Reply to MCPS to end areawide Blair Magnet and countywide Richard Montgomery's IB program

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I might have the wrong type or unpopular type of view of these things.

But our kids didn't get into the GT or magnet programs.  There were a couple of years where they made it to the lottery but didn't get selected.  The same with some of their classmates and our neighbors.

Personally for our family we were okay with it.

The GT, IB and magnet programs are supposed to be for the academically elite, where only the top get in.  We were perfectly fine with our kids not making it and going to our local school and is one of the reasons why we chose to live where we do.

As others are trying to say, if you increase the number and seats of the programs, it dilutes the programs and isn't as rigorous or advanced like how the programs are now.  Which people are saying they are okay with because it suits the needs of the many instead of the very few.

But another way of looking at it, is that maybe MCPS should be focusing on improving the instruction and quality at their individual schools.  So those students who don't get in to the county wide programs (either by not quite qualifying or just not get selected by the lottery) will still get the class selection and level that that they need.  Instead of having some mediocre programs that might not be better than some of the local schools around here.  And the issue with the offering of the potentially mediocre is that it sounds like they're going to change the current countywide program which is considered top tier.

I had to stop myself from posting in this thread:
https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1287572.page

Because know that people will attack me as entitled.  But I think there's something very wrong if a school doesn't have a track for students to take Algebra I by seventh grade and they have to look to going to a different school just to get on that track.  But that just goes to show how there are different standards at different schools within the county and this is starting at elementary school.  By the time students get to high school and eligible for these magnet/regional programs, students from different schools won't be on the same level based on the math tracks offered by their elementary schools.[/quote]

What school doesn't have a track for kids to take Algebra I by 7th grade?  [/quote]

Every school has an algebra in 7th, I think, its just algebra in 6th, most don't.  The bigger issue is the kid swho don't get into magnets and the schools stop at Calc BC leaving kids without enough math to graduate.[/quote]
Doesn't every HS have AP stats? If they take AP Calc in 11th grade, [b]they can take AP stats in 12th[/b]. Lots of kids do that.[/quote]

That is not the proper path for any aiming at a STEM major in college.  Calc BC needs to be followed by Multivariable Calc; otherwise, the student risks learning loss in the intervening year.  After that, the sequence does not matter as much.

Stats, in general, is far more important than that for which it is given credit, and AP Stats is a good course to take, but not at the expense of continuity within the Calculus progression for those who will be utilizing the latter academically or professionally.

Given the MCPS standard higher-end acceleration (not by more accelerated/skipping exception) of Algebra in 7th, Math-focused/highly able students are on track to take Calc BC in 11th, and MVC should be available in person at each HS for that 12th-grade year (or any year after which Calc BC is taken).

Alternately, MCPS could guarantee admission to the regional STEM magnet (which, presumably, would offer MVC) for any student successfully completing prior to 8th grade/taking during 8th grade courses in MS that would lead to Calc BC in or before 11th.  And they would have to plot that out without reliance on requiring the redundant (for the Math-focused/highly able) and slower Calc AB before Calc BC.[/quote]

Its also an issue when MCPS at some schools encourages kids to start Algebra in 6th, then even with Stat's they don't have enough math classes to graduate but for STEM, many colleges want MV and the highest and Stat's is not "high" though a good class to take.[/quote]

[b]Name one college that expects kids to take MVC in high school[/b].  Every commentary I read says that professors lament rapid acceleration.  Even many STEM colleges provide summer remediation for kids who have not even had Calculus in high school (let alone MVC), in order to ensure diverse student bodies.[/quote]

There aren’t any. Think how few high schools nationwide could send students to such a school. But there’s at least one poster who is absolutely convinced this is the case. [/quote]

That's not the point.  MCPS preaches equity but there is a huge inequity between schools.  With such a large school system all kids should get the classes they need and want, not just a few select schools.

For CS, Engineering, math majors, they would like to see MV.

Why is it ok that your kids get access and ours don't?  That's what it comes down to.  [b]You argue against it as its a non-issue for your kids as they have access.[/b] [/quote]

That is an assumption you are making, but that doesn’t make it true.

My kid is taking BC Calc as a junior and will take AP Stats as a senior because that’s what her school offers. She is planning to major in engineering. She will be fine.

If you want to argue for equal courses across MCPS schools, fine. Just stop pretending kids can’t get into competitive colleges without MV Calc. [/quote]

I'm curious what your kid thinks about this, and what she does extra curricularly in math, what her outcome ends up being. Working so hard to study advanced math for many years, and then treading water for a year in AP Stats (which is halfway to a social science class) at the end of high school is a strange trajectory. [/quote]

Amazingly, my 16-year-old spends very little time thinking about classes she can’t take. She asked her advisor what she should take after BC Calc and that was that.  She’s got a full slate of college-level classes this year and extracurriculars to keep her busy.  There are other classes she’d take if they were available, like AP Chemistry and Physics, but she is adaptable.

As for college, she will take the math she needs when she gets there.  If they recommend brushing up on calc before MV, she’ll do it. She’s pretty resilient and practical.  [/quote]

Mine is very upset they worked hard and there is no Mv or other advanced options.  You are missing all our kids at 16 don’t get a full slate of college classes and are stuck in the fake honors classes.  Graduation is an issue without enough math classes.  [/quote]
Dual enrollment [/quote]

That's one possibility, but it's not the answer. Public school needs cohesive curriculum for advanced students, just as it does for other student cohorts.[/quote]

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