Reply to Algebra in 6th grade - new selection process?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My current 7th grader would have been a good fit for this, but honestly, I'm not sure I would have wanted her take it in 6th.  I mean, truly, what is the point?  I don't think she is going to major in math...

Anyway, I'm kind of glad it didn't roll out last year, as I think it would have been a hard call for us (and I know she would have wanted to do it).  I have one more but she's younger, so we've got time for all the kinks to get worked out.

Kids don't even get grades in ES, so how does that work??[/quote]

It is a high school class, they will get a letter grade. It goes on their transcript. [/quote]
FCPS policy: Middle school students have a  choice of purging their high school credit course from their transcript at beginning of 9th grade. [/quote]

Honestly, this is a double-edged sword. You might choose to purge the grade because your child didn’t do well—largely because none of the elementary school teachers had ever taught Algebra 1 HN before. At Haycock, for example, the teacher couldn’t answer even basic questions, and the Math Resource teacher had to step in—only to admit she didn’t know many of the answers either.

But if you purge it, your child will have to sit through the course again in middle school, which could lead to boredom and zoning out. On the other hand, if your child did “okay” and you keep the grade, they may still have weak foundations, since the teacher had never taught Algebra before and wasn’t even hired to do so—just happened to have the certification without any real experience.

It’s a deeply flawed execution, forced by Gatehouse, without giving schools the chance to prepare. A year’s notice could have allowed schools to build in foundational pre-algebra concepts before dropping full Algebra 1 HN content on elementary students and allowed schools to find teachers who have had real teaching experience in the curriculum.

And to underscore the concern: when I asked the Haycock Algebra 1 HN teacher (who is certified) a curriculum question, she couldn’t answer and referred me to the Math Resource teacher—who ultimately told me to just attend the virtual meeting. That hardly inspires confidence in the pilot program.

For the kids who can handle the content, we’re still giving them poor foundational skills—skills that are essential for all future math courses. It’s the exact opposite of what this program is supposed to achieve.

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