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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Repeat after me.   Most kids do not need to be on a path to take Calculus in 11th grade.  [/quote]OK.  But some kids should.[/quote]

NP. True, but compacted math in 4th is not the only path.

Both my kids took Calc in 11th. DD took AP Calc. DS took Honors. Neither took compacted math in 4th because they weren’t in MCPS then. Neither took Algebra in 7th.

Summer after 8th grade, both started accelerating by using (then free) summer school.

In 11th, they ended up in the same Calc classes as the kids who took compacted math.

I agree there need to be more on-ramps, but there isn’t only one. I doubt MCPS will eliminate it, but if compacted math disappears, use summer school to jump ahead. I guess the problem is the lack of cachet in the phrase “summer school” compared to “compacted math”.[/quote]

DP.  Part of it, and maybe the biggest part, is meeting students where they are.  While there may be many that are pushed, there are many that simply need more advanced/interesting math just to stay engaged, even, or especially, among kids for whom math is a favorite subject.

[b]I doubt summer school would be a preference for them ("Hey Stacy, guess what you're getting to do this summer!?"), [/b] and we've seen the system discourage using summer school that way, anyway, needing to focus resources .  Further, that kind of option isn't really available to elementary kids, who would wait years during which their interest likely would falter.

Meanwhile, off-ramps are pretty readily available in middle school and high school if the unnecessary stigma, similar to that references about summer school, were countered.  Going from Math 5/6 to Math 7 (instead of a semi-leap to AMP 7+) is one such path, with Algebra in 8th instead of 7th.  It's not the only one, though.  A year of Stats, Calc AB as a Junior and Calc BC as a Senior, etc.  Again, it's about doing a reasonable job to offer options to meet kids where their interests & capabilities are, which can change for each kid as they grow, doing a good job of identifying those and communicating well among teachers, administrators and families.[/quote]

Framing solves that issue: “Stacy, I know you’re bored in Hon Algebra I. This summer, you can take Geometry and go to Hon Algebra II in the Fall.”

As parents, we are supposed to have them do what is best for them, not just their preference. We make sure they drink water instead of soda all day long. Six weeks of summer school so they aren’t bored the next three years is a reasonable parenting decision.[b]..[/b][/quote]

...when the school system doesn't provide a reasonable alternative. But MCPS does provide such alternatives, and is right in doing so.

Why make summer school the route kids have to take instead of offering acceleration and doing a good job of identifying kids needing that?  Even math-eager Stacys are not likely to be thrilled with the former, no matter how it's framed.[/quote]

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