Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Middle School Common Core Math

Agreed, Bostonian. Though I'm guessing that isn't going to result in 'credit' for external learning so much as "placement" determination, and probably 'testing out of' which might be problematic since some of this new material teaches calculation protocols that are in some cases mathematically incorrect... (see any of the major rants about EDM)


I'm also not that hopeful that the basic integrity of even higher math coursework isn't eventually going to be "re-aligned" to the new system.

How unfortunate for curriculum design 'experts' in mathematics that the basic subject material isn't especially amenable to re-alignment as it seems to be unfolding.

I have not looked at this page in a while, but here is an update on what was decided. The district decided to move to common core math using the Carnegie math series. 6th grade was divided into 3 levels according to ability, based on MAP scores. All are using the same textbook. Unfortunately, saying that you are ability grouping is not the same as actually ability grouping! I found that even the highest level was only a little ahead of the lowest. He spent two weeks in the class and was bored! After going back and forth with our district math person, she indicated that common core is challenging for everyone. I realized there would be no change on a broad scale and spoke with my principal about options. He suggested virtual school for math only. My son goes to the library during his math class and does pre-algebra through a virtual class. It is working out well for us so far. He is flying through though and I am not sure what we will do when he finishes the course (before the end of the school year). Many of his friends are in the "high level" common core math class. I asked how they liked it. One friend said his favorite thing was that he could finish the classwork (easy) and had plenty of time left to play on his phone!

On what planet?

Magrathea

Or Earth if the kid is actually placed into the appropriately location in the curriculum and allowed to move at their ideal rate through the material.

Wow - wouldn't that be nice!?!

I know. It was not challenging for my son and is not challenging for a lot of his friends, They can move faster on the computer program, but the class stays together in the book. What we saw of the class seemed to be new ways of doing things that the kids had already mastered! I would have liked to have changed things for everyone, but ultimately had to look out for my child!

Our local school district (my kids don't attend public school, but this was in the paper) just eliminated ALGEBRA at the middle-school level. Kids ready for higher-level math in 8th grade used to be able to take Algebra and so be ready for Geometry in 9th grade. The program has been eliminated on the thought that the new CC integrated math (with NO tracking) will have plenty of "algebra concepts." I strongly suspect that "algebra concepts" does not mean a full-on dive into, say, solving systems of inequalities, factoring polynomials, etc.

It's really difficult to know how our school district will implement CC math. I went to a district meeting open to parents about that recently, and I don't think they exactly know what they will do.
We have a very good public school system in a university town. Most kids take pre-Algebra in 7th grade and Algebra in 8th grade. Kids who are in the gifted program, or test into it, take Algebra in 7th grade.
It sounds like CC will get rid of that but our school district hasn't come out and said that yet. Sigh! My son is highly gifted in math and is 5th grade.

Our school district has converted to common core - kind of. There is an accelerated math program that begins in 3rd grade. Nothing has changed with that. The kids in the regular math tract are no longer using every day math .. YEAH! The district has designed their own math program revolving around common core. The accelerated 3rd and 4th graders are still using EDM and completing 3 years of math in 2 years. The magnet program, from what my friends in the program have told me, still accelerates to the child's level as well. I have a friend in 4th grade taking pre algebra (a 2 year program in our district). Another friend with a son in the magnet is in 8th grade and taking algebra 2 at the high school. I don't know how or if this will change in the future but that is how they are dealing with it now.

What the educators told us at the meeting that would be unique for CC math is that you have to show you understand the concepts, via essays or writing more.
For example- a word problem is "Juan makes $22 if he works 1/2 an hour. How much does he make if he works 2 hours?"
I guess I would approach it like this: OK, he makes about 20 bucks for 1/2 hour or 40 bucks for an hour or 80 bucks for 2 hours.
With the CC math test, they have to:
1) Make up numbers and draw a graph
2) Make up numbers and make a table
3) Make an equation -that explains all of this.
the only thing that I thought was, OK, initially it's good for everyone to really understand this principle. However, esp. if you are gifted, won't you get really, really bored drawing graphs like this over and over?
I made a graph- none of the other adults at my table did. I don't know if they didn't know how to or just didn't want to...