Reply to Struggling in Honors Algebra 2

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I looked over my child's Formative exam and coursework for the Quarter to date after reading this thread and learning that my son did poorly on the exam for Honors Alg 2. My child reported that the class average was a D (same grade DS received) and the highest grade was a low B. My child's cumulative grade is now a low B. I looked over DS exam and noted that he would have received a C because of silly mistakes. However, most of what he got wrong wasn't fully covered in the class materials and one problem was only a lecture/in-class exercise according to my child. I couldn't find any homework assignments on Canvas and in his folder, so I believe my child is correct. I set down with my child this week and went over the test and re-taught the material. He also did similar problems using Khan Academy and now understands the material.

My takeaway: 1) not sure if it is the teacher or the curriculum, but the kids don't do enough practice to reinforce the material. 2) The exam does not fully line up with what is covered in the unit. I understand that Honors requires deeper thinking, which should be reflected in the exam questions. However, the assignments must cover the basic concepts and should also push students so that they can apply that knowledge to the test. 3) There are few graded assignments in the class and therefore, one missed assignment or low grade on an assignment significantly impacts the overall grade. In fact, there are only 7 graded items in the Gradebook under ParentVue. That is ridiculous as we are at the end of the term.

I can't do anything about the curriculum and/or teacher. Therefore, the only solution to make sure DS understands the material and earns an A or B in the course is to hire a tutor and/or have DS do Khan Academy each week to supplement next Quarter. I understand the need for help occasionally from a parent, teacher or tutor, and using resources like Khan Academy to clarify concepts but parents having to basically supplement a course is a problem.

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Are they using the same formatives throughout MCPS? Our child's class also had really low grades, and the teacher had to have a talk with the students about what went wrong.
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I think they are using the same exam. It is also poorly written. [/quote]

The strong math students figured it out.  At BTS night the Hon Alg II math teacher said (and pretty much this was all they said) that the course moves quickly and you have to get help immediately if you don't understand something.  At this point in the quarter that's learn new material Mon - Wed, sometimes Thursday, test on Friday.  Learning new material in my kid's class = lecture with Q&A for students and then solving problems together, more problems for homework every day.  There was a topic that generated so many questions because it had not been covered adequately in Alg I at the "continuity of learning" time.  [/quote]

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