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My ds took Algebra I honors in 7th grade and geometry honors in 8th grade way back in the 1980s. The kids who did this actually were the top tracks, not the bottom tracks - they broke the curve on the common geometry final exam. My dd (3 years younger than my ds) took Algebra I honors in 8th grade and Geometry honors in 9th grade. The kids who took geometry in 8th grade, btw, took it at the high school during 1st period. They were bused back to the jr. high after that math class.
In general, the younger kids who took advanced math were the ones who excelled. That is still the case at their old high school today. Of course, it is possible that your district is pushing kids into these courses who should not be in them, but when my kids did it, that was not the case.
No, the issue is they teach to the same level. Advanced kids should go deeper not faster. Faster doesn't give you an edge on your peers because eventually they get to where you are. Deeper gives you a long term advantage. It's a shame that we think kids taking a class younger is "accelerated" when they should be in the same class as their peers but go deeper.
While the kids on the accelerated track tend to be my better students what I'm not seeing is greater mastery of the classes they took before mine. Sure they do great on the final exam and got good grades but they don't remember any more algebra than the kids who were on the standard track. This is not my definition of excelling. These same kids get A's in my class but I'm willing to bet they couldn't pass the final six months later. We give our kids an algebra placement exam half way though geometry and the advanced kids don't do much better than the non advanced kids with a few exceptions yet they all got great grades in algebra.
My opinion is to fight it and find another school if need be. Holding back students is never OK in my opinion. Our 7th grade (first year of junior high in my district) math class was solely based on standardized test scores from 6th grade. Well, I was absent during the standardized test and didn't make it up, not knowing that was how the class placement was based. I was placed into Math 2, which is remedial math, and it definitely messed up any future math opportunities. The only way I was even able to take Pre-Calculus in high school was because I did so well in that math class to skip one class and take Pre-Algebra in 8th grade. What was the problem with this method? I had an A in Math on my report card and had always scored 97 percentile or above on the math portion of the standardized tests previous to the year I missed. Do not let this happen to your child. If they won't listen to you, figure something else out. You are her parent, and she's counting on you.
Thanks everyone. There was no placement test given- just their class grade. PSR13, thanks and I agree! My daughter has tested in the 99th percentile for math since state testing started in 3rd grade and now is being placed in "low" math. There are other students who were in her 6th grade math class that were scoring 20's and 30's on their report cards and never did a lick of homework- and this is who will be in her 7th grade core classes. I could see if my daughter was failing, but she has an over 90 average for the year! My question is.....I want to fight it, but do I have a shot? She did not meet the criteria, but I think the criteria is ridiculous. It should have been based on the state test or there should have been a placement exam. Since this is a public school, do I not have a right to have her in the accelerated class? Should I take it to the superintendent's office?
I don't know if you can successfully fight it. My mom wasn't able to get me out of my math class, and the schools usually listened to her. Do you have any other schooling options? Junior high/middle school is where your high school sequence can be made or broken, so I don't see this as anything at all to mess with. This is especially true in a subject such as Math which is highly sequenced. It's doubly especially true when it means that all of her core classes are going to be at the "regular" level when she would be in the "honors" level.
My son missed an accelerated level by a few points (one or two in a couple of areas) and he was really upset too. When I asked the school and they explained their reasoning, I agreed as my son tends to make careless mistakes and I figured maybe he'd work harder next time (not saying you should feel the same way, different circumstances).
However, in my case the school said they'd keep an eye and if it seems like he was bored in the other level (he was in the accelerated, but not the super accelerated), they'd move him up later. They also explained as others mentioned that he could double-up on math in high school to get ahead if he doesn't end up moving up.
Wonder of there's a way your school could agree to something like this too, though it doesn't sound like it unless another child moves down at the same time. My son did end up moving up and the type of learning was a better fit for him, which might be another argument on the side of moving your daughter up.
At what grade level do they offer accelerated math at your school district? What school district is this that would divide 50% of the kids and simply dump half the kids in accelerated. Obviously there will be kids struggling in accelerated.
I think the 50% is an approximation from years past. They said it is generally split 50/50. The principal did say- there are quite a few who do get moved down for 8th grade math, but virtually impossible to be moved up. Reneeme, I suppose a teacher could see that a student is misplaced and move them up, but so doubtful. Should I request a meeting with the superintendent or taking it too far? We just moved here and I would hate to have to pull her out of school over this, but from what I am gathering...this is pretty serious. We pay the most expensive real estate taxes in the nation for the schools, sooooo not happy.
Is it legal to declare that 50% of the school is automatically not eligible for a particular diploma track just by virtue of being in the bottom 50%? Wouldn't that violate FAPE somehow?
In any case, if it were my child, I'd pull him/her out of that school and either go private or homeschool. That would not be a situation I want to keep my child in.
Hi-I recently received a letter from my daughter's middle school stating that she would be placed in grade level math and not accelerated. The letter stated that the grade would be divided in half- 50% going to accelerated and 50% going to "regular" math. My daughter would also be placed in other core classes with the group in regular math. Apparently she did not meet criteria for accelerated math, as she had an 84 average (in math) instead of an 85 and above. Her overall average on her report card was a 91. The only grade below 90 was in math. She always excelled in math prior to this teacher. The math teacher's attendance was very sporadic and she missed three weeks of school in a row and most often 1-2 days during the week. My daughter has always scored at the 99% percentile on math for state tests and was even selected for the Olympiad in her last school. I contacted the school and the principal stated that the teacher makes the decision and it is final. I am infuriated. I offered to have her do extra work during the summer, etc. They said no. I asked does this mean she will not be on a regents track? The principal said- yes, that's correct- no regents track. My daughter has 90's, except for math, but will now be with the bottom 50th percentile of her grade and no Regents class for 8th grade? No calculus in high school? My daughter is so upset. She is incredibly smart and wants to be challenged. She will be bored to tears in math, not to mention her other classes, that will certainly be slower. Do I have any recourse for their decision. BTW- this is a public school. Shouldn't my child and I have a say, since this is a public school? thx!
What are the differences between the regular class and the accelerated class in this school?
For instance.....
In our district, the accelerated classes are labeled as Pre-Ap, meaning they are on the path to most of the later AP courses. In order to be in 6th grade Pre-AP math you must excel in math in both 4th and 5th grade. Virtually nothing below a 90 average makes it into Pre-AP Math in 6th grade.
6th grade Pre-AP Math teaches all of 6th grade on level math and half of 7th grade on level math.
7th grade Pre-AP Math teaches the last half of 7th grade on level and all of 8th grade on level.
8th grade Pre-AP is Algebra I - a high school level class with high school credit towards graduation.
Math is a building blocks subject. Getting behind, not learning well or not learning at all, in math can be very frustrating to a student put into a class for which they really aren't ready, no matter what the reason.
So before making any decisions as to what path to take, I'd find out what is taught in 7th grade regular math and in 7th grade accelerated math, and then what is taught in both in 8th grade as well. Is it in her best interest to be in the accelerated class? Or the regular one?
I know of many who went into Pre-AP Math that found it to be too much and they went back to on level. They were not as stressed and happier with an A in the less strenuous class than a C in the accelerated one.
Having said that......
In my experience, changing schools can set back kids in regards to the teachers knowing them and understanding what they are capable of. This in turns can keep them from succeeding like they were previously doing. If this new school doesn't know your daughter or the situation with the teacher, they can/will only go by the numbers. On paper an 84 isn't excelling in math and that's all they know about your daughter.
We moved when my daughter was going into 4th grade and in many ways I wish we could go back and do it differently. The teachers in the new school didn't know her or her capabilities and she was hindered by their non support. Basically she pushed through 4th grade successfully in spite of this and 5th grade was marginally better. When she got to middle school it was like a whole new world and everything was back on track.
She graduated this year ranked #5 in her class and the only National Merit Finalist in her school. The petty part of me wishes the 4th grade teacher who denied her abilities and promised she would be challenged was still working there so we could have shown her how wrong she really was.....but the nice part of me is so glad she is gone so that we wouldn't stoop that low. :-)
I would continue to fight this. However the schools policies sound horrible and I don't know if I would want my child educated in this school. I have experience with 1 middle school in Maryland and 1 Junior High in Idaho and both offered many different levels of classes and neither based placement in one class on performance in a totally different subject. IE a student could be in both advanced math and ELA or a combo of one regular/one advanced or all regular or remedial.
We placed DD in regular English when we moved, but DD complained that the class was disruptive and they never learned anything, so we had her moved to advance English. The quality of education can really be affected by peers, even if she is a good student.
Have you had a formal meeting with the principal? If you didn't get anywhere with him, I would move to a meeting with the superintendent. If nothing works and you can't move her before the year starts, I would make an appointment with her 7th grade math teacher, ASAP. Find out what she would need to do to get a recommendation to move up. In sixth grade, we asked to have DD moved to advanced Math. Her teacher observed her work for a week, told us the things the advanced class was going to cover in the first quarter that the regular wasn't, and said if we could get her to the same point by the end of the first quarter, he would move her.
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