Pre-algebra in 6th - score cutoffs

[Anonymous]

Who knew I would start such a controversy by saying I asked to place my kid lol. I asked the same question this summer (asking if I should request placement and nearly everyone on that post agreed I should!). Different crowd I guess lol.

For what its worth, my kid does want to go into the hard sciences (and has since he was 3). He also took a intro to pre algebra virtual class this summer to prep himself. Hopefully he is not dooming the class and bringing them all down!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Twiddle their thumbs. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Which grades do you mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Which grades do you mean?

6-7th

[Anonymous]

Is there remedial math in middle school?

[Anonymous]

There is a math strategies class. Students who need extra support take the regular math class and the math strategies class concurrently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Which grades do you mean?

6-7th

6th grade math starts prealgebra. It's just slow going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Which grades do you mean?

6-7th

I do think it’d be better to have the option to spread out math 6/7/8 across 6 & 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who knew I would start such a controversy by saying I asked to place my kid lol. I asked the same question this summer (asking if I should request placement and nearly everyone on that post agreed I should!). Different crowd I guess lol.

For what its worth, my kid does want to go into the hard sciences (and has since he was 3). He also took an intro to pre algebra virtual class this summer to prep himself. Hopefully he is not dooming the class and bringing them all down!

I am anti-acceleration but don’t fault individual parents one bit. APS has set up this system which allows you to do it and creates a sense that you should do it or your child is missing out on some advantage and also that s/he will be left behind with kids who aren’t good at math.

It’s such a bad system, but you absolutely should fight for what’s best for your kid within the system we are stuck with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Twiddle their thumbs. Seriously.

Both of my kids could tolerate school because of their advanced math classes. It was the only class where they were remotely challenged. I do wish my non-stem inclined child wasn’t taking such intensive math classes but overall I think algebra in 7th was a good call on the school’s part. For my son who is very stem-inclined I asked him to be placed in pre-algebra in sixth because he misunderstood the instructions on the sol and only got a 505, and the math person at his middle school agreed with it.

For me, sixth grade math placement doesn’t have anything to do with their future careers. It is about their current school experiences. I do wish there was a middle ground but with the emphasis on equity and inclusive classrooms, in which an individual teacher is expected to magically differentiate, I don’t think we will see that anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

There is a misunderstanding among nonSTEM educators and parents that acceleration in and of itself equals challenge. The problem in APS is that they aren’t challenging the smart kids in math through depth and instead are just pushing them up/through material more quickly. They could go more slowly with harder problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a misunderstanding among nonSTEM educators and parents that acceleration in and of itself equals challenge. The problem in APS is that they aren’t challenging the smart kids in math through depth and instead are just pushing them up/through material more quickly. They could go more slowly with harder problems.

What’s the difference between challenging students with depth and challenging them with breadth? Either way the class is harder. I do think that depth is better but a challenge is a challenge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate the pressure to accelerate in math early common in APS. It does not serve 99% of the student body long term. How many 3s are there in the BC Calc exam junior year? How many quit this path? How many take advanced math in college? How do they do? The students would be much better served with a stronger base and get to advanced math — if they ever do — in college with a stronger base. This is the track at all the fancy private schools fwiw. APS cannot actually accelerate the 1% who actually do need it and are truly bored without parents screaming about their special kid as well. And of course — equity — APS gives in.

There are multiple reasons why private schools don't generally accelerate. One is that they don't want to have to tell fee-paying parents that their kid doesn't qualify for acceleration. It is politically easier not to offer accelerated math classes to avoid angering some parents. Also, by the end of HS, kids don't look so obviously different in their math enrollments which makes some parents happy.

It's always the parents with liberal arts degrees who argue for more acceleration. Those of us who actually have STEM degrees know that it's a race to no where. It's far more important to have a deep understanding of the content.

+1

I think algebra 1 in 8th is fine for the accelerated option.

- multiple STEM degrees

What do the kids in the 99th percentile do for 2 years while many of their peers can barely do multiplication?

Twiddle their thumbs. Seriously.

Both of my kids could tolerate school because of their advanced math classes. It was the only class where they were remotely challenged. I do wish my non-stem inclined child wasn’t taking such intensive math classes but overall I think algebra in 7th was a good call on the school’s part. For my son who is very stem-inclined I asked him to be placed in pre-algebra in sixth because he misunderstood the instructions on the sol and only got a 505, and the math person at his middle school agreed with it.

For me, sixth grade math placement doesn’t have anything to do with their future careers. It is about their current school experiences. I do wish there was a middle ground but with the emphasis on equity and inclusive classrooms, in which an individual teacher is expected to magically differentiate, I don’t think we will see that anytime soon.

Why are you posting on an APS thread?