Reply to Curriculum 2.0 Compacted Grades 4/5 Math

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If kids don't get chosen for compacted 4/5 math, does that mean they will be in on grade level math for the rest of their years in MCPS? Is there really no other opportunity for math acceleration after the end of third grade?[/quote]

I think that's right.  If your child does 4th grade math in 4th grade, he would move on to 5th grade math in 5th.  But the 4/5 kids would have already completed most/all of 5th grade math in the 4/5 class in 4th grade, so that accelerated track would be moving to math 6 after that and your child wouldn't qualify for that (simply b/c he wasn't ready for acceleration at the one point of entry).  This is one of the many, many issues with 2.0.  It is so rigid and static it doesn't allow for kids to develop at their own pace and have their needs met accordingly.

My child happens to be in 4/5 math this year, but I have a lot of issues with the rigidity of the new 2.0 math tracks.  It seems to me that by grouping kids in 4th grade, MCPS is essentially eliminating future options for acceleration for the kids that weren't ready for acceleration in 4th grade (b/c the classes track from that point).  I'm sure they won't say that this is the case, but it must be.  What if your current 4th grader begins to click with math next year?  There won't be an accelerated option for that child b/c the kids that were ready for acceleration in 4th grade will be tracked to the higher classes.[/quote]

This is where we're at. The test last year to pick this year's 4/5 had 5 different categories that students were tested on: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/math/compacted/. One of the sections is all about explaining your work. So if you have a kid who does well in math they won't qualify if they can't explain their work. So it leaves the kids who do catch on and understand math innately but can't explain their work with no true path for acceleration. This is what has happened to my 4th grader (Winter Map-M was a 241) but didn't make the cut. This is where it really matters who your child's teacher is. Fortunately, my son has a teacher that makes the extra effort and sends home challenge problems him. Nothing is ideal. I'm not saying there shouldn't be a cut off, there needs to be parameters and criteria. But like the above poster says, what about kids that it clicks for after the test?  Unfortunately from what I've heard from current 5th grade parents is that paths for acceleration will continue to be limited at the middle school level as 2.0 takes hold at the upper grades. [/quote]

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