18:40 here. I have administered the test for years. There are a few practice questions, but that's it. It's hard because we drill it into the kids' brains to take their time and work out each problem carefully in the classroom and on the SOL. They're just not used to a timed test. But as I said earlier, it's a power test--can you work accurately in a short amount of time? I'm not saying it's right or wrong--it's just what it is.

If your child scored close, but didn't make the cut-off, and you feel your child would be able to handle the Alg 1 Honors, I would encourage you to speak with the middle school principal about placing in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OK. Straight "A" 6th grade student. Advanced mathematics since 3rd grade. Not AAP. School did no "10 minute" practice test for IAAT. DC taken off guard by quick time passage and didn't finish half of 1st section. DC is very disappointed because she/he new the material. Does anyone know if there is subjectivity with Algebra 1 placement if there is a high score on 7th grade SOL. Is there an IAAT retake option? DC concerned with already knowing 7th grade honors math.

I don't know If any school did a "10 minute" practice test. Ours certainly didn't. We were told it's one of those -either you know it or you don't- kind of tests where time for calculations shouldn't be necessary.

Ours did not, either. The only "help" provided was on test day -- using a SmartBoard to display a 10 minute countdown clock for each section.

Anonymous wrote:OK. Straight "A" 6th grade student. Advanced mathematics since 3rd grade. Not AAP. School did no "10 minute" practice test for IAAT. DC taken off guard by quick time passage and didn't finish half of 1st section. DC is very disappointed because she/he new the material. Does anyone know if there is subjectivity with Algebra 1 placement if there is a high score on 7th grade SOL. Is there an IAAT retake option? DC concerned with already knowing 7th grade honors math.

I don't know If any school did a "10 minute" practice test. Ours certainly didn't. We were told it's one of those -either you know it or you don't- kind of tests where time for calculations shouldn't be necessary.

Anonymous wrote:OK. Straight "A" 6th grade student. Advanced mathematics since 3rd grade. Not AAP. School did no "10 minute" practice test for IAAT. DC taken off guard by quick time passage and didn't finish half of 1st section. DC is very disappointed because she/he new the material. Does anyone know if there is subjectivity with Algebra 1 placement if there is a high score on 7th grade SOL. Is there an IAAT retake option? DC concerned with already knowing 7th grade honors math.

What some parents do, is have their child take Geometry over the summer after Algebra I, so they start Algebra II with the students that took Algebra I in 7th grade. It takes away a good portion of their summer and costs quite a bit though.

Anonymous wrote:OK. Straight "A" 6th grade student. Advanced mathematics since 3rd grade. Not AAP. School did no "10 minute" practice test for IAAT. DC taken off guard by quick time passage and didn't finish half of 1st section. DC is very disappointed because she/he new the material. Does anyone know if there is subjectivity with Algebra 1 placement if there is a high score on 7th grade SOL. Is there an IAAT retake option? DC concerned with already knowing 7th grade honors math.

There is no subjectivity with Algebra I placement. There is no retake option for the IAAT.

OK. Straight "A" 6th grade student. Advanced mathematics since 3rd grade. Not AAP. School did no "10 minute" practice test for IAAT. DC taken off guard by quick time passage and didn't finish half of 1st section. DC is very disappointed because she/he new the material. Does anyone know if there is subjectivity with Algebra 1 placement if there is a high score on 7th grade SOL. Is there an IAAT retake option? DC concerned with already knowing 7th grade honors math.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child scored in the 90's on the IAAT, he/she should have little difficulty with the SOL, even with the new standards. The IAAT is a power test. Kids have to solve very complex problems in a short amount of time. The SOL is an un-timed test with a variety of problems. The "high bar" is the IAAT.

Thanks for posting this. DD scored high on the IAAT and I have no idea how that will translate to the 7th grade math SOL.

Is it 8th grade SOL or 7th grade? Somehow I remember it was 8th grade SOL years ago

7th grade.

Jeff Steele (not from DCUM but from FCAG) did a comparison of the use of the 7th grade vs. 8th grade math SOL scores and Algebra readiness. He posted it to the FCAG group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FCAG/message/8362

He concluded (as others here have concluded) that the 7th grade math SOL does not make much of a difference as those 6th graders that score 91+ on the IAAT are crossing a higher hurdle than with either the 7th or 8th grade math SOL.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If your child scored in the 90's on the IAAT, he/she should have little difficulty with the SOL, even with the new standards. The IAAT is a power test. Kids have to solve very complex problems in a short amount of time. The SOL is an un-timed test with a variety of problems. The "high bar" is the IAAT.

Thanks for posting this. DD scored high on the IAAT and I have no idea how that will translate to the 7th grade math SOL.

Is it 8th grade SOL or 7th grade? Somehow I remember it was 8th grade SOL years ago

Anonymous wrote:If your child scored in the 90's on the IAAT, he/she should have little difficulty with the SOL, even with the new standards. The IAAT is a power test. Kids have to solve very complex problems in a short amount of time. The SOL is an un-timed test with a variety of problems. The "high bar" is the IAAT.

Thanks for posting this. DD scored high on the IAAT and I have no idea how that will translate to the 7th grade math SOL.

If your child scored in the 90's on the IAAT, he/she should have little difficulty with the SOL, even with the new standards. The IAAT is a power test. Kids have to solve very complex problems in a short amount of time. The SOL is an un-timed test with a variety of problems. The "high bar" is the IAAT.

Anonymous wrote:What does the % ranking indicate ...is it Fairfax local or national?

It is a percentage, not a percentile. 91% means 91% correct.

We received the IAAT results in today's mail, on letterhead from our school.

What does the % ranking indicate ...is it Fairfax local or national?

dc scraped by with a 91%
We'll wait for the SOL score and decide the best strategy for dc next year.

Anonymous wrote:Long time ago is two years! Plus they don't take the 8th grade SOL, they take the 7th grade SOL. If they can't get a pass advance on that they should NOT be taking Honors Algebra in 7th. Plain and simple.

That is what several posters on this thread have already stated.