It stinks when your kid didn't have a fair shot at 7th grade Algebra due to poor teachers in 5th or 6th. But, if they have gaps in their understanding due to poor teachers, they would struggle in Algebra and should instead take M7H. FCPS middle school teachers want the vast majority of AAP kids to be in M7H and not 7th grade Algebra I. They've seen far too many kids who are unprepared and struggle in 7th.

I wish they flagged 5th and 6th grade teachers who seem to have overly low IAAT pass rates or a lot of very low scores from their classes. It would be another data point on teachers who are not effectively teaching the material.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Advanced Math (gen ed) at our school has been a struggle. Lots of disruptions threw off pacing. Disruptions include student behavior (some resulting in suspensions) but also an emergency family situation with the teacher. Due to teacher shortages — and the last minute nature of events — advanced math has been reduced to 15 minutes a day sometimes not at all for a long stretch. No doubt these things have impacted some students’ preparedness for IAAT relative to their peers elsewhere in FCPS. Unfortunately for them, they will not be given any special consideration.

I feel for cases like this, our DD had a teacher who had health issues for half the year (the last two quarters) of 5th grade and struggled to put together an even curriculum the first two. DD was not prepared to step into 6th grade AAP math (and neither was half that class) and needed some outside sessions for the first 2 months of school to learn the concepts her cohorts had learned the previous year.

I am sure people will argue she should not have been in AAP but as children advance through grades they still have to be exposed to information and the quality of teacher makes a large difference, which as a parent can be very frustrating if you don't fund out there is an issue until later.

Thanks. It has been frustrating. I’m not sure any of the kids got past 90%. There’s just a handful of kids (15?) in the class. I’d assumed my kid with test anxiety was the only one who didn’t pass the 90% (which is cool by me). However, parents talking about MS classes said their kids wouldn’t be taking 8th grade math. Maybe some passed but parents already decided they’d opt out or some don’t want to assume anything about the SOL.

97%

Anonymous wrote:Advanced Math (gen ed) at our school has been a struggle. Lots of disruptions threw off pacing. Disruptions include student behavior (some resulting in suspensions) but also an emergency family situation with the teacher. Due to teacher shortages — and the last minute nature of events — advanced math has been reduced to 15 minutes a day sometimes not at all for a long stretch. No doubt these things have impacted some students’ preparedness for IAAT relative to their peers elsewhere in FCPS. Unfortunately for them, they will not be given any special consideration.

I feel for cases like this, our DD had a teacher who had health issues for half the year (the last two quarters) of 5th grade and struggled to put together an even curriculum the first two. DD was not prepared to step into 6th grade AAP math (and neither was half that class) and needed some outside sessions for the first 2 months of school to learn the concepts her cohorts had learned the previous year.

I am sure people will argue she should not have been in AAP but as children advance through grades they still have to be exposed to information and the quality of teacher makes a large difference, which as a parent can be very frustrating if you don't fund out there is an issue until later.

Anonymous wrote:99% percentile. Is SOL easier or harder?

Our school says it’s harder.

99% percentile. Is SOL easier or harder?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can request the full score report for the IAAT. The percentile chart posted earlier is not accurate.

Where can you request this?

Email your principal or assistant principal and ask them to request a score report from the Office of Student Testing.

Anonymous wrote:You can request the full score report for the IAAT. The percentile chart posted earlier is not accurate.

Where can you request this?

Advanced Math (gen ed) at our school has been a struggle. Lots of disruptions threw off pacing. Disruptions include student behavior (some resulting in suspensions) but also an emergency family situation with the teacher. Due to teacher shortages — and the last minute nature of events — advanced math has been reduced to 15 minutes a day sometimes not at all for a long stretch. No doubt these things have impacted some students’ preparedness for IAAT relative to their peers elsewhere in FCPS. Unfortunately for them, they will not be given any special consideration.

93%. He was so stressed about the results that I was worried for him. It does make me wonder if math honors would be preferable next year, just to lessen the sense of competition.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm the parent of the kid who got the 86. She is in AAP, so don't they by default get placed in 7th grade honors math? I'm not even sure of what math they take (or are eligible to take) with a 92 or above, but that is the class she wanted. Can I appeal or is the Iowa cutoff firm?

Wait a minute! In an earlier post, you said you didn't think your DD was very strong at math. Then, she took IAAT, performed like a kid who isn't super strong at math and failed to meet the benchmark. You don't even know what math class the IAAT is a qualifier for, yet you still are talking about appealing your DD in? And all of this because she's disappointed? That has to be the worst reason I've heard for trying to cram your child into a class for which she is not qualified. Teach your DD to deal with disappointment, and then put her in the proper math class, which for her is Math 7 Honors. There is nothing wrong with taking Math 7 Honors. Your DD actually got 1/3 of the problems wrong on the IAAT, and thus has not sufficiently mastered pre-algebra.

Lol. You are funny. How is it relevant that I don't follow middle school math classes? I'm not the student.

Her teacher said she is good at math and was surprised at her score, and that if she does well on the annual test she might have her placed in the advanced class regardless. She thinks she had test anxiety.

I know so many AAP kids who sailed through Algebra I Honors in 7th and are now struggling in Algebra II Honors in 9th trying to keep a B- or B. So it seems to me a tough teacher may be what's needed in Algebra I Honors. Get those I concepts down pat.

You can request the full score report for the IAAT. The percentile chart posted earlier is not accurate.

Anonymous wrote:

Morals:
just bc you do well on the iaat and sol doesn’t mean you will not struggle in algebra 1 honors in 7th.

Agreed

Anonymous wrote:
Just bc you don’t score a 91 on the iaat and/or get a pass advanced on the Sol doesn’t mean you will struggle in algebra 1 honors in 7th.

Well, this is the trickier one. Yes, a kid might get an easy teacher for Algebra I honors in 7th and sail through with an A, but the kid who doesn't meet IAAT benchmark generally has gaps in understanding that will pop up somewhere along the line. Algebra II is a killer for the kids who had overly easy teachers in Algebra I or who didn't fully grasp pre-Algebra and Algebra I concepts. The idea that some kids might get an easy teacher is not sufficient to push unqualified kids into Algebra I.

The cutoffs are there for a reason. They don't guarantee that Algebra I Honors will be easy, but they do show that a kid did not adequately master pre-Algebra and could use another year before taking Algebra I. Appeals are there for a reason, too. They're for the very few kids who for whatever reason miss one of the benchmarks but have many other signs pointing to a kid who is ready for Algebra. They're not for parents who don't even think their kid is good in math, but want to spare their kid from having the sadz over not qualifying for the highest class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Eh- not necessarily. There is a huge difference in teachers. My niece also got a 99% and 600 on the Sol. Her teacher was very strict. She felt it was a high school class and appropriately treated it that way. My kid took it at the same time but at a different school. One teacher gave weekly quizzes, grades homework, had lots of questions on tests, frequent tests, gave partial credit, had extra credit chances, etc. One did not. One gave tests where the hugest grades were in the low 80s. One did not. If my kid took a test and had 30 questions in it and missed 2, she still did ok but if my niece missed 2 questions and there were 10 on the test, she didn’t do well. There were many kids who did very well on the Amc testing and in MathCounts and still struggled with this algebra teacher. The one good thing is that she’s gone from Fcps now!

That's kind of the point. Can you imagine how difficult or impossible this Algebra class would have been for a child who isn't great at math and didn't make the 91% benchmark? For kids like your niece and PP's kid with the 99% scores, Algebra can range from easy to challenging, based on the teacher. For a kid with scores below 91%, the same classes would range from challenging to impossible.

No, it isn’t the point. The fact that one kid sails through it and one kid struggles could be related to the teacher and teaching style. It could have zero to do with the iaat. Our friend’s kid who is at tj now, struggled in her middle school algebra 1 honors class, again due to the teacher. The kid said she hasn’t had a teacher be so stingy with grading. Meanwhile, other teachers are different.


Morals:
just bc you do well on the iaat and sol doesn’t mean you will not struggle in algebra 1 honors in 7th.
Just bc you don’t score a 91 on the iaat and/or get a pass advanced on the Sol doesn’t mean you will struggle in algebra 1 honors in 7th.

A lot goes into it - and the particular teacher is a HUGE factor.

Here’s a similar example: one middle school Honors teacher (not math) allows all quizzes to be open note. All multiple choice. The other is closed book and essay, full in the blank, etc type questions. Same school. “Same” class.