Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two Hardy 6th graders took Algebra I in 22-23, along with 20% of all 7th graders, and 40% of all 8th graders.

Only 40 percent of the 8th graders took Algebra 1 last year?

The rest took Geometry or Math 8. One took Algebra II or beyond elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Two Hardy 6th graders took Algebra I in 22-23, along with 20% of all 7th graders, and 40% of all 8th graders.

Only 40 percent of the 8th graders took Algebra 1 last year?

I went to school in Europe, and my kids are still in Elementary, so wondering just to educate myself - it it not a normal percentage? Wikipedia says the following about Algebra 1: "Algebra I is the first course students take in algebra. Although some students take it as eighth graders, this class is most commonly taken in ninth or tenth grade".

With this statement, 40% of 8th graders sounds like plenty. I'm a looking at this from the wrong angle?

Anonymous wrote:Two Hardy 6th graders took Algebra I in 22-23, along with 20% of all 7th graders, and 40% of all 8th graders.

Only 40 percent of the 8th graders took Algebra 1 last year?

Two Hardy 6th graders took Algebra I in 22-23, along with 20% of all 7th graders, and 40% of all 8th graders.

I can’t speak to Hardy but our experience at Deal has been great. The rhetoric on this site is overblown and feels totally out of touch with kids’ day-to-day experiences, which among our kids and friends have been normal middle school. Some great classes/teachers, some average. It’s annoying that the spots on sports teams are so limited but most kids find something to be involved in that they find interesting. Good mix of friends held over from elementary school and new friends from middle. The facility is totally fine although of course doesn’t have that brand-new-fancy feel the renovated schools do. Class sizes are MUCH smaller than I was anticipating given the overall size and the team structure really works in the sense that all of my kids’ teachers clearly knew them and had a relationship. Most kids go through their days with literally no awareness of some of the issues that get repeatedly brought up here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child high performing? If so Deal.

Did you mean to say go private or elsewhere? Generally speaking, the core curriculum and opportunities for differentiation seem to be the same across Hardy and Deal (e.g., high school courses in algebra and geometry are offered in both, but no advanced ELA). TBH, high performers would probably be fine in either. Some of this will depend on the luck of the draw with teachers. I think the better question is which school offers more support for students at the mid and lower end of the spectrum.

Hardy does not have math differentiation in 6th grade, and students have to do significant online summer work to get into the track taking Algebra I in 7th grade. My understanding is that math differentiation in Deal starts in 6th.

Hardy does (did?) have math differentiation even in 6th. Incoming students can skip ahead to 7th grade Math or higher based on assessment. There is no Algebra II offered at Hardy but maybe that will change with more demand.

Nope. Not last year at least. Every single student who was at or above grade level was shuffled into “advanced math” for 6th grade. Not 7th grade math. As I learned in short order, “advanced math” last year meant regular 6th grade math and the “regular” 6th grade math really meant remedial math. My kid learned nothing in math, her assessments gained less than 10 points from start to end of year while pulling a straight 100 average because she was already at “mid 7th grade” per their beginning of year assessment. Waste of a year. There was no skipping higher permitted.

Things have deteriorated since Cooke left, then! I know several kids who were in Algebra 1 in 7th and Geometry in 8th, who clearly did not take "advanced math" but straight 7th or 8th grade math in 6th grade. They were flexible enough to let a kid take Geometry in 6th a few years ago.

It is correct that, last year, the default for 6th grade is Accelerated Math. Students who were not ready for that (ie, "needed support") had an additional math session instead of an elective.

However, a few 6th graders took Algebra 1, and quite a few 7th graders take Algebra 1.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child high performing? If so Deal.

Did you mean to say go private or elsewhere? Generally speaking, the core curriculum and opportunities for differentiation seem to be the same across Hardy and Deal (e.g., high school courses in algebra and geometry are offered in both, but no advanced ELA). TBH, high performers would probably be fine in either. Some of this will depend on the luck of the draw with teachers. I think the better question is which school offers more support for students at the mid and lower end of the spectrum.

Hardy does not have math differentiation in 6th grade, and students have to do significant online summer work to get into the track taking Algebra I in 7th grade. My understanding is that math differentiation in Deal starts in 6th.

Hardy does (did?) have math differentiation even in 6th. Incoming students can skip ahead to 7th grade Math or higher based on assessment. There is no Algebra II offered at Hardy but maybe that will change with more demand.

Nope. Not last year at least. Every single student who was at or above grade level was shuffled into “advanced math” for 6th grade. Not 7th grade math. As I learned in short order, “advanced math” last year meant regular 6th grade math and the “regular” 6th grade math really meant remedial math. My kid learned nothing in math, her assessments gained less than 10 points from start to end of year while pulling a straight 100 average because she was already at “mid 7th grade” per their beginning of year assessment. Waste of a year. There was no skipping higher permitted.

Things have deteriorated since Cooke left, then! I know several kids who were in Algebra 1 in 7th and Geometry in 8th, who clearly did not take "advanced math" but straight 7th or 8th grade math in 6th grade. They were flexible enough to let a kid take Geometry in 6th a few years ago.

I can’t compare since last year was our first year, but I suspect that’s extremely accurate. As evidenced by the many many threads on the state of Hardy last year. Hoping things start to turnaround this year….

I inquired after I realized what the math was like because my understanding was that they would accommodate advanced learning and was told no exceptions, all 6th graders would take one or the other of regular or advanced 6th grade math. The program to take algebra one this fall was extensive to “catch up” and would likely have been impossible or very difficult to complete for any children who traveled or went to sleep away camp. Plus, I think we got the letter of qualification to even try two weeks into the summer, further limiting the timeframe to complete it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child high performing? If so Deal.

Did you mean to say go private or elsewhere? Generally speaking, the core curriculum and opportunities for differentiation seem to be the same across Hardy and Deal (e.g., high school courses in algebra and geometry are offered in both, but no advanced ELA). TBH, high performers would probably be fine in either. Some of this will depend on the luck of the draw with teachers. I think the better question is which school offers more support for students at the mid and lower end of the spectrum.

Hardy does not have math differentiation in 6th grade, and students have to do significant online summer work to get into the track taking Algebra I in 7th grade. My understanding is that math differentiation in Deal starts in 6th.

Hardy does (did?) have math differentiation even in 6th. Incoming students can skip ahead to 7th grade Math or higher based on assessment. There is no Algebra II offered at Hardy but maybe that will change with more demand.

Nope. Not last year at least. Every single student who was at or above grade level was shuffled into “advanced math” for 6th grade. Not 7th grade math. As I learned in short order, “advanced math” last year meant regular 6th grade math and the “regular” 6th grade math really meant remedial math. My kid learned nothing in math, her assessments gained less than 10 points from start to end of year while pulling a straight 100 average because she was already at “mid 7th grade” per their beginning of year assessment. Waste of a year. There was no skipping higher permitted.

Things have deteriorated since Cooke left, then! I know several kids who were in Algebra 1 in 7th and Geometry in 8th, who clearly did not take "advanced math" but straight 7th or 8th grade math in 6th grade. They were flexible enough to let a kid take Geometry in 6th a few years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child high performing? If so Deal.

Did you mean to say go private or elsewhere? Generally speaking, the core curriculum and opportunities for differentiation seem to be the same across Hardy and Deal (e.g., high school courses in algebra and geometry are offered in both, but no advanced ELA). TBH, high performers would probably be fine in either. Some of this will depend on the luck of the draw with teachers. I think the better question is which school offers more support for students at the mid and lower end of the spectrum.

Hardy does not have math differentiation in 6th grade, and students have to do significant online summer work to get into the track taking Algebra I in 7th grade. My understanding is that math differentiation in Deal starts in 6th.

Hardy does (did?) have math differentiation even in 6th. Incoming students can skip ahead to 7th grade Math or higher based on assessment. There is no Algebra II offered at Hardy but maybe that will change with more demand.

Nope. Not last year at least. Every single student who was at or above grade level was shuffled into “advanced math” for 6th grade. Not 7th grade math. As I learned in short order, “advanced math” last year meant regular 6th grade math and the “regular” 6th grade math really meant remedial math. My kid learned nothing in math, her assessments gained less than 10 points from start to end of year while pulling a straight 100 average because she was already at “mid 7th grade” per their beginning of year assessment. Waste of a year. There was no skipping higher permitted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which of Deal or Hardy has the higher percentage of discipline problems and disruptive students?

I don’t think anyone can quantify this, although I believe just for the mere fact that Deal is much larger than Hardy, I would imagine it’s more significant at Deal just because there are more kids there and thus more likelihood to have more kids with behavioral issues. There is no way to avoid this stuff in public schools.

Seeing some of the Deal kids (maybe some are Wilson) creating mayhem around Tenleytown suggests that the bigger problem is at Deal.

Anonymous wrote:Which of Deal or Hardy has the higher percentage of discipline problems and disruptive students?

I don’t think anyone can quantify this, although I believe just for the mere fact that Deal is much larger than Hardy, I would imagine it’s more significant at Deal just because there are more kids there and thus more likelihood to have more kids with behavioral issues. There is no way to avoid this stuff in public schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child high performing? If so Deal.

Did you mean to say go private or elsewhere? Generally speaking, the core curriculum and opportunities for differentiation seem to be the same across Hardy and Deal (e.g., high school courses in algebra and geometry are offered in both, but no advanced ELA). TBH, high performers would probably be fine in either. Some of this will depend on the luck of the draw with teachers. I think the better question is which school offers more support for students at the mid and lower end of the spectrum.

Hardy does not have math differentiation in 6th grade, and students have to do significant online summer work to get into the track taking Algebra I in 7th grade. My understanding is that math differentiation in Deal starts in 6th.

Hardy does (did?) have math differentiation even in 6th. Incoming students can skip ahead to 7th grade Math or higher based on assessment. There is no Algebra II offered at Hardy but maybe that will change with more demand.

My sense is that they are similar in that respect.
Can anyone speak that based on experience?

Which of Deal or Hardy has the higher percentage of discipline problems and disruptive students?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child high performing? If so Deal.

Did you mean to say go private or elsewhere? Generally speaking, the core curriculum and opportunities for differentiation seem to be the same across Hardy and Deal (e.g., high school courses in algebra and geometry are offered in both, but no advanced ELA). TBH, high performers would probably be fine in either. Some of this will depend on the luck of the draw with teachers. I think the better question is which school offers more support for students at the mid and lower end of the spectrum.

Hardy does not have math differentiation in 6th grade, and students have to do significant online summer work to get into the track taking Algebra I in 7th grade. My understanding is that math differentiation in Deal starts in 6th.