Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry is not that unusual a path. That is what I took but I have serious LDs and struggled with math. The idea was that I would do better with Algebra 2 directly following Algebra 1. In all honesty, I don’t really understand why the path is Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 but math is not my jam. My DS loves math and is really, really good at it, which is why I am here.

There are different paths for different kids. Parents will make different decisions based on what they think is best for their kids. I am not sure why people get upset with that idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
If the student wants to be eligible for UC, Geometry needs to be taken in 7th grade,

Not true for any "UC" I've ever heard of. What UC are you talking about?

Even if so...

so it makes more sense to take Algebra 2 before.

No, that would be Algebra 1 before Geometry, not Algebra 2 before Geometry.

Being in the 90th percentile in a class is a good rule of thumb for getting most out of the instruction. I don’t really see the point of taking a class when you’re by far the best student in it and have already mastered the material inside out.

90th percentile on national norms is nowhere near "the best student in it" in a wealthy suburban district, and neither is "have already mastered the material inside out" because the tests don't even try to test for that.

There a many options for later classes including computer science that count as math, DE, AP, even repeating classes if needed, graduating early if there’s enough credit etc.

OK you are definitely thinking about Algebra 2 not Algebra 1.

Disregarding your lame patronizing attitude, I know what class my child is taking.

Sounds like you’re too lazy or too dumb to do a simple google search, let me help you with that.

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/freshman-requirements/subject-requirement-a-g.html

The part relevant to geometry:
A geometry course or an integrated math course with a sufficient amount of geometry content must be completed. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades if the high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses.


The consideration for the other posters is that for kids accelerated to Algebra 1 in 5th, they should check the UC eligibility if interested in applying in the future to Berkeley or UCLA. If a student completes Algebra 1 in 5th grade, it’s better they take geometry later than 6th to meet the UC eligibility requirements, otherwise they might need to repeat Geometry later on. This could mean doing Algebra 1 in 5th, Algebra 2 in 6th, Geometry in 7th, Precalculus in 8th etc.

You’re free to decide on whatever criteria for your child’s classes, others can do the same for their own.

OK you are definitely thinking about Algebra 2 not Algebra 1.

I meant, you are definitely thinking about Algebra 1 not Algebra 2.

Anonymous wrote:
If the student wants to be eligible for UC, Geometry needs to be taken in 7th grade,

Not true for any "UC" I've ever heard of. What UC are you talking about?

Even if so...

so it makes more sense to take Algebra 2 before.

No, that would be Algebra 1 before Geometry, not Algebra 2 before Geometry.

Being in the 90th percentile in a class is a good rule of thumb for getting most out of the instruction. I don’t really see the point of taking a class when you’re by far the best student in it and have already mastered the material inside out.

90th percentile on national norms is nowhere near "the best student in it" in a wealthy suburban district, and neither is "have already mastered the material inside out" because the tests don't even try to test for that.

There a many options for later classes including computer science that count as math, DE, AP, even repeating classes if needed, graduating early if there’s enough credit etc.

OK you are definitely thinking about Algebra 2 not Algebra 1.

HHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Thanks for the laugh, OP!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

MAP 255 in 5th grade got an Alg 2 placement in 6th??

Good luck; you'll need it.

A MAP 6+ score of 255 is 90th percentile for 10th graders nationally, definitely more take Algebra 2 and master the content to pass with A.

I’m sure someone else will jump in saying their kid scored 280 in 2nd grade on who knows what version of the MAP test. The vast majority of posters have never seen a MAP report that gives a detailed list of topics the student should work on. If it overlaps with the Algebra 2 curriculum then that’s the correct placement which anyways should be based on multiple measures. MAP, IXL or MDTP are all fine. IXL is slightly better because it covers more areas, but takes longer compared to the others.

It's not really about what score corresponds to a high schooler who never learned algebra 1 well and is scraping by. It's looking down the barrel of 4 years of post-calculus math in high school with test scores in the low-to-mid range of students who are still getting at least some value out of reinforcement of 2-years previous content.
MAP 255 means barely passing knowledge of on-level geometry for non-university-bound kids, not A-level mastery of Algebra and Geometry for a 1-in-1000 hyper accelerated kid.

ES parents don't realize that you can't climb the math ladder just by being bright and getting a handle on the new stuff every year, like in social studies or science. You need to remember and understand almost everything from all the previous years, which gets harder every year as the body of knowledge grows and each next year adds more on top of the foundation of the previous, especially at the post-calculus level.

If the student wants to be eligible for UC, Geometry needs to be taken in 7th grade, so it makes more sense to take Algebra 2 before.

Being in the 90th percentile in a class is a good rule of thumb for getting most out of the instruction. I don’t really see the point of taking a class when you’re by far the best student in it and have already mastered the material inside out.

The interpretation of the MAP scores as scraping by is exaggerated. It depends on what version was used, but definitely it’s not scraping by or barely passing knowledge. For the MAP rubric in the grade the teacher gives max points if the score is above 240. IXL needs to be on grade level.

There a many options for later classes including computer science that count as math, DE, AP, even repeating classes if needed, graduating early if there’s enough credit etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

MAP 255 in 5th grade got an Alg 2 placement in 6th??

Good luck; you'll need it.

A MAP 6+ score of 255 is 90th percentile for 10th graders nationally, definitely more take Algebra 2 and master the content to pass with A.

I’m sure someone else will jump in saying their kid scored 280 in 2nd grade on who knows what version of the MAP test. The vast majority of posters have never seen a MAP report that gives a detailed list of topics the student should work on. If it overlaps with the Algebra 2 curriculum then that’s the correct placement which anyways should be based on multiple measures. MAP, IXL or MDTP are all fine. IXL is slightly better because it covers more areas, but takes longer compared to the others.

It's not really about what score corresponds to a high schooler who never learned algebra 1 well and is scraping by. It's looking down the barrel of 4 years of post-calculus math in high school with test scores in the low-to-mid range of students who are still getting at least some value out of reinforcement of 2-years previous content.
MAP 255 means barely passing knowledge of on-level geometry for non-university-bound kids, not A-level mastery of Algebra and Geometry for a 1-in-1000 hyper accelerated kid.

ES parents don't realize that you can't climb the math ladder just by being bright and getting a handle on the new stuff every year, like in social studies or science. You need to remember and understand almost everything from all the previous years, which gets harder every year as the body of knowledge grows and each next year adds more on top of the foundation of the previous, especially at the post-calculus level.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

MAP 255 in 5th grade got an Alg 2 placement in 6th??

Good luck; you'll need it.

A MAP 6+ score of 255 is 90th percentile for 10th graders nationally, definitely more take Algebra 2 and master the content to pass with A.

I’m sure someone else will jump in saying their kid scored 280 in 2nd grade on who knows what version of the MAP test. The vast majority of posters have never seen a MAP report that gives a detailed list of topics the student should work on. If it overlaps with the Algebra 2 curriculum then that’s the correct placement which anyways should be based on multiple measures. MAP, IXL or MDTP are all fine. IXL is slightly better because it covers more areas, but takes longer compared to the others.

FCPS uses the iReady and not MAP. My DS is in 7th grade and took the MAP for the first time this year, we have not received the score yet so I have no idea how he did. His iReady scores were consistently grade levels ahead. He would normally score 20 points past the end of year desired score max in the fall. We choose enrichment at RSM and encouraging his love of math competitions vs fighting with the school to move him ahead in math. We did not want the MS experience in 6th grade, we thought it was too much and not socially appropriate. He enjoyed the RSM class, and still enjoys the math competition class, and uses math at school as an opportunity to practice skills.

He has not asked about taking Geometry this summer. He would need to give up two summer camps that involve activities that he loves to do take math. I am not mentioning it to him because I don’t see the point of this type of acceleration. He has avenues to work on math that challenge him and that he enjoys. I get that other families make different choices, people should do what they feel is best for their child. There are many ways to engage a ES child in math, find the path that works for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

MAP 255 in 5th grade got an Alg 2 placement in 6th??

Good luck; you'll need it.

A MAP 6+ score of 255 is 90th percentile for 10th graders nationally, definitely more take Algebra 2 and master the content to pass with A.

I’m sure someone else will jump in saying their kid scored 280 in 2nd grade on who knows what version of the MAP test. The vast majority of posters have never seen a MAP report that gives a detailed list of topics the student should work on. If it overlaps with the Algebra 2 curriculum then that’s the correct placement which anyways should be based on multiple measures. MAP, IXL or MDTP are all fine. IXL is slightly better because it covers more areas, but takes longer compared to the others.

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

MAP 255 in 5th grade got an Alg 2 placement in 6th??

Good luck; you'll need it.

Anonymous wrote:My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

Which school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is not that precocious in math and took Algebra I in 7th grade, along with many other kids in his AAP class. However, what I have heard is that for the kids who are super-advanced, the logistical headaches make the grade acceleration more trouble than its worth. Several of them have said that if they could do it over again, they wouldn't have accelerated that much.

Think carefully before moving ahead so much in math. If your DC takes Algebra I in 5th grade, then takes Geo in 6th, Alg II in 7th, Precal in 8th, Calc in 9th, multivar in 10th. Then math at GMU for 11th and 12th?

I currently teach middle school Geometry and I can't imagine a 6th grader having the maturity to take Geometry - it's a lot more than being good at math - it requires organization, planning, and patience. It would be a struggle.

This is what's wrong with our schools. The low expectations.

What a ridiculous comment.

Questioning whether a student is mature enough to take a class 4 years early is absolutely a reasonable question. It’s also one that should be asked.

Talk to any college professors lately? This unnecessary push into math courses as early as possible is leading to a generation of students who can’t perform in a college Calc class.

The accelerated students aren't taking calc in college. By selection, the students taking calculus are those who weren't accelerated.

Do you have a college student? Many competitive STEM programs will not accept Calc from outside the school and some kids take it again to get an easy A. My kid (who took Calc in HS at a school that does not offer APs) was in a class with a bunch of kids that took AP Calc and had credit but were taking it again. My kid blew them away so not sure AP Calc is all it is cracked up to be.

Again, the kids who took algebra in 5th are not only taking calc, but multi as well. They are unlikely to retake single variable calculus - at the most, they might retake calc 3.

My 6th grader is in Algebra 2. I talked to the principal and math chair and they base acceleration on placement tests, MAP (255) and IXL (1010). The class is fairly easy bc it’s project based and it’s not honors, and he doesn’t have any issues with mastering the content, he knew most of it from outside enrichment. Organization and keeping up on top of assignments can be a challenge, I recently noticed several incomplete assignments. These things can be learned over time, just as the academic curriculum, and its part of the grade.

I agree with some previous posters that the school curriculum will be inadequate whatever the placement, but there are some benefits from getting requirements out of the way and doing advance classes like AP and DE early.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC is not that precocious in math and took Algebra I in 7th grade, along with many other kids in his AAP class. However, what I have heard is that for the kids who are super-advanced, the logistical headaches make the grade acceleration more trouble than its worth. Several of them have said that if they could do it over again, they wouldn't have accelerated that much.

Think carefully before moving ahead so much in math. If your DC takes Algebra I in 5th grade, then takes Geo in 6th, Alg II in 7th, Precal in 8th, Calc in 9th, multivar in 10th. Then math at GMU for 11th and 12th?

I currently teach middle school Geometry and I can't imagine a 6th grader having the maturity to take Geometry - it's a lot more than being good at math - it requires organization, planning, and patience. It would be a struggle.

This is what's wrong with our schools. The low expectations.

What a ridiculous comment.

Questioning whether a student is mature enough to take a class 4 years early is absolutely a reasonable question. It’s also one that should be asked.

Talk to any college professors lately? This unnecessary push into math courses as early as possible is leading to a generation of students who can’t perform in a college Calc class.

Reading comprehension is vital for productive conversation.
As is refraining from making outlandish unsupported comments.


The kids failing college calculus are obviously not the kids who SKIPPED college calculus! The one failing are the kids who sat through honors courses that teach nothing and then showed up for calculus totally unprepared.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here whose child is in 5th grade and taking Algebra. In response to previous comments, he is taking the class at Langston Hughes Middle School. So no, we are not in a high socioeconomic pyramid. The county assessed him in 1st grade before placing him in the 3rd grade AAP class. They saw the need then, and that has been his track since.

Based on the VDOE SOL results, there were 4 different FCPS elementary schools that had a 4th grader take the 7th grade math SOL last year. I'm the PP with the kid on the same track years ago, who posted about the logistical issues with skipping ahead. The VDOE data shows that most of the recent years, 0 or 1 kids in the county were skipped ahead. Perhaps FCPS is in the process of identifying more kids who can handle this level of acceleration and facilitating the logistics of aligning classes. If so, that's great. I found FCPS pretty unworkable when my kid went through the system years ago.

The moral of the story is that if you have a kid who is off the charts and would benefit from this level of acceleration, push your principal to see what the plan is for making the classes align so your kid isn't constantly pulled out of language arts block to take math.

This year in FCPS, there is at least one 10 year-old taking multi variable calculus in high school (McLean High School).

There is another 10 year-old who earned her admission to TJ, and she didn’t just take the minimum level math (Algebra I, non-honors) either.

I am surprised how many doubt the ability of tweens and teens to learn advanced and accelerated math.

Which elementary schools did they go to? Were they grade-skipped or single subject accelerated?

The TJ girl was grade skipped 3 different times. She attended Prince William County public schools. There's no way FCPS would have allowed 3 grade skips, no matter how advanced the kid is.

Because FCPS has a cohort

These tween high school grads always come from counties where their "high schoo graduate" education is on-level, the same level as 30 kids in 10th grade in one wealthy suburban school, and they go to college to take the equivalent of suburban AP/magnet school classes.