Any one knows detail info on plano ISD's math rock program?
Anyone's child has been in that program? what was the selection criteria?Is it beneficial? How is it structured?

Thanks,
PP

Here is a presentation on it.

http://www.pisd.edu/staff/districtdigest/2009-10/Math_Rocks.pdf

It is a 2+ year acceleration for mathy kids. Kids also get a lot of college credit.

Here is the class sequence.

6th grade: Honors Math Rocks 6.
7th grade: Honors Math Rocks 7 with Honors Algebra 1 (for high school credit).
8th grade: Honors Math Rocks 8 with Geometry (for high school credit).
9th grade: Algebra 2 combined with Pre-Calculus (for 2 high school credits).
10th grade: Calculus 1/Calculus 2 (for college credit from UTD).
11th grade: Differential Equations/Number Theory (for college credit from UTD).
12th grade: Abstract Algebra/Multi-variable Calculus (for college credit from UTD).

A lot of kids also take the AMC series. ( A high score on the AMC is much better than a high score on the SAT.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Mathematics_Competitions

And many attend:

http://metroplexmathcircle.wordpress.com/

If your child gets offered Math Rocks, I would highly recommend they accept. The mathematical foundation it builds will server them well no matter what they do in life.

Thanks for the reply.

How do I know if my child's MAP score is 2 Standard deviation or 3 SD above the grade level? Any insight on that?
From the presentation it looks like only MAP scores are considered for this program, is this true?
Do teachers tell the parents about it? Or parents advocate?

I would contact the PISD Elementary Math Coordinator, Julia Haun, for more information. You can call the PISD and get her phone number.

My daughter is in Math Rocks. It is purely based on MAP scores and the school/ district will notify you if selected.

Thanks Plano Mom,

What was her score in MAP in fall, winter and spring. What grade was she offered the program? What is hers and your opinion about the program?

Her current MAP score is 277 for Middle School testing. She is in 5th Grade now and was offered the program in 3th going to 4th. It is challenging and she seems to enjoy it. She is in an awesome school and has a wonderful teacher. We do not get to see much stuff at home

Math Rocks is supposed to be a more problem solving approach. It is great, but the issue is that you'll not see anything coming home. This can be frustrating. Most Math Rocks kids have enrichment outside of school. My son does not attend any other classes outside and I have to make sure there are no gaps.
I worry that this might be a bigger concern in middle school.
Plus - based on my guess, the problems can be of AMC / Math Olympiad nature. Am not sure how well our teachers can handle it. My son got into the program in 4th and it is really hard for me to assess how much this program has helped him. I do trust that the content is great and probably one of its kind in the nation - but I have little faith in how it is delivered or drilled.

Being in Math Rocks is like getting onto a Select sports team.

If you want to compete for the top in the AMC tests, then some work outside of class is important, especially in Middle School. Some parents push their kids and others are self-motivated. It may be that your son becomes competitive, or he may not. Or he may go through phases.

The later classes in harder topics will be often frustrating. But sticking with it will bring emotional and intellectual growth and a true sense of accomplishment.

The exposure to problem solving techniques and the advanced math treatment will have an impact on their intellectual maturity far beyond anything else. And this qualitative outlook will stay with them no matter what they choose to do.

Lots of Chinese kids go to Chinese school on the weekends, where in addition to classes in Chinese culture there are math contest preparation classes taught by one of the fathers of the students who is an engineer or mathematician.

The program is only at certain schools so if your child does qualify and your school is not one of the selected cluster campuses your child will have to transfer to the selected participating school. I went to a meeting earlier in the year about the program and they are hoping to expand it but for now it is only at, I think, 11 elementary schools. I have heard really good things about the program though.

Has anyone heard back from school that their child has been invited to this program this year?
What has been the cutoff score of various grades. any ideas.
The program looks quite interesting. Wonder how high the MAP scores of these kids are.
Do these kids do exceptionally well in MAP tests and class tests as well (after entering the program)?

The idea of changing school does not seem appealing.

What I really don't like about Math Rocks is that it has a cut off age so if you don't get in during elementary school, you don't get in at all. I think that children can make big leaps and changes during the gap between elementary and middle school so it really isn't fair that they just cut it off.

But maybe I'm biased since my daughter didn't make it into Math Rocks in elementary school but now in middle school she has a five point MAP difference with her best friend who did make it in.

And now, well, let's just say that she's more than a little angry. :P

We moved from San Antonio at the beginning school year last year. Rice MS (PISD) placed him in Honors Math however I found about Math Rocks later and sent email to the counselor but she did not respond.

My son was later selected for PACE and continued to go to Honors Math in 6th grade. Reading all posts I have a feeling Math Rocks is better or at least my son should be given an opportunity to attend Match Rocks when he returns for 7th Grade

Would like to know if it is better for a 7th Grader to be in Math Honors or Match Rocks or Both? We are blessed to have a hardworking, independent, and responsible kid. I am sure he would love to be in both programs.

Please compare Math Honors with Math Rocks to help parents relatively new to PISD

Thanks!

Does anyone knows the textbooks used by Math rocks program? Thanks.

My understanding is that the score is calculated using the average of the winter and spring MAP scores. I think the cutoff for getting into math rocks with third grade scores has been in the 236-238 range.

My son using Math Rocks. Like previously stated, children qualify in 2nd going into 3rd, 3rd going into 4th, 4th going into 5th, or 5th going into 6th. It is solely based upon the average of winter and spring MAP scores. Depending upon what grade your child is currently in depends upon how many standard deviations higher than their peers their average must be. There is no set number since it varies year to year per the peer group.

We are very happy with the program. Our son loves the program and his Math Rocks teacher.

I don't know that it is possible to say the text is a particular book. Often he is working on things not in a text, the homework that comes home tends to be more work that the teacher seemed to create her own work. I have seen 2-3 different books come home as well.

Hi
My son is in 3rd grade.Can anyone help me understand as how much his score should be this year to qualify for this program He is pretty good at maths.