Thoughts -- Private with good math acceleration?
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Anonymous
A magnet should meet those needs well. |
Anonymous
At our regular MCPS HS 2 years ahead is the norm, 3 years is not out of the ordinary. So if he stays on that track the regular schools should be able to handle it, at least through 10th or 11th grade. |
Anonymous
As I read MCPS guides -- http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/math/pathways/MathPathways-English.pdf -- the MCPS norm is maxing out in 12th grade at Precalculus or Algebra 2. |
Anonymous
Maybe thats the norm for on level kids. At our non magnet HS probably half the kids take algebra 2 in 9th and precalc in 10th. Another group is a year ahead of that. |
Anonymous
| Ever heard of the NySmith School for the gifted? I hear they do well with accelerating high achieving math students |
Anonymous
What school is that? And if half the school is taking precalc in 10th, how big is the group taking precalc in 9th? |
Anonymous
A W school. Of course these are all kids under the old math acceleration program. The 9th grade precalc group is small as those are the kids who had to take Alg 2 at the high school in 8th grade. Maybe 15 kids? That group seems to be kids who are truly math stars, not kids whose parents pushed them, or who get tutoring to keep up. |
Anonymous
One of these kids attended Norwood through 8th grade before moving to GDS for high school. No idea how the math was handled, but apparently it worked out. |
SAM2
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Forgive my ignorance. What's a "W school"? Does this mean Wilson? Walt Whitman? Wootton? Winston Churchill? Woodson? Wheaton? Something else? |
Anonymous
The reference was in the context of MCPS so that eliminates the DC and VA schools. It generally means Whitman, W. Churchill, Wootton, Walter Johnson and BCC, which are the highest scoring non magnet MCPS high schools. |
Anonymous
Why do you think he won't get into the math magnet. At 2 yrs acceleration already in 4th grade, and likely able to handle more, he is the perfect candidate. The magnets are meant for kids whose needs can't be met in the home school. What is he going to take in 5th grade -- math 8 (whatever they call that)? Is that even offered in your elem? Will he already have to go to middle school for that? What is the top acceleration in your local middle school, i.e. how many kids are in 6th grade taking math 3 or more years ahead? Do they get their math in middle school or get sent to HS? How many math peers does he have? Asking these kinds of questions can help you flesh out your application for the math magnet. What you want to demonstrate clearly is that even at this level of acceleration, his math needs and interests aren't being met in the home school track and he has very few peers at his math skill level. |
SAM2
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OK, thanks. There do seem to be a lot of MCPSs with W in the names! So which school was PP talking about? Why not just name the school, and instead refer to some vague cluster? If it's really true that more than half of every class is taking precalculus in 9th grade or earlier -- and then presumably taking calculus by 10th grade -- that's pretty impressive. I'd sure want to check out that school. Also, I guess I can see the others as "W schools," but where is the "W" in BCC? Apologies for all the questions today. |
Anonymous
I said many are taking precalc in 10th, only a few in 9th. And it's not uncommon in any of the Ws so I don't want to open up the conversation about the specific school. Not much to check out - either you live in the zone or you don't. None of these schools are magnets and most are overcapacity so I don't think they are open to COSAs or paying tuition. Not sure how impressive it actually is anyway - the kids who are 3 years ahead are definitely on the right track, but many who are 2 years ahead were pushed and are struggling. That's one of the reasons MCPS has changed its approach to math acceleration. But as I understand it kids who are truly advanced, which is what the OP is focused on, will still have the opportunity to accelerate. |
SAM2
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Ah, you are correct; I did get your earlier comment wrong. You said that half the class was taking precalculus in 10th grade (not 9th), with some small additional group taking precalculus in 9th grade. My apologies. I'm still very interested in hearing what school this is, since that's a pretty surprising level of acceleration. |