Reply to APS Duran School Performance Email - Is Long Branch a Failing School?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So… upon review of VA’s math standards (elementary anyway), it’s pretty obvious that they just… aren’t that rigorous.

Purchase ANY decent math curriculum and consistently use it. Many of them surpass VA’s standards![/quote]

Then complain to the state. Get VA to align to common core. This isn’t an APS issue. [/quote]

Huh? No need to complain to the state when many math programs DO cover (and exceed!) current standards. APS just needs to pick one and teachers need to actually use it.

Envision is crap, but there are many good options.[/quote]

You should complain to the state because the state standards are not rigorous enough and the issue with unaligned curriculum would go aware if VA went to common core.[/quote]
There's no rule against exceeding the state standard.  That's a minimum.  [/quote]

It gets hard to match up when the local curriculum is different from the state's. And also there's the issue with curriculum literally not matching. There are tons that match common core. But there are some who want to undermine public ed and get vouchers so maybe that's just you instead of looking to the real source of the problem which is Youngkin.[/quote]APS not having math curriculum has nothing to do with Youngkin or vouchers.  It was the situation before Youngkin and will be after Youngkin.  It's an APS issue.  Duran knows math test scores are falling across the district and across all demographics, as measured by MAP, SOL and NWEA scores.  Yet he literally sent an email saying he was going to watch and wait.  That's not okay.

State standards being different than than off the shelf curriculums has been an issue for ages.  You can work with the publisher to get a special edition made or put together your own rubric to tell teachers how to match the curriculum to standards.  But APS hasn't provided a solution for teachers and isn't even looking for a way to do so because they don't think falling test scores are a problem.

APS only got its act together and dropped Lucy Caulkins after there was nationwide uproar that compelled it to act.  Parents need to speak up and tell Syphax to get off its duff and do its job.  This isn't an unsolvable problem.  APS administrators are just lazy and would prefer to talk more about DEI and make excuses instead of doing their jobs.[/quote]

yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it[/quote]
Youngkin pushed for more advanced math classes and harder SOL standards.  That's something.  We now have Math 6 Intensified, a very needed course, only because of Youngkin.  I'm not a Republican but am very glad APS now offers that course.  There was too big a gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra, leaving many kids either bored or underwater.[/quote]

Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you? [/quote]
You are wrong.  Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer, in a rush, in order to meet requirements in a new law passed by Youngkin's administration.  APS was forced into it.[/quote]

Math 6 intensified is not new this year.  I don’t recall when it was added but kids were in it for at least the last 2 years, based on what my friends with older kids tell me.  Math 6 advanced was added over the summer because the VA legislature passed a law last spring requiring all kids who score in the top X% of VA SOLs to be in an “advanced math” class. Math 6 intensified is a lot, 3 years in one, so math 6 advanced was created to be something between that and regular Math 6. [/quote]
This is all incorrect.  The class that is math 6-7-8 is called Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, not Math 6 Intensified. There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law.  It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra.  It's absolutely new and a class APS resisted adding it for years until they were forced to do so by this new law.[/quote]

We're saying the same thing.  Math 6 Advanced is the class added over the summer to, as you say, fill the gap.

You're correct that Math 6 Intensified is the name of an older class.  Pre-Algebra for 6th grade is the name of the most advanced math class for 6th graders this year, not sure if it was called that the last two years.  But again, the existence of an advanced math class and a "regular" math class is NOT new this year.  The new class this year was the THIRD class to fill the gap between the other two.  It was added because of legislation VA passed Spring 2025.[/quote]
No it's not.  You're still wrong.  There was nothing between Math 6 and Pre-algebra last year for 6th graders.  Now there is a class in between, and only because of the new law.  [/quote]

This conversation started as a disagreement about whether there was any advanced math for 6th graders in APS prior to Youngkin.  It got confusing because of mixed up class names.  There were 2 math classes for 6th graders last year: pre-algebra and Math 6.  Now there are 3 math classes for 6th graders: pre-algebra, Math 6 Advanced, and Math 6.

The first person said "We now have [b]Math 6 Intensified[/b], a very needed course, [b]only because of Youngkin[/b]."  As has been pointed out, there is no "Math 6 Intensified."  I think some posters thought "Math 6 Intensified" was the name of the math class that was/is more advanced than Math 6, which is actually pre-algebra and which existed before this past summer.  The poster probably meant "Math 6 Advanced."

See this comment: "[b]Math 6 intensified wasn't because of Youngkin[/b]. Duran finally gave us more intensified classes in middle school. But you will never give him credit for that or anything else will you?"  This poster probably meant to reference pre-algebra and thought the poster they responded to thought there had only been one math class for all 6 graders before this past summer.

Then someone replied "You are wrong.  [b]Math 6 Intensified was added over the summer.[/b]"  This person probably meant to reference Math 6 Advanced which was added over the summer.  The PP they responded to correct there had been 2 math classes before this summer.

Then "Math 6 intensified is not new this year...."  This person probably meant pre-algebra.

Then someone wrote "There was a new class added over the summer because of Youngkin 's new law.  It fills be gap between Math 6 and Pre-algebra."  This new class is Math 6 Advanced, and yes, it fills in between Math 6 and pre-algebra.

Bottom line, there were two math classes for 6th graders before this year.  Now there is a third, between the other two, and yes, this 3rd class is due to the new law.  [/quote]
You missed the whole point of the conversation.  Someone said "yes it's been an issue for ages but youngkin is gov and has been for 4 years and didnt' fix it" in reference to math.  I said he made an improvement with the new law, which forced APS to add a new advanced math classes for 6th graders.  The someone else posted that the class wasnt added because of Youngkin but that Duran was already adding intensified classes.  That's just flat out wrong.

Last year there were two math classes for 6th graders: Math 6 and Pre-algebra for 6th graders.  That.meant that 5-10% of 6th graders were taking an advanced math class.  Because of the new law passed by Youngkin, APS was forced to offer a new math class so now 40-50% of 6th graders are taking an advanced math class.  That's a HUGE improvement and something APS refused to do for years, despite being asked by parents.[/quote]

Where does that new math class track on their very rigid pathway?  The published pathways (APS website) are unchanged thus far. [/quote]

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