Reply to Can ask for a placement test into Algebra 1 in 7th grade in middle school?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Running the numbers at the VA DOE SOL Score site:

There were 1,680 7th graders who took Algebra 1, 1,158 passed advanced, 514 passed, and 8 failed the SOL. Centers are bolded. Center schools will pull students from base MS whihc will explain why some base schools have a lot fewer kids in Algebra 1, particularly those feeding Carson, Longfellow, Frost, Kimer, and Cooper.

[b]Carson Middle	        7	Algebra I	228[/b]
[b]Longfellow Middle	7	Algebra I	166[/b]
[b]Frost Middle	        7	Algebra I	128[/b]
[b]Kilmer Middle	        7	Algebra I	128[/b]
[b]Rocky Run Middle	7	Algebra I	128[/b]
[b]Cooper Middle	        7	Algebra I	125[/b]
Thoreau Middle	        7	Algebra I	89
[b]Johnson Middle	        7	Algebra I	87[/b]
[b]Lake Braddock     	7	Algebra I	78[/b]
[b]Jackson Middle	        7	Algebra I	68[/b]
[b]Glasgow Middle	        7	Algebra I	62[/b]
[b]Twain Middle	        7	Algebra I	61[/b]
Irving Middle	        7	Algebra I	51
[b]Hughes Middle	        7	Algebra I	47[/b]
[b]Sandburg Middle	7	Algebra I	41[/b]
Robinson Secondary	7	Algebra I	36
[b]South County Middle	7	Algebra I	35[/b]
Franklin Middle	        7	Algebra I	27
Holmes Middle	        7	Algebra I	23
Liberty Middle	        7	Algebra I	22
Whitman Middle	        7	Algebra I	18
Hayfield Secondary	7	Algebra I	14
Herndon Middle	        7	Algebra I	11
Key Middle	                7	Algebra I	&lt;
Poe Middle	                7	Algebra I	&lt;
Stone Middle	        7	Algebra I	&lt;

[/quote]

The fact that the vast majority pass advanced or passed implies the existing cutoffs do a good job identifying kids who will do well.[/quote]
Or it just implies that SOLs are a very poor measure of mathematical understanding.[/quote]

Sure, if you cannot abandon the narrative that students are bad at math.  Take a look at the SOL questions.  Do they seem that poor to you?  Or are they a reasonably accurate measure of math mastery?[/quote]
The questions are very poor and are multiple choice, it is not a recipe for measuring understanding, only measuring mostly procedure.

Kids are naturally good at logical reasoning, but math in US schools is not focused on logical reasoning, only procedures. Of course if kids are conditioned to focus on procedures and steps, they will slowly forget how to reason. So it is not the kids fault, but rather the fault of the system. It's a system that focuses on breadth and acceleration vs depth and understanding, it focuses on speed and getting the answer correct quickly vs explaining why that answer is true, or where did it come from, it is a system where teachers who actually want to teach logical reasoning and train students to think, are forced to run away from due to realizing that they have no autonomy to utilize their expertise in math, it is a system where teachers are trained to primarily "manage" kids and classrooms and secondarily to teach, it is a system where most schools and admins have sold out to various tech companies for screen based programs, funneling lots of money that could be used to hire talented teachers and specialists. Of course when this type of teaching environment is the norm, authentic learning suffers. It's no surprise that the lucky parents who are aware of all these things and have the time and resources, will find any another way for their kids to learn.[/quote]

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