Reply to Why the push for accelerated math?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I feel like I'm taking crazy pills and I'm not sure if I'm just caught up in the Northern Virginia mindset.

Our child scored well on both the Iowa and the SOL and their teacher recommends they take out for one next year in seventh grade.   I'm sitting here wondering why?

I completely understand why it's beneficial for some maybe even the majority of kids to take calculus in their senior year.  But how many kids are really going to benefit from taking 2 years of calculus?

So I guess my question is what's the point?   Aside for taking an extra year of college math in high school, why do it?

So far I come up with it. Might look better on college applications, make college classes either easier or something you can get credit for while in HS.

I have this underlying fear that they are going to push anyone who scores well into algebra 1, so there are less kids in 7th grade honors. That allows for smaller classes and helps with the goal of Algebra for all by grade 8[/quote]Yes, it’s the race to no where.  Many students take Calculus 1 at universities—it’s still taught there.  [/quote]

IMO, anything beyond 1 year of acceleration (AKA algebra in 8th) should have a high bar of entry. 
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It did. You used to ahve to pass the SOL advanced and be in the 91st percentile on the IAAT to be considered for Algebra in 7th grade. This year they lowered the bar to passing advanced on the SOL only. That said, that still leaves a little more than 2,100 students eligible for Algebra in 7th grade, based on the last three school years SOL results. That is under half of the kids taking Advanced Math or in AAP. So about 10% of the 7th grade class is eligible to take Algebra. Given that the kids who do take Algebra in 7th grade all pass the SOL with a high percentage passing advanced, I would say that they have found a reasonable bar for entry.

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Still way too many kids. It should be extremely rare. Or not offered at all. 
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Why are you so invested in holding back other people’s kids?   So many kids thrive on the calculus in 11th or even in 20th grade path.  [/quote]

I’m not “invested”; we are all just throwing out opinions here.

Children would benefit from cutting off the  arms race of math acceleration. Pick a reasonable amount of math to take before college and offer that. Otherwise we end up with the race to nowhere.

I’d say 1 year of calculus in HS is a good breaking point. Maybe 2 for truly exceptional kids. 
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Would children benefit from having their reading materials restricted to 2 years above grade level?   If not, then why restrict math advancement?  Why is math an “arms race,” when no one views English, music, and sports advancement as problematic?

One of my kids took AP Calc BC in 11th.  One took it in 9th.  Neither had any problems.  Both were in exactly the correct level for them.  Why should my kids be bored for a year or more just to make other kids look better?[/quote]

Kids aren’t accelerating in English, science, etc by 2+ years. 
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I told my teacher that I had read all of the books on the reading list for 9th grade English at the beginning of the year. We had a conversation about each of the books which demonstrated that I had, indeed, read all of the books and understood them. She allowed me to read books on the 10th and 11th grade syllabus. I still wrote the essays and participated in the class discussion for the assigned 9th grade books, but I read ahead. I was a bookworm who had older brothers and read what they read when I could. Did they move me into the 10th grade class? No, but I pretty much did the work that they did.

And kids are accelerated in science, what do you think AP classes are? Heck, AP English, AP foreign language, all AP classes are acceleration.

Honestly, we need to get back to tracked classes so that kids who are advanced readers and more interested in science have more opportunities to engage in the material at a level that is appropriate for them. Why are we expecting kids to be bored in class? All that does is make them dislike school and develop poor study skills. We should be challenging them. You can have a class for kids who are struggling and behind that is not warehousing them. You make the classes for kids who are struggling smaller and make sure that that the reading or math specialist visits those classes regularly. You have a class for kids on grade level. You have a class for kids who are ahead and can read deeper texts or write more detailed reports or do more advanced math and science. You watch the kids and see that the ones who were struggling that are on grade level and move them into the grade level group. You move the grade level who has foudn their stride into the advanced group. You allow for kids to develop skills and grow to move. And you allow for kids who started fast but maybe run into issues to slow down.

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