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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There is nothing wrong with getting a three on the exam. However, I think the previous poster is noting that students who get a three on the exam junior year might be better served waiting to take the class until senior year.

There is no reason to take BC calculus junior year not learn it at all that well and then go into multivariable calculus senior year.

Feels like over acceleration[/quote]

A 3 means you learned the material perfectly well. [/quote]

No it doesn't.[/quote].

And these are the “accelerated” kids taking the more advanced course their junior year.

Whatever, in Arlington, all the kids are geniuses and should be accelerated in everything and don’t let anyone tell you differently.  [/quote]

Amen. Your kid doesn't have to be the tippy top in everything. I have a kid who is a very good, but not great, instrumental player. I am not trying to "parent place" him into making Honors Band because I think regular Wind Ensemble isn't "fast enough" for him. Please accept that there are kids within APS who are truly accelerated in math and they need a faster paced middle school math program. These are the kids who are going to hit 5s on all their math AP exams and likely go on to pursue advanced math in college. APS has slowed down the middle school math program for these kids by allowing so many parent placements. [b]The 7th Grade Algebra 1 Intensified class should be offering extension work that gets into Algebra 2 concepts[/b], but instead the teacher has to re-review content for the kids who don't belong in the class. That means the other half of the kids are bored out of their minds. Your kid is still above average in math if they go from Math 6 to Pre-Algebra to Algebra 1 Intensified in 8th Grade. Don't ruin the math experience for the kids who truly need acceleration. [/quote]This is a ridiculous statement.  The Algebra I teacher should be making sure the kids learn all of the topics in Algebra I as thoroughly as possible, not teaching topics for a class that will be taken two years later.

Extension activities make sense when you have all ability groupings.  Advanced classes with intensive requirements don't offer further extension.  That's not how it works in high school and Algebra I is a high school course.  Any challenge problems would be reinforcing Algebra I concepts, not pushing kids further ahead.[/quote]

No, it is not a ridiculous statement. There is a reason that APS offers Algebra 1 and Algebra 1 Intensified. The "Intensified" part was originally intended to allow the kids who need more of a challenge to push into harder concepts.

If your kid starts in Math 6, they will track to Pre-Alg in 7th and then will split into either Algebra 1 or Algebra 1 Intensified in 8th grade. The kids who start in Pre-Alg in 6th only have the option to do Alg 1 Intensified in 7th, because that track was originally intended for the kids who have exceptional math ability, so there was no need to offer anything except Alg 1 Intensified in 7th. Now with all the parents pushing their kids into Pre-Alg in 6th grade, it means there are kids tracking to Alg 1 Intensified in 7th who are not ready to learn Algebra at that faster pace. So the 7th grade Algebra 1 Intensified classes are moving slower than originally intended, and aren't really intensified at all. Nothing about APS middle school math is intensified anymore, which is screwing over the kids with exceptional math ability. Go talk to the parents of the kids who are scoring at the top of the school on the AMC Math 8 contest every year-- you won't find any of them blaming a bad 7th grade Algebra grade on the teacher. You will hear them say their kid rarely gets a question wrong on a math test and the kid is bored to tears with the pace of the class. 
 [/quote]

The problem in public school in the land of Arlington is that every parent thinks that THIS is their child and APS cannot say no.

At most very high level privates with, yes, extremely bright kiddos and the resources to support their every desire, they place kids in a slower track and do a deeper dive — even the very bright ones.  It’s like 2-4 in a class that would do what APS and many publics around here do and send them on to Geometry in 8th.  Why do you think that is?  Is it because they can’t support a class of geniuses like APS can?  You are wrong. [/quote]
Yup.  A kid in intensified algebra in 7th shouldn't be skipping ahead to future content.  Advanced kids need to drill down on advanced algebra I content, not continue to accelerate.  More theory and abstract concepts should be included.  More acceleration is just a race to nowhere.

--STEM PhD

If algebra 1 intensified is too easy to the point the kids is bored to tears, the kid should be homeschooled or moved to a different educational environment.  Public schools don't cater to prodigies.  Algebra 1 needs to teach Algebra 1 content, not some other course's content.[/quote]

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