Automatically enrolled into Algebra 1 honors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter if a kid takes algebra 1 in grade 7 or grade 6 ?
Does it have an impact on college admissions and career?

I think the more widespread question will be: Does it matter if a kid takes Algebra 1 in 7th grade or in 8th grade? If you opt out of 7th and wait until 8th, are you now on a non-advanced path, and have you lost your shot at getting into schools like UVA?

Also, if Algebra in 8th is going to be an expectation for everyone, then are we going to continue to have it be a high-school credit class? Why?

This is what I am struggling with. Will I be disadvantaging my child by having her take algebra in 8th as her brother did.

No. The vast majority of the US does not offer Algebra until 8th grade. She will be able to take Calculus her Senior year, which is what the op schools want. There is no real evidence that the kids taking more advanced math have better college results. My kid took A1H in 7th grade, he will be one of the DE kids. he loves math, finds it easy, and has participated in RSMs math competition program since 4th grade. This path works for him.

Let your kid take the math class that is right for your child and don’t worry about the peer pressure to accelerate. She’ll be fine.

I get this argument, however, you’re competing against the kids in your local school for admission and algebra in 6th will be the new advanced track norm. At our school, 60+ AAP 6th graders enrolled in the A1H pilot this year. Some of those kids will go to TJ, but not all, and when they’re applying to schools the advanced math track that my older DS was on (7th grade A1H) has now accelerated by 1 year. I plan to opt out for my rising 6th grader but I definitely have some hesitation about doing so because of this.

Some of these kids will tank their chances by getting B's and C's in classes they maybe could have had an A in if they had waited another year or two. Not exclusively talking about algebra 1 but the upper level courses too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does it matter if a kid takes algebra 1 in grade 7 or grade 6 ?
Does it have an impact on college admissions and career?

I think the more widespread question will be: Does it matter if a kid takes Algebra 1 in 7th grade or in 8th grade? If you opt out of 7th and wait until 8th, are you now on a non-advanced path, and have you lost your shot at getting into schools like UVA?

Also, if Algebra in 8th is going to be an expectation for everyone, then are we going to continue to have it be a high-school credit class? Why?

This is what I am struggling with. Will I be disadvantaging my child by having her take algebra in 8th as her brother did.

No. The vast majority of the US does not offer Algebra until 8th grade. She will be able to take Calculus her Senior year, which is what the op schools want. There is no real evidence that the kids taking more advanced math have better college results. My kid took A1H in 7th grade, he will be one of the DE kids. he loves math, finds it easy, and has participated in RSMs math competition program since 4th grade. This path works for him.

Let your kid take the math class that is right for your child and don’t worry about the peer pressure to accelerate. She’ll be fine.

I get this argument, however, you’re competing against the kids in your local school for admission and algebra in 6th will be the new advanced track norm. At our school, 60+ AAP 6th graders enrolled in the A1H pilot this year. Some of those kids will go to TJ, but not all, and when they’re applying to schools the advanced math track that my older DS was on (7th grade A1H) has now accelerated by 1 year. I plan to opt out for my rising 6th grader but I definitely have some hesitation about doing so because of this.

Some of these kids will tank their chances by getting B's and C's in classes they maybe could have had an A in if they had waited another year or two. Not exclusively talking about algebra 1 but the upper level courses too.

I totally agree, which is why I’m not enrolling my rising 6th grader, but the worry is still there. Also, if it weren’t to go well, I can’t imagine telling a kid who works hard but struggled all year that they’ll need to expunge. That’s a great way to shatter confidence. The 7th grade A1H path has been the right timing with older DC and is accelerated enough for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We will opt out our daughter. She is not ready to take Algebra in grade 6.

Same. I don't believe 6th graders should be taking a high school level class. The pilot was a disaster at our school. Half of the kids dropped out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. Either you are unaware of what is actually happening at FCPS when it comes to math instruction or deliberately obtuse.

If you are not providing enrichment outside of the school, your student will have substantial gaps in their math foundation. There are exceptionally good teachers out there, but in a majority of cases, math material is not adequately covered. Fast forwarding those who are ready for Algebra I in 6th or 7th grade changes nothing in that sense.

If you feel that your child is not ready, then, by all means, opt out. Those who are opting in have been paying close attention to the instruction and making sure there are no gaps for years now.

FCPS has been watering down math due to the lack of proper instruction for years. For those students who thrived either through natural aptitude or outside enrichment despite of the lower expectations, this is a great move. They don’t need to be held back to play catch up with foundational skills that should have been taught early on.

The issue is with the way too slow and superficial math instruction in the earlier grades (no, showing a YouTube video and easy tests do not cut it for teaching math basics). If this is the way FCPS is going to remedy it all, I am all for it. They just need to keep going to increased expectations all the way to K. Then by 6th, you might get shocked with how many more kids will be ready for Algebra I in 6th.

Ok, so what you’re actually saying is that the students who are ready in 6th are receiving enrichment outside of school. Bc you were trying to argue that you know many who are ready w/o it, which is not the case.

I am the PP you responded to, but I think you are also responding to someone else who claimed there are many students who did not have any outside enrichment and are now ready for Algebra I. I am not the same poster.

From my small sample size, I don’t know a single family, AAP or not, that does not do at least some sort of math enrichment. Extent varies, depending on the aptitude and interests of a child. Regardless of the aptitude and at the very minimum, most families provide extra worksheets. The need for this is generic across all grades, AAP or not.

If your child is not ready, that is perfectly fine. My children have very different abilities. I would never push them into an area of weakness or try to accelerate too much if they need a little bit more time to gain stronger foundational skills. If someone opted them in into a program that is too accelerated, I would be appreciative and then politely decline.

Having to make two clicks to opt out should not cause you to be outraged.

Did I say I was outraged? I’m not. I do, however, think FCPS is failing our students by pushing this so widely. There has always been a path to take A1H in 6th for the kids who “need it” and qualify. It’s reckless to remove all qualifying requirements.

My child is math inclined, scores 99% on MAP and abilities testing, and is fully capable and deemed “ready” to take it by FCPS standards, but I won’t allow it in 6th, because there are major gaps in the foundational knowledge with this jump and I see this is a race to nowhere.

Maybe I am not understanding what is happening (last PP you responded to).

Isn’t it the case that the current 5th grade AAP students have to “opt in” and are not automatically enrolled in Algebra I? You claim your child is in the 5th grade right now. Did you get a notification they were automatically enrolled?

I think for 26-27, only current 6th grade AAP students (who are all taking Math 7 as it is), are automatically enrolled in Algebra I and would have to opt out?


It is not that a huge of a jump from Math 7 AAP to Algebra I, and many AAP students followed that path in the past. The only difference having to pass IOWA test and/or get advanced pass on SOL, of have the parents petition.

Yes, I know it’s not a huge jump from math 7 AAP to A1H, my older DC did that 2 yrs ago and was well-prepared. I have no idea what’s happening for my 5th grader, as I haven’t received a email from the school yet, but was responding to an earlier post on this thread that said they are now auto-enrolling 5th graders into A1H and requiring an opt-out. I saw the form on digital consent and the date for opt out is 5/8. I’m really surprised they would enroll rising AAP 6th graders in A1H automatically (with no testing requirements) since they’re skipping math 7 entirely.

I don’t think current 5th graders are being automatically enrolled in A1H. There is an option for all AAP students to opt in.

It is thecurrent AAP 6th graders, who are doing math 7 this year, who are automatically enrolled in A1H, with an easy option to opt out.

this is wrong. i have a 5th AAP kid and the digital consent form is to opt out. otherwise you’re in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. Either you are unaware of what is actually happening at FCPS when it comes to math instruction or deliberately obtuse.

If you are not providing enrichment outside of the school, your student will have substantial gaps in their math foundation. There are exceptionally good teachers out there, but in a majority of cases, math material is not adequately covered. Fast forwarding those who are ready for Algebra I in 6th or 7th grade changes nothing in that sense.

If you feel that your child is not ready, then, by all means, opt out. Those who are opting in have been paying close attention to the instruction and making sure there are no gaps for years now.

FCPS has been watering down math due to the lack of proper instruction for years. For those students who thrived either through natural aptitude or outside enrichment despite of the lower expectations, this is a great move. They don’t need to be held back to play catch up with foundational skills that should have been taught early on.

The issue is with the way too slow and superficial math instruction in the earlier grades (no, showing a YouTube video and easy tests do not cut it for teaching math basics). If this is the way FCPS is going to remedy it all, I am all for it. They just need to keep going to increased expectations all the way to K. Then by 6th, you might get shocked with how many more kids will be ready for Algebra I in 6th.

Ok, so what you’re actually saying is that the students who are ready in 6th are receiving enrichment outside of school. Bc you were trying to argue that you know many who are ready w/o it, which is not the case.

I am the PP you responded to, but I think you are also responding to someone else who claimed there are many students who did not have any outside enrichment and are now ready for Algebra I. I am not the same poster.

From my small sample size, I don’t know a single family, AAP or not, that does not do at least some sort of math enrichment. Extent varies, depending on the aptitude and interests of a child. Regardless of the aptitude and at the very minimum, most families provide extra worksheets. The need for this is generic across all grades, AAP or not.

If your child is not ready, that is perfectly fine. My children have very different abilities. I would never push them into an area of weakness or try to accelerate too much if they need a little bit more time to gain stronger foundational skills. If someone opted them in into a program that is too accelerated, I would be appreciative and then politely decline.

Having to make two clicks to opt out should not cause you to be outraged.

Did I say I was outraged? I’m not. I do, however, think FCPS is failing our students by pushing this so widely. There has always been a path to take A1H in 6th for the kids who “need it” and qualify. It’s reckless to remove all qualifying requirements.

My child is math inclined, scores 99% on MAP and abilities testing, and is fully capable and deemed “ready” to take it by FCPS standards, but I won’t allow it in 6th, because there are major gaps in the foundational knowledge with this jump and I see this is a race to nowhere.

Maybe I am not understanding what is happening (last PP you responded to).

Isn’t it the case that the current 5th grade AAP students have to “opt in” and are not automatically enrolled in Algebra I? You claim your child is in the 5th grade right now. Did you get a notification they were automatically enrolled?

I think for 26-27, only current 6th grade AAP students (who are all taking Math 7 as it is), are automatically enrolled in Algebra I and would have to opt out?


It is not that a huge of a jump from Math 7 AAP to Algebra I, and many AAP students followed that path in the past. The only difference having to pass IOWA test and/or get advanced pass on SOL, of have the parents petition.

Yes, I know it’s not a huge jump from math 7 AAP to A1H, my older DC did that 2 yrs ago and was well-prepared. I have no idea what’s happening for my 5th grader, as I haven’t received a email from the school yet, but was responding to an earlier post on this thread that said they are now auto-enrolling 5th graders into A1H and requiring an opt-out. I saw the form on digital consent and the date for opt out is 5/8. I’m really surprised they would enroll rising AAP 6th graders in A1H automatically (with no testing requirements) since they’re skipping math 7 entirely.

I don’t think current 5th graders are being automatically enrolled in A1H. There is an option for all AAP students to opt in.

It is thecurrent AAP 6th graders, who are doing math 7 this year, who are automatically enrolled in A1H, with an easy option to opt out.

this is wrong. i have a 5th AAP kid and the digital consent form is to opt out. otherwise you’re in

I am the PP you responded to. This is strange. Is everyone with AAP 5th graders seeing this? Maybe it is not the same for everyone? Also, did you receive any emails from FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. Either you are unaware of what is actually happening at FCPS when it comes to math instruction or deliberately obtuse.

If you are not providing enrichment outside of the school, your student will have substantial gaps in their math foundation. There are exceptionally good teachers out there, but in a majority of cases, math material is not adequately covered. Fast forwarding those who are ready for Algebra I in 6th or 7th grade changes nothing in that sense.

If you feel that your child is not ready, then, by all means, opt out. Those who are opting in have been paying close attention to the instruction and making sure there are no gaps for years now.

FCPS has been watering down math due to the lack of proper instruction for years. For those students who thrived either through natural aptitude or outside enrichment despite of the lower expectations, this is a great move. They don’t need to be held back to play catch up with foundational skills that should have been taught early on.

The issue is with the way too slow and superficial math instruction in the earlier grades (no, showing a YouTube video and easy tests do not cut it for teaching math basics). If this is the way FCPS is going to remedy it all, I am all for it. They just need to keep going to increased expectations all the way to K. Then by 6th, you might get shocked with how many more kids will be ready for Algebra I in 6th.

Ok, so what you’re actually saying is that the students who are ready in 6th are receiving enrichment outside of school. Bc you were trying to argue that you know many who are ready w/o it, which is not the case.

I am the PP you responded to, but I think you are also responding to someone else who claimed there are many students who did not have any outside enrichment and are now ready for Algebra I. I am not the same poster.

From my small sample size, I don’t know a single family, AAP or not, that does not do at least some sort of math enrichment. Extent varies, depending on the aptitude and interests of a child. Regardless of the aptitude and at the very minimum, most families provide extra worksheets. The need for this is generic across all grades, AAP or not.

If your child is not ready, that is perfectly fine. My children have very different abilities. I would never push them into an area of weakness or try to accelerate too much if they need a little bit more time to gain stronger foundational skills. If someone opted them in into a program that is too accelerated, I would be appreciative and then politely decline.

Having to make two clicks to opt out should not cause you to be outraged.

Did I say I was outraged? I’m not. I do, however, think FCPS is failing our students by pushing this so widely. There has always been a path to take A1H in 6th for the kids who “need it” and qualify. It’s reckless to remove all qualifying requirements.

My child is math inclined, scores 99% on MAP and abilities testing, and is fully capable and deemed “ready” to take it by FCPS standards, but I won’t allow it in 6th, because there are major gaps in the foundational knowledge with this jump and I see this is a race to nowhere.

Maybe I am not understanding what is happening (last PP you responded to).

Isn’t it the case that the current 5th grade AAP students have to “opt in” and are not automatically enrolled in Algebra I? You claim your child is in the 5th grade right now. Did you get a notification they were automatically enrolled?

I think for 26-27, only current 6th grade AAP students (who are all taking Math 7 as it is), are automatically enrolled in Algebra I and would have to opt out?


It is not that a huge of a jump from Math 7 AAP to Algebra I, and many AAP students followed that path in the past. The only difference having to pass IOWA test and/or get advanced pass on SOL, of have the parents petition.

Yes, I know it’s not a huge jump from math 7 AAP to A1H, my older DC did that 2 yrs ago and was well-prepared. I have no idea what’s happening for my 5th grader, as I haven’t received a email from the school yet, but was responding to an earlier post on this thread that said they are now auto-enrolling 5th graders into A1H and requiring an opt-out. I saw the form on digital consent and the date for opt out is 5/8. I’m really surprised they would enroll rising AAP 6th graders in A1H automatically (with no testing requirements) since they’re skipping math 7 entirely.

I don’t think current 5th graders are being automatically enrolled in A1H. There is an option for all AAP students to opt in.

It is thecurrent AAP 6th graders, who are doing math 7 this year, who are automatically enrolled in A1H, with an easy option to opt out.

this is wrong. i have a 5th AAP kid and the digital consent form is to opt out. otherwise you’re in

I am the PP you responded to. This is strange. Is everyone with AAP 5th graders seeing this? Maybe it is not the same for everyone? Also, did you receive any emails from FCPS?

I have an AAP 5th grader. We’ve received no info from FCPS. I know about and looked at the digital consent form only bc of this thread (didn’t know it was there otherwise). It’s opt in/opt out. You’re supposed to choose one of the other by may 8. There’s no clear indication on the form of what the default option is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We opted out from the pilot program, and now my son will be taking algebra 1 in grade 7.
I fear that there are so many AAP kids who are 1 year advanced than him. I’m thinking if he is ready and willing, he can do geometry in summer before grade 8 to catch up.
How are Calculus and courses like differential equations that are to be completed after Cal BC? I’m wondering if they might be too hard and stressful. And if he doesn’t plan to apply for TJ, is so much math beneficial?

Why? Is it so important to keep up with Joneses that you are going to have your kid lose a summer vacatin? You are going to have them cram a year long math class into 6 weeks where they are essentially teaching themselves the subject and workings for 6-8 hours a day on Geometry? Go read the summer Geometry threads. The in-person class skims over the material. Kids are watching videos and using Khan Academy to teach themselves geometry. There are multiple quizzes each day, plus a test, plus homework.

Who cares is there are kids ahead of him in math. Go check out the college forums. Kids are accepted at UVA and other schools, even Ivies, with “only” Calc AB. Your child is not harmed by taking A1H in 7th grade instead of 6th grade. Plenty of kids who took A1H in 8th grade, even when it was available in 7th grade, attend top tier schools.

Level of math doesn’t matter for TJ. Why would you make your kid do a summer math class when you are worried about HS math being too hard and stressful?

Make choices based on what your child wants to do. A kid who is doing well in math and is 2 years accelerated is doing just fine. Stressing over the fact that he isn’t three years accelerated is about as DCUM/NoVA thing as you can get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is going to backfire tremendously.

We are looking at middle school abroad and most schools don't even offer algebra until 9th grade, maybe 8th if you are lucky. I am fine with algebra in 8th but I'm afraid if we go down that path, my kid is going to be seriously screwed for course placement in HS. I doubt that's even some Dr. Reid has considered.

Is there any research to back up all this acceleration? I'm really confused about why so many kids need to be pushed into this - in the US where so many adults are so open about hating math. We want more kids to pick math-related careers. Pushing and overwhelming them early seems like the wrong approach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i have a current AAP 5th grader who is 99% on MAPs and perfect on SOLs and she’s still not ready. it’s crazy to auto enroll kids into algebra in 6th with no real requirement other than to pass the SOL. so many kids are going to fail. they haven’t even announced to parents this is happening

What are you using to decide she's not ready?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have a current AAP 5th grader who is 99% on MAPs and perfect on SOLs and she’s still not ready. it’s crazy to auto enroll kids into algebra in 6th with no real requirement other than to pass the SOL. so many kids are going to fail. they haven’t even announced to parents this is happening

What are you using to decide she's not ready?

different poster with a 5th grader who has the same stats — I also don’t feel she is ready for A1H in 6th. Why? Because she’s relying entirely on FCPS for her math education and hasn’t taken pre-algebra yet. I don’t think it’s in her best interest to skip an entire year of foundational knowledge just to struggle in a subject she otherwise loves and excels at. Down the road, I don’t think there’s any benefit to rushing this. She’ll be plenty advanced taking A1H in 7th, like her older sibling did.

[Anonymous]

Is this open to only all level 4 AAP students? How about level 3 math AAP students?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have a current AAP 5th grader who is 99% on MAPs and perfect on SOLs and she’s still not ready. it’s crazy to auto enroll kids into algebra in 6th with no real requirement other than to pass the SOL. so many kids are going to fail. they haven’t even announced to parents this is happening

What are you using to decide she's not ready?

different poster with a 5th grader who has the same stats — I also don’t feel she is ready for A1H in 6th. Why? Because she’s relying entirely on FCPS for her math education and hasn’t taken pre-algebra yet. I don’t think it’s in her best interest to skip an entire year of foundational knowledge just to struggle in a subject she otherwise loves and excels at. Down the road, I don’t think there’s any benefit to rushing this. She’ll be plenty advanced taking A1H in 7th, like her older sibling did.

DP: I think the kids who will be successful are the one that have outside enrichment and have received pre algebra instruction. It is not only about ability. My child loves math, has never scored below 99% in math iready or maps since first grade. Scored 99% on the COGAT. Is the capable yes, does she have the prerequisite to be successful, no?

I feel like we will be setting her up to fail if we put her in Alegebra 1. Where is she supposed to get pre algebra knowledge to do well (get an A on a high school level class), osmosis, sarcasm).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have a current AAP 5th grader who is 99% on MAPs and perfect on SOLs and she’s still not ready. it’s crazy to auto enroll kids into algebra in 6th with no real requirement other than to pass the SOL. so many kids are going to fail. they haven’t even announced to parents this is happening

What are you using to decide she's not ready?

different poster with a 5th grader who has the same stats — I also don’t feel she is ready for A1H in 6th. Why? Because she’s relying entirely on FCPS for her math education and hasn’t taken pre-algebra yet. I don’t think it’s in her best interest to skip an entire year of foundational knowledge just to struggle in a subject she otherwise loves and excels at. Down the road, I don’t think there’s any benefit to rushing this. She’ll be plenty advanced taking A1H in 7th, like her older sibling did.

I have a 5th grader with similar stats and don't feel confident saying he is or is not ready. Its not something Ive thought about and we don't have older kids to compare. My initial instinct is, if he is performing well and acceleration is offered, he should do it. The bar will be raised or loweres for the whole cohort, right? But I would not say he is a math prodigy who needs more acceleration. But if FCPS is offering it, I lean towards including him in it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:i have a current AAP 5th grader who is 99% on MAPs and perfect on SOLs and she’s still not ready. it’s crazy to auto enroll kids into algebra in 6th with no real requirement other than to pass the SOL. so many kids are going to fail. they haven’t even announced to parents this is happening

What are you using to decide she's not ready?

different poster with a 5th grader who has the same stats — I also don’t feel she is ready for A1H in 6th. Why? Because she’s relying entirely on FCPS for her math education and hasn’t taken pre-algebra yet. I don’t think it’s in her best interest to skip an entire year of foundational knowledge just to struggle in a subject she otherwise loves and excels at. Down the road, I don’t think there’s any benefit to rushing this. She’ll be plenty advanced taking A1H in 7th, like her older sibling did.

I have a 5th grader with similar stats and don't feel confident saying he is or is not ready. It’s not something Ive thought about and we don't have older kids to compare. My initial instinct is, if he is performing well and acceleration is offered, he should do it. The bar will be raised or loweres for the whole cohort, right? But I would not say he is a math prodigy who needs more acceleration. But if FCPS is offering it, I lean towards including him in it.

Just a note, the grade will be on their high school transcript. So you want your child to get a A. The grade can be erased if the class is retaken, but that might impact their self esteem.

2 years ago, students had to score 90% on the IAAT test to qualify. I recommend every parent have their child take the IAAT test and see if their child can answer 90% of the questions correctly in 40 minutes. Here is a link to a free test.

https://www.scribd.com/document/817094414/IAAT-Practice-Test-1

[Anonymous]

It should not be difficult to administer a test that checks for foundational gaps and algebra readiness. If nothing else, they could have a M7H teacher write up a M7H final exam, give it to all of the AAP 5th graders under regular exam conditions, and then let the parents know how the kid did. It would give parents and teachers another data point as to whether the kid is ready for Algebra or whether they'd benefit from a year of pre-algebra.