Reply to Academic Rigor of APS Middle Schools

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You are focused on the wrong thing. My kid is a junior and many kids who were pushed into early Algebra just weren't ready and the algebra was a bit watered down which was ok.

[b]But the students got to high school and the just weren't prepared because the high school teachers assumed a level of mastery that wasn't there and they had to remediate. This was true even in the intensified level classes.  [/b]

Forcing math early is probably the biggest mistake some parents make.  Instead I would argue that parents need to push middle schools to teach something far more basic which is reading and writing including grammar, vocabulary, and how to write basic paragraphs and essays.  [/quote]

I'm one of the PPs that mentioned my kid isn't challenged right now. Even though I don't think she's challenged in most classes right now, I do agree with this poster's points. My DD's math placement is a good fit - not the highest, but that's okay. I agree that pushing too much in math is a huge mistake and sets kids up for failure later on. It happened to me and resulted in my hating math. [/quote]

OP here. You are actually validating my point. Even though DC is taking "higher level" classes, I worry about the level of mastery. And I didn't push my child into anything. This was the path that was recommended based on test scores and grades and also seems to be a good fit for my child. DC did mention there are some kids in class who are struggling.[/quote]
It's been many years since my education classes and I went the early childhood path, but I recall that people were advised not to start algebra early in middle school. I was in a less competitive part of the country, I'm not sure what they do now. My own fourth grader is very advanced in math so I'll be looking into this in the next year as we decide for middle school.

https://www.nctm.org/News-and-Calendar/Messages-from-the-President/Archive/Linda-M_-Gojak/Algebra_-Not-_If_-but-_When_/

"Just because a student can mimic steps shown by the teacher doesn’t ensure that he has the sophistication to deeply understand the mathematics.
So, when should students take algebra? Many students and parents interpret taking algebra in the seventh or eighth grade as an indication of a level of superior intelligence—a status symbol. My experience, both as a student and as a teacher, leads me to believe that we do more harm than good by placing students in a formal algebra course before they are ready, and few students are truly ready to understand the important concepts of algebra before eighth grade. Many students should wait until ninth grade."[/quote]

BINGO!!!!!  This is precisely why there was/is an effort to fast-track so many kids.  But parents never believe that their genius child is one of those who follow and mimic rather than truly understand.  Their kid is always "unchallenged" and "bored" because they get an easy "A."  It's the other kids who shouldn't be on the accelerated path....[/quote]

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