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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Supplementing in math 4 hours a week and expecting the school to accommodate is ridiculous[/quote]

We don’t expect the school to accommodate. DS is in class at his grade level and we have not asked for him to be advanced.

That said, the Public schools are not set it to handle exceptional kids (and I don’t think my kid is exceptional) on either end of the spectrum. They are not great at helping kids with learning issues and they are not great at helping kids who are gifted. There are kids whose parents are supplementing because their child is legit bored at school. The schools don’t want to advance kids more quickly even when there is a kid who needs it. Should the parents of a gifted kid just let the kid twiddle their thumbs during school and learn nothing? Then people complain when the parents supplement so that the kid is actually challenged and has a chance to grow. It is a catch 22 and the kid is the one who is harmed by it. [/quote]

Here is the point and we have gone round and round on this.  Very few kids are actually gifted, like less than .01%.  That's maybe one per grade even in a high IQ/SES region like this one.  Those kids should be on alternative tracks than traditional public school.

For everyone else, the kids are just smart.  There is no need or reason to accelerate in math.  Again taking Algebra in 7th gives you 2 Calculus plus courses in high school which is more than enough.  It is not a good idea to skip more than one core math component in college.   [/quote]

Actually the standard for gifted is typically lower than that. For general IQ the cutoff is usually 130 which is only the 98th percentile so 1% of kids are gifted. I imagine that in certain areas the percentage is higher because smart people cluster geographically. If you’re talking about math giftedness specifically the percentage will be lower because a very high verbal IQ score can bump an overall score to 130 even if they aren’t gifted in math, but I doubt it’s as low as .01.

[b]I’m fine with 6th graders not taking Algebra but many have the capacity to do so. [/b]And actually this is true if they aren’t technically gifted. If somebody just really loves math, is above average intelligence, and has good executive functions skills they can handle an advanced math track. [/quote]

I'm not fine with preventing 6th graders from taking Algebra when they have the capacity and desire to do so.  Nothing is gained by forcing children to waste an hour of their day in a math class that is too remedial for them.  If anything, they'll get turned off of math because the class is boring.  [/quote]

Okay maybe I shouldn’t say I’m fine with it, but I recognize that schools have limitations and offering a super accelerated math track might be more than they can expected to do. Public school cant offer every child their ideal education. Almost every time a school makes something better they have to take resources away from something else. [/quote]

People aren't necessarily expecting the school to offer a super accelerated math track.  They just want the school to exempt their kids from the non accelerated math track if their kid is already testing at levels beyond anything the school can reasonably offer.  Schools could do this by expanding accreditation for outside math programs, and then letting the kids have a study hall during math period if they're taking an outside accredited class.  Or they could allow for single subject homeschooling, once again giving a study hall during math class, but letting the parents submit a portfolio at the end of the year.  For gifted kids, this would be a much better approach than maintaining rigid control over all kids the way FCPS does.

This should take fewer resources away from the school, since rather than needing to teach a student, they don't have to do anything other than provide light supervision.  [/quote]

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