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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]How much feedback is your DC getting from their Algebra teacher so far? Asking about the experience from those who are doing Algebra pilot in 6th grade.

[b]Since this is a HS course[/b], we expected to see less, but not only two grades (across all types of assessments) this far into the school year. We know more needs to be graded and grades will be released eventually. Just wondering whether this is a common experience.

Our school has an in-person Algebra teacher who is on the school premises every day if that matters.
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What country are you referring to? Algebra 1 is a middle school course in US.  FCPS is an exception, but in most public school systems 6th to 8th grade is middle school. .[/quote]

In [b]Virginia[/b], the default HS math track is algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2, and precalc. That is why algebra is a HS class. If you take it earlier than 9th grade your child is taking the math sequence on an accelerated pace. (This was one of the big issues with the concept of getting rid of acceleration that came up with the VMPI proposal a few years ago)

There are a *ton* of kids who are ready for algebra way before 9th, especially in this area. Just because a lot of kids in this area can work at the HS level, doesn't mean the class isn't a HS level class. [/quote]
Just because someone once labeled a middle school course as “high school level” doesn’t make it so — no matter how attached you are to that association. My grandfather went to school in Virginia and often said that academic standards have slipped over time — what used to be taught in middle school is now being pushed to high school.

The reality is, K–12 education in the U.S. often lags behind competitive merit based institutions in developing 3rd world countries. One major reason is this overly cautious mindset that today's middle schoolers aren’t ready for subjects like Algebra 1. That simply isn’t true. For generations, early teens have successfully mastered these concepts in depth. The evidence is there — it’s the system that needs to catch up.[/quote]

The way they accelerate here leaves a lot of gaps. You have to start the acceleration quite early, otherwise you end up skipping material and calling it acceleration. That's what I fear is bappening with this pilot. My kid went to school outside the US for K and 1st and the math curriculum was already accelerated then. We moved to FCPS for 2nd grade. Turns out the 1st grade curriculum he had overseas was basically the same as 2nd grade here, but they had also learned 1s/2s/5s/10s multiplication. My kid was so bored in FCPS that year. [/quote]

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