Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

How can people find out of their MS language class is being taught at the full HS level?

My kid said the teacher literally told the class that he wasn't teaching at the full HS level and that the class as a whole probably wouldn't do well if he did do the full HS expectations And I have an older kid taking the same class in high school, so we could compare experiences. Probably checking with the MS teacher is the best way to find out.

Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is in Spanish 3 at the TPMS magnet. They have A's, and it's also their hardest class. They are attending SMCS next year. I'm recommending they repeat it mostly to stay engaged in Spanish, ensure their workload is manageable, and avoid AP Spanish Lit during their senior year.

This is what my magnet kid did a few years ago. No regrets.

I have no doubt they're up to doing Spanish 4, but I am considering their overall workload and transition to SMCS in conjunction with their lack of interest in medieval Spanish poetry covered by Spanish Lit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

How can people find out of their MS language class is being taught at the full HS level?

I've been told by other parents with older kids that everything after Spanish 3 at TPMS is easy.

I've got a college freshman and an 8th grader.

My 8th grader's Spanish 3 teacher talks to them in Spanish. We asked for her recommendation on our kid's trajectory in high school, and she said: Spanish 4, 5, AP, AP.

If your kid's Spanish teacher is not conducting most of the class in Spanish, then I would consider hiring a tutor before having them repeat the class.

Re: difficult APs in 12th grade. Kids do need good grades in the first semester of that year, since the transcript is required by colleges and is taken into account for Regular Decision (and could potentially cause them to rescind an Early Action offer). However, they give leeway to students in the second semester. Kids do not need to take the AP exams in May of 12th grade, unless they want to because they can get extra credit or jump to a higher-level class at their chosen college. It looks good on college applications to include challenging AP courses in 12th grade... but second semester grades don't matter so much. Just FYI.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

How can people find out of their MS language class is being taught at the full HS level?

My kid said the teacher literally told the class that he wasn't teaching at the full HS level and that the class as a whole probably wouldn't do well if he did do the full HS expectations And I have an older kid taking the same class in high school, so we could compare experiences. Probably checking with the MS teacher is the best way to find out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

How can people find out of their MS language class is being taught at the full HS level?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

I asked this question last night to Einstein staff, and fwiw they advised to stay on the 4-level track, especially for kids on the IB pathway. They believed if your child was succeeding in level 3, then the curriculum for 4 was the appropriate next step, even accounting for differences in rigor between MS and HS.

OP here. After I posted last time, we heard back from the language department head, who said to continue on to Spanish 4 and that they would be prepared to support kids coming in with different backgrounds from the different middle schools. And my kid's current teacher also told them to go ahead to Spanish 4, based on my kid's work habits and performance in class. So I think we will move forward with Spanish 4 after all. It was valuable to see everybody else's thoughts and input in this discussion thread, too!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

I asked this question last night to Einstein staff, and fwiw they advised to stay on the 4-level track, especially for kids on the IB pathway. They believed if your child was succeeding in level 3, then the curriculum for 4 was the appropriate next step, even accounting for differences in rigor between MS and HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

OP here - thanks for reporting back. Our HS counselor said her gut reaction was to repeat the class, but she forwarded our question to the head of the language department for input and we're waiting to hear more. I think my kid is likely to sign up for Spanish 3 again and just consider this year as Spanish 2.5 (since it's not being taught at the full HS level).

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

Was able to confirm that language placement tests are available and to call the HS counseling dept to arrange for the test. In the meantime, the counselors said to sign up for level 4 and then contact them afterward to drop down as necessary. HTH.

Yes, Spanish 3 at TPMS is very difficult!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our middle school encouraged the repeat a couple years ago when they started hearing complaints that Spanish 3 in middle school wasn't preparing kids for Spanish 4 in hs

So instead of improving the MS Spanish 3 class they suggested kids retake the class????

At our MS, TPMS, Spanish 3 is taught like Spanish 999 so everything afterward is easy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few points
1) As far as I know from this board, if you repeat Spanish 3 on grade 9, it will never show on your transcript that you repeated the class. Grade 9 is the only opportunity to do this. I never had direct experience with this, but this is what some people said on this board.
2) If you continue Spanish 4 on 9th grade, you'd have to take AP Spanish Literature (not AP Spanish Language) unless you stop taking Spanish. Taking AP Spanish Literature is no joke.

It will show up on the transcript.

Your HS transcript shows a class you took in middle school?

Yes if it’s a HS level class. The grade is only factored into the GPA of it improves the GPA. But the class counts for credit regardless.

Which is why is makes little sense for middle schools to offer HS level classes that don’t actually prepare kids for the next level. Either offer the class and set the correct foundation and expectations OR offer other classes. Provide a study hall or study skills class or longer lunch period/classes periods.

Anonymous wrote:Our middle school encouraged the repeat a couple years ago when they started hearing complaints that Spanish 3 in middle school wasn't preparing kids for Spanish 4 in hs

So instead of improving the MS Spanish 3 class they suggested kids retake the class????

Anonymous wrote:My 8th grader is in Spanish 3 at the TPMS magnet. They have A's, and it's also their hardest class. They are attending SMCS next year. I'm recommending they repeat it mostly to stay engaged in Spanish, ensure their workload is manageable, and avoid AP Spanish Lit during their senior year.

This is what my magnet kid did a few years ago. No regrets.