Reply to Open enrollment for Math 7 Honors

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=pettifogger][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Parent here, so a different perspective... In my experience, kids who were in AAP or otherwise advanced in math in ES typically take Honors Algebra in 7th, not Math 7 Honors.  Our MS has already moved to an Honors for all strategy so all 7th graders not enrolled in Algebra or a remedial course take Math 7 Honors. Based on what you've stated about your child, I assume they would be fine.[/quote]

AAP teacher here.

The above is absolutely incorrect. Approximately 20%-50% of my students, depending on the year, take Algebra HN in 7th grade. The others take Math 7 HN.[/quote]

Different AAP teacher here. Agree. It also varies year to year. Some years more test in than others. Honestly, if the IAAT wasn’t 10 mins per section, you would see more students qualifying. I hate the Iowa because kids think they are dumb if they can’t work as fast, which is completely false. [/quote]

That's a very feel-good statement but processing speed has always been considered a major component of intelligence. It is a big contributor to IQ scores. In addition, even in practice (like in a work environment), people who very quickly solve a problem or pick up new information and are able to quickly form a judgment about it are considered by others to be more intelligent. Therefore, if a student cannot solve math problems quickly, they are in fact less intelligent.[/quote]

This statement is completely false. Speed is an artificial construct of the standard k-12 curriculum and standardized testing, that's it. It has nothing to do with problem solving abilities and should never be used to assess intelligence. In particular, speed becomes almost meaningless at higher levels where problems are difficult enough to demand insight and ingenuity. Nobody in college, in jobs or academia, or at the IMO olympiad is complaining that they cannot do well because they are too slow. There many other contributing factors but speed is not going to be one of them. It's quite a terrible thing to test children on something as trivial as speed and then suggest that they are not smart enough because they needed a few more minutes because they were not rushing through something. We wouldn't expect our engineers, scientists, and doctors to rush through things and we certainly wouldn't want to deal with the consequences of a rushed solution, so why don't we give children enough time to think?[/quote]

I don't believe that anyone is saying that kids who do not do well on the IAAT are not smart just that they are not ready for Algebra 1 H in 7th grade. Regular Algebra is not an option, it is only offered in 8th grade. Taking Algebra in 8th grade is not an overall comment on intelligence. Many people take Algebra in 8th grade or even 9th grade who are perfectly smart and capable. Not taking Algebra 1 Honors in 7th grade has nothing to do with intelligence.

Just like there are plenty of bright kids who do not end up in AAP or Advanced Math for a variety of reasons. Some kids take longer to develop the fluency in foundational math or LA concepts but once they do, they "catch up" to their peers who happened to pick up the concepts more quickly in ES. Different people learn in different ways, there is nothing wrong with that. [/quote]

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