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[quote=Anonymous][quote=pettifogger][quote=Anonymous][quote=pettifogger][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Third algebra 2 teacher, confirming everything stated above.

I usually spend 2.5 days reviewing factoring (algebra 1 spends weeks on it), give a short quiz, and then move on to the actual factoring applications that are in our curriculum. This year I’ve spent 5 days on it so far this year and kids are still struggling. So many of them didn’t get anything out of virtual (thanks, photomath) and those choices are coming back to haunt them this year.

I added extra days here because this skill is so critical to the rest of the year, but I can’t do it for every unit. Kids are going to have to get help outside class, whether from me, khan academy, or an outside tutor.[/quote]

The vitrual math classesare really going to hit the class of 2026 hard on their SATs and PSAT.

Algebra is the most crucial subject for those tests.

I pulled my kid from fcps and put her in Catholoc for 8th.  They had been going in person since August 2020 and had not switched to computer math.  Everything was pencil to paper.in Algebra I.  Best decision ever.

My kid was so behind for the entire first semester, in spite of testing in the mid 90s on the Iowa the Catholic school used for placement.  It seems that she learned almost nothing from virtual pre Algebra in 2020/21 at her fcps middle school.  The Catholic school kids were miles ahead of her.  It took all year to catch up, but she only had a middle grade in Algebra.

She retook Algebra I online over the summer to raise the grade.  Based on what she learned in Catholic school, she did very well in the condensed summer class and felt much more confident in her math knowledge and skills.

My suggestion would be to drop them down to non honors if theh are struggling, and maybe consider some sort of in person (not online) Algebra supplemental class like at Kumon, that starts from the very basic.

Fundamental algebra skills and knowledge are way too important to miss.

[b]Distance learning sucked.  We are going to reap the consequences for years down the road for most of the kids, but especially those who learned to read and write 2020-2022, those who were middle schoolers learning algebra, and the teens who are dealing with the emotional scars of those 2 wasted years.[/b][/quote]

Honestly, my blood is boiling reading all the messages from teachers saying that kids just have to work harder because they didn't learn the material.  The kids did not learn the material because virtual teaching -- which teachers overwhelmingly wanted for the 20-21 school year -- was terrible for many kids.  [/quote]

Terrible because so many CHEATED. Sorry you cheated, kids! [/quote]

Sorry you cheated. We teachers and admin knew about it and let it go. We knew you didn’t learn the materials and passed you with flying colors.sorry parents those grades were meaningless, and we didn’t warn you so now your kids are struggling this year.

My kid is OK (not great) but so many parents of my kids’ friends were blindsided. [/quote]

My kid in AAP did very well and didn’t cheat during his virtual year which was 5th grade. That said, it was obvious there were gaps in math and the pace was slower. I tried to fill in with workbooks over the summer but it wasn’t enough. I knew then this would affect him so that he wouldn’t be able to take Algebra in 7th. Too many gaps. [b]He still isn’t great with long division and long division with decimals. [/b]The next year (2021-2022 school year) math was hard and I had to help him a lot with homework, but he got it. This year in 7th he’s been totally fine on his own. But he is not in Algebra - he will be next year for 8th.[/quote]
This is a mostly useless skill, especially division by decimals so I wouldn't worry about it. Just understand that division is trying to split a number into a bunch of groups and one algorithm for doing that is to repeatedly subtract from the original number and assign the quantity subtracted equally to each group. This main idea naturally leads to subtracting as much as you can (start by subtracting multiples of the divisor from the dividend, until you can no longer do it, leaving you with a remainder). Armed with this idea, your kid can come up with their own division algorithm and perform it in their own way, putting them in a great position to actually understand the standard division algorithm taught in school, which the overwhelming majority of all kids (and almost all adults!) don't fully understand.

To be ready for algebra, focus on understanding fractions really well, understand how to skip count extremely well including with fractions, understand place value very well, understand that division is defined as multiplication by the reciprocal, understand the distributive property really well and be able to explain why it works (i.e using geometry to split a rectangle into smaller rectangles), understand what an equation is and that if two quantities are equal certain operations can be done to both sides of an equation to leave it unchanged (i.e balance/scale analogy), understand what prime factorization is and be able to simplify fractions using prime factorization, be able to actually solve application problems involving fractions, understanding that ratios are just fractions, understand that one can think of multiplication intuitively as repeated addition and exponents as repeated multiplication, know a little bit about what a 'square root' is, (i.e the square root of a number is defined as the [i]positive[/i] number that we can multiply by itself to obtain the number under the square root, understand the difference between expressions and equations, understand what an inequality is, understand how to represent an unknown quantity with a variable, and that's about it.
[/quote]

Well, yes, but I have kids in Calc BC who have never divided a function by a function. Makes it very difficult to teach integration by parts if I have to spend instructional time going over long division with numbers, then adding variables to it, then synthetic substitution, etc when all I want them to do is to simplify an integral so it is easier to deal with. Aggghh.[/quote]
The root cause isn't division, it's just lack of number sense and problem solving skills spanning from as early as elementary, as well as various gaps in conceptual understanding (never mind a complete lack of basic geometric sense). Kids who have these skills can easily pick up a standard algorithm such as polynomial division. Kids who don't will need to put significant time and effort to get it (and one would hope they do so, if they were motivated to take Calc BC in the first place).[/quote]
Neither of my kids are math people yet both were in advanced math in ES with 3s and mostly 4s. One is in 7th and she is in honors math 7 vs. Algebra; I want her to get all the concepts down vs. just being accelerated and not getting it.  Here is the thing-they are/were both in advanced math in FCPS but they are both a year behind in their after school math programs (one AoPS and one RSM).  Again-they are not gifted in math and neither will probably make it to high level calculus. I just want them to have a solid foundation in math. FCPS, acceleration is not the same as advanced math.  [/quote]

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