurriculars and maybe a part-time job or other volunteer hours is probably "overworked." But that's the student signing up for being overworked, not the teachers overworking them.

[Anonymous]

If you want more rigor, contact your MS's principal and guidance counselors and tell them you support the Superintendent's plan to introduce intensified classes in 2023 and move towards larger clusters of GT students in 2022. The goal is to provide that opportunity for rigor to those who are already identified as well as those who choose it, with supports so that additional challenge is available even to typically underserved populations like ELL and SN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want more rigor, contact your MS's principal and guidance counselors and tell them you support the Superintendent's plan to introduce intensified classes in 2023 and move towards larger clusters of GT students in 2022. The goal is to provide that opportunity for rigor to those who are already identified as well as those who choose it, with supports so that additional challenge is available even to typically underserved populations like ELL and SN.

Wouldn’t more rigor / GT classes be racist?

NYC has completely eliminated GT in public school.

[Anonymous]

The plan is to include specific outreach to under-represented groups with a goal that intensified classes will mirror the demographics of each school. They will not be limited to GT-identified students which is why the schools will need to identify to-be-named supports for those kids who might not otherwise step up to the challenge. The reality is by not offering these classes, APS is actually widening the opportunity gap. Families with resources are hiring tutors or otherwise getting their children enrichment options outside of school that many lower SES families can't give their kids.

Something like 80% of APS kids take Algebra 1 by 8th grade, as the math track is the only one with an intensified option. There's clearly a demand for more challenge and rigor. This superintendent is supportive of that. He is on the record as saying that he believes that equity involves giving all children a year's worth of academic growth, including those who are academically advanced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The plan is to include specific outreach to under-represented groups with a goal that intensified classes will mirror the demographics of each school. They will not be limited to GT-identified students which is why the schools will need to identify to-be-named supports for those kids who might not otherwise step up to the challenge. The reality is by not offering these classes, APS is actually widening the opportunity gap. Families with resources are hiring tutors or otherwise getting their children enrichment options outside of school that many lower SES families can't give their kids.

Something like 80% of APS kids take Algebra 1 by 8th grade, as the math track is the only one with an intensified option. There's clearly a demand for more challenge and rigor. This superintendent is supportive of that. He is on the record as saying that he believes that equity involves giving all children a year's worth of academic growth, including those who are academically advanced.

Almost none of the kids that take the 'Algebra exemption' test at my kids' private in Arlington (from APS MS) pass it. Scores like 58% from an all A-intensified Algebra APS student are not unheard of. They re-take it in 9th. That is why so many APS kids crash and burn on the intensified pathway down the road. The basics aren't there and math builds.

[Anonymous]

I came to learn that straight As in Intensified courses during APS middle school did not correlate to mastery of subjects or depth of knowledge.

I would never assume an 'A' means they are good writers or understand the math concepts from what I've seen.