Anonymous wrote:First off there is no score that says you can skip right to algebra in APS. They would not allow it for a 6th grader. Yes the 1046 and 550+ has been the guideline for a few years at least. APS has been drastically reducing the number of kids who do pre-algebra in 6th. It’s less than 10% across APS.

They did not allow her to skip straight to algebra and we did not do it, but I looked up the score at the time and that is what it indicated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

5th grade doesn’t even teach to that level of Math Inventory. It would be almost impossible for a student to be at 1046 without outside help/prep.

Okay, but I literally copy and pasted from my kid’s letter. I thought the 1046 MI guideline was odd, because that was my kid’s exact score (according to the same letter). So maybe it was a typo? But again, it was a direct c/p from the letter in Parentvue from 2022.

I doubt it was a typo. Some kids are really good at math and can intuit or reason through material that they haven't been taught. One of my kids had a ridiculously high MI score in 5th that showed they were non par to skip right to Algebra. We didn't do that, went to pre-Algebra in 6th, but just pointing out this can happen.

Ha! But thanks. I didn’t think my kid’s score was a typo, but thought the 1046 guideline might be – with so many others saying 900+. I know there has been a push to limit the number of kids doing pre-algebra in 6th.

First off there is no score that says you can skip right to algebra in APS. They would not allow it for a 6th grader. Yes the 1046 and 550+ has been the guideline for a few years at least. APS has been drastically reducing the number of kids who do pre-algebra in 6th. It’s less than 10% across APS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

5th grade doesn’t even teach to that level of Math Inventory. It would be almost impossible for a student to be at 1046 without outside help/prep.

Okay, but I literally copy and pasted from my kid’s letter. I thought the 1046 MI guideline was odd, because that was my kid’s exact score (according to the same letter). So maybe it was a typo? But again, it was a direct c/p from the letter in Parentvue from 2022.

I doubt it was a typo. Some kids are really good at math and can intuit or reason through material that they haven't been taught. One of my kids had a ridiculously high MI score in 5th that showed they were non par to skip right to Algebra. We didn't do that, went to pre-Algebra in 6th, but just pointing out this can happen.

So if a student has never divided fractions they can just reason through it? Maybe they cover that the end of 5th?

on par not non par. sorry!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

5th grade doesn’t even teach to that level of Math Inventory. It would be almost impossible for a student to be at 1046 without outside help/prep.

Okay, but I literally copy and pasted from my kid’s letter. I thought the 1046 MI guideline was odd, because that was my kid’s exact score (according to the same letter). So maybe it was a typo? But again, it was a direct c/p from the letter in Parentvue from 2022.

I doubt it was a typo. Some kids are really good at math and can intuit or reason through material that they haven't been taught. One of my kids had a ridiculously high MI score in 5th that showed they were non par to skip right to Algebra. We didn't do that, went to pre-Algebra in 6th, but just pointing out this can happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

There is no winter SOL. SOLs are given in the spring and that's not an SOL score. I think you are talking about the mid year growth assessment.

Don't placement letters come out in June? In that case, wouldn't they have spring SOL scores?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

5th grade doesn’t even teach to that level of Math Inventory. It would be almost impossible for a student to be at 1046 without outside help/prep.

Okay, but I literally copy and pasted from my kid’s letter. I thought the 1046 MI guideline was odd, because that was my kid’s exact score (according to the same letter). So maybe it was a typo? But again, it was a direct c/p from the letter in Parentvue from 2022.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

5th grade doesn’t even teach to that level of Math Inventory. It would be almost impossible for a student to be at 1046 without outside help/prep.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

There is no winter SOL. SOLs are given in the spring and that's not an SOL score. I think you are talking about the mid year growth assessment.

My kid is in 6th this year and in pre-algebra. I was wondering about this last year and got stonewalled by our elementary school when I asked about the decision process and metrics.

I copy/pasted the text from last year’s notification letter:

VA SOL Grade 5 Math SOL 550+
CogAT Quantitative 126+
CogAT Nonverbal 126+
MI Quantile Score 1046

I don’t know if these guidelines are school specific or across APS.

They want the MI to be 900 or above so you are probably in good shape

I don’t have access to the MI, but my now-7th grader had a 574 on the 5th grade spring math SOL and was recommended for pre algebra in 6th.

you can see the end of year cut offs on some website - this gives a good idea of where your kiddo stands:

https://www.hmhco.com/product-support/content/techsupport/smi/documentation/MI_FAQ_Final.pdf

I would expect an MI of 900+ would be pre algebra ready. Can anyone else with experience weigh in?

For those whose kids were recommended for Pre-Algebra for 6th graders in Williamsburg, what scores did your kids have?

I know our kid is strong in math but since we never compare scores with people, we don’t know how doing compared to others. And very few of the tests have percentiles.

Her 5th grade Middle of Year Math Inventory was 911.

Her 5th grade Winter SOL was 1678.

Since only 5% get into Pre-Algebra, we expect our kid will be in Math 6, but wonder if the students are randomly placed in math classes or if there is any grouping of similarly skilled kids. When I was in school, there were three math levels.