Reply to Can ask for a placement test into Algebra 1 in 7th grade in middle school?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The other option is to have her start taking an online algebra class at home like AOPS or there are plenty of really good homeschool algebra programs. She takes algebra at home while taking pre-algebra/math 7 next year. In 8th she takes honors algebra and gets an easy A since she will have already taken algebra and keeps studying topics into algebra 2.

Then she takes geometry the summer between 8th and 9th. In 9th she has caught up to the students who took algebra in 7th. Except she has taken more algebra without having a gap of a year like the student who took geometry in 8th. And has studied some topics from algebra 2. This worked for my child who then got an A in 9th honors algebra 2 while some other students struggled who were advanced into algebra in 7th. [/quote]I think this would require taking geometry at home in 8th grade so that she isn't expected to learn a year's worth of math over the summer. It's also a shame that a student who has already taken algebra and can demonstrate their knowledge would need to retake the class.[/quote]

This is true but not as bad as you think.

The Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 sequence is absolutely terrible. You should do both Algebra and Geometry every year.
So you are in good shape to spend school time reviewing easy Algebra 1 for fluency, and spend home time learning Geometry (lots of high-quality low-cost options) before getting summer credit

Many of the top students do this. [b]It's also better, pedagogically, for your student to learn at their own pace first, and use the school pace later for review, instead of jumping ahead in school where now they have a high-stakes commitment to keep up with school pace[/b]. [/quote]

This is a strange way to look at school.  Where did this idea come from, that school is not for learning but is only for getting high grades?  Teachers teach material, kids don't have to prelearn it.  Their parents think they should so they preteach it (either through a class or at the kitchen table).  But why?  [/quote]
Because of the reality that math is unfortunately taught extremely poorly in American schools, (FCPS not being that different, outside perhaps a few schools and/or teachers). Many parents who realize this then come to the logical conclusion that kids can learn math at home/via enrichment much more thoroughly. It's a sad situation, but there's no easy fix, it's cultural and would likely take generations to fix the way math is taught in schools.[/quote]

Math is taught just fine if you look at the advanced cohort. The biggest difference compared to international students is how early other countries track students to the trades and away from math. [/quote]

They are not just tracking kids away from math but all college prep type classes. That is my issue with the European system, it tracks kids into trades too early and does not have systems in place to provide scaffolding for kids capable of college but with learning issues. I don't think every kid needs to go to college and I think the US needs to do a better job of providing a trades path for kids not interested in college, but I think there is a middle ground between the US system and the European system. The US system is too focused on college. [/quote]
US system provides trade path for kids not interested in college, but equity considerations run counter to this personal choice.  A kid  that spends more time on practicing math is putting another kid who is not spending time on math at a disadvantage.  So not just the one kid practicing math needs to be stopped, but every other kid that looks like them needs to be stopped too. Only then equity can be achieved.     [/quote]

FCPS should have 2-4 pure Vocational schools, not academies, where kids who are interested in trades go to learn. They would cover the regular graduation requirements and have offerings in the trades that lead to kids being able to get jobs right out of school. The benefit to having it at one building and over a 4 year period is that it is accessible to everyone and students can take different trade based classes to figure out what they really want to do. Instead, FCPS has a system that requires kids do extra research to identify what they might be interested, jump through hoops to apply, and then have to work out weird schedules so they can be bussed to different schools for one program.

That might mean taking some of the under-enrolled schools and refurbishing them so that they can house more vocational programs and offering bussing to those schools so the students can participate in that program. That might mean re-thinking how we are using our current schools and making some adjustments. It might mean opening schools for Votech but not having the space for athletic fields and figuring out how we do that.

I mean, I know that it won't happen but FCPS, and the US in general, is biased towards a school base dmodel that is college prep based and does not do well by the kids who have no real interest in college.[/quote]

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