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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I spoke to a teacher who teaches Algebra i in middle school and she said only consider Algebra I in 7th IF your kid is interested in Math AND scores in the 95th percentile or higher on the IAAT. She said in her opinion 91th percentile is too low of a threshold. The class uses high school level books, moves fast, lots of homework, and will count on the high school transcript. Kids who are not ready will also struggle in Algebra II because the won't have the foundation. [/quote]

MoCo was the same way when I was there, but they opened algebra to far more students. It's insane how much FCPS builds up algebra as a difficult class when it really isn't [/quote]

It is intended to be this awesome, in depth class.  Taught well it starts to bring together the how and why of everything they've done up to this point in their math careers, along with discovery of really cool abstract mathematical concepts that will set the foundation for the next 4 years of math.  [b]When too many kids who aren't quite ready yet enroll, it gets watered down and is disappointingly basic and just becomes procedural learning. [/b] Then no one benefits and parents cry, "See! It really is easy!"[/quote]

I agree with you that the bolded happens, but my question is why?  Why does FCPS find it preferable to water down an Honors class taken 2 years early than to maintain rigor and just let the kids who don't belong earn bad grades?  Watering down the class just passes the problem on to the next teacher, and ultimately leads to straight A honors kids being poorly prepared for college.  [/quote]

Because it keeps the stakeholders (parents) happier.

As someone who taught the course, there is zero support to hold the line and fail kids.  As soon as kids start to struggle, we are brought in and asked what we are doing wrong that isn't making the class accessible to all children.  I was told it is a "good thing" that students who failed Math 7 signed up for algebra in 8th, that it shows "a strong desire for achievement".  I was told that kids who don't have basic background knowledge for algebra honors in 7th just need more supports, not to be shifted to the class that [i]teaches the basic background knowledge[/i].  I lost soooo many planning periods to parent conferences with admin and parents implying that the reason their child was failing was because I "refused to help them" or "wasn't a good teacher".  It wasn't just me--it was all teachers on the team.  I had to write remediation plans for every single child with a C or below, stating what I, personally, was going to do to help them raise their grade.  When was I going to tutor them? What small group supports were they going to get in class?  How were we going to scaffold assessments so they could see success?

At some point, in an effort to get some sanity back, the team just looks at last year's test and takes off the hardest questions.  We look at the pacing guide for the next unit and replace one of the extensions with an extra review day.

If we actually taught the class as it is meant to be taught, some years we'd have 5-6 kids in EVERY SECTION failing.  The amount of paperwork, emotions, and stress that would create just isn't worth it.  With slight modifications those kids become C students and the oversight lightens up.  We don't get paid enough to fight for what is right.  Double my salary and I will hold the line, happily.  But when after school remediation is unpaid, evening intervention planning is unpaid, and admin is threatening probational contracts if I can't get more kids to pass...you give in.  And once you give in once, it never gets more rigorous.[/quote]

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