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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

HGC math is the same as general education under 2.0.[/quote]

HGC math was the same before 2.0, also.[/quote]

Weird that MCPS test for HGC includes math given it is a language arts "magnet" program.  [/quote]

It is not a language arts magnet program.[/quote]

OK - but it does not have different math instruction.[/quote]

The math test for HGC was put in place long before C2.0.  Pre C2.0, the HGC was really the main place where kids could be accelerated in math 2 or 3 or even 3+ years.  In order to do that kind of acceleration, a school had to have a critical mass of kids so that the teacher/student ratios weren't ridiculously small.  Thus, although the math curriculum has always been the same in and out of the HGC, at the HGC kids were able to accelerate faster.  This was due to the math teaching structure which allowed teachers to teach a class as "on grade level plus next grade ahead enrichment".  For the super smart kids they were essentially doing 2 years of math in 1 year or at least enough of the second year that they could skip it.

Now MCPS has made changes to the math pathway.  Essentially there are only 3 pathways -- on grade level, one year ahead and remedial (but they don't call it that).  The "new C2.0" "on grade level" is actually one year ahead from the pre-C2.0 main pathway.  Previously the "on grade level" path was to take Algebra in 9th grade.  Now "on grade level" is to take Algebra in 8th grade and "remedial" is Algebra in 9th.  Of course, no one knows what kind of numbers are taking and passing the classes on the C2.0 pathway, so it's hard to tell what's really "mainstream" and what's "remedial".

Since the most any child can be ahead is 1 year (i.e. taking Algebra in 7th grade), there is no longer any need to group kids by higher math skills in the HGC. But, the math testing is an artifact of the old system that still exists.

It would be interesting to see admissions data for the HGC -- are they preferentially admitting kids with stronger language and non-verbal reasoning scores than math scores?  Or will a kid with above the median math and non-verbal reasoning but below median verbal scores get declined?  No one knows since this data isn't released..... [/quote]

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