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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My hot take: The long-term returns to taking above grade-level math (eventually going beyond calculus BC while in high school) are minimal relative to simply being good at math and taking whatever grade-level class the smart kids usually take. There simply aren't many college majors or career paths where it makes a difference. It's almost entirely a college application padding contest.[/quote]

Agreed. I went to summer school during H.S. to get ahead in math and take AP calc. to look good on college apps. I have never once used calculus since.[/quote]

I used to think this, but then realized it teaches complex problem solving.[/quote]

DP.  It does, but only for the kids who have done the complex problem solving along the way.  Strong math teaching that helps kids understand math and numbers and critical thinking is much better than racing through a text book to be able to do well on a standardized test.

[/quote]

The problem though is that there are no metrics for really showing that this is being taught in other classrooms. I can barely get out of my child what they are doing in class much less whether my child is picking up on every lesson taught. Nothing comes home. No more homework, workbooks, or textbooks. Classes are entirely teacher dependent. [b]So I support AP classes because I know they are challenging and at least require to some degree that a teacher make sure students are at least exposed to advanced topics. I also know the final goal of the class and can see if my child achieved the goals.[/b] Many of these other classes my child has taken have lofty goals but don't work in practice because of bad implementation, lack of materials, varied abilities from children, or lazy teaching.[/quote]

Starting in 3rd grade, all schools have periodic testing to make sure kids are learning the curriculum, you might not see the scores, but administration does and it puts a lot of pressure on teachers.  Trust me, classes are not entirely teacher dependent.  They have to teach a certain curriculum (that you can see online) and if there students don't test well, they hear it from administration.  And no, I'm not talking about the highly publicized tests like the SOLs, but end of unit tests that are computerized and make it possible for principals to easily compare each teacher's scores against anothers. [/quote]

Where have you experienced this?

~Third Grade Teacher, FCPS[/quote]

NP—APS[/quote]

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