Acceleration Plans

Purpose Parents will receive information about Pender County’s AIG Acceleration Policy. Parents will have an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions regarding their child’s acceleration plans.

What is Acceleration? Acceleration is an intervention that moves students through an educational program at a more rapid rate than their age-mates. The goal of acceleration is to tailor the level and complexity of the curriculum to the ability and academic readiness of individual children.

Single-subject acceleration allows a student who has demonstrated advanced knowledge and skills in a particular subject to access a curriculum at least one year in advance of their current year-for-age level. Subject acceleration is determined by student need. Examples of evidence may include: *Portfolio of student work in the subject area being considered for acceleration *Assessment data demonstrating mastery of skills at least two grade levels above current grade in the subject area being considered for acceleration *Input from classroom teachers (current and prospective) Subject Acceleration

Whole grade level advancement is determined in by student’s needs. Evidence must be provided to demonstrate a need for grade skipping or acceleration. Examples of evidence may include: *Portfolio of student work *Assessment data demonstrating mastery of skills at least two grade levels above current grade *Input from classroom teachers (current and prospective) Grade Skipping or Grade Acceleration

Advantages of Taking High School Courses in Middle School Students earn high school credits toward graduation Students have more time to take Advanced Placement courses Students have more time to take advanced CTE or elective courses Students have the opportunity to take Career and College Promise (CCP) courses at a local college or university Students may graduate early

Expectations for Students Taking High School Courses in Middle School Students must take Pender County Schools’ unit assessments and benchmark tests. Students must take state mandated End-of-Course (EOC) tests. Most colleges expect students to continue taking advanced academics in their senior year even though they may have already earned the required number of graduation credits.

Additional Information about Taking High School Courses in Middle School Students will earn high school credit if they earn a passing grade in the class and a “3” or a “4” on the EOC. The grades a student earns for high school courses taken in middle school will not be counted as part of his/her high school Grade Point Average (GPA). Only courses a student takes while enrolled in high school will be used to determine his/her GPA. Grades a student earns in high school courses taken in middle school will appear on the transcript. Students are responsible for taking all state mandated End-of- Grade (EOG) tests and Common Exams (MSLs) in addition to EOC exams for High School courses.

What is Curriculum Compacting? Compacting Curriculum means To create a challenging learning environment, guarantee proficiency in basic curriculum, and buy time for enrichment and acceleration To avoid wasting time and risking loss of motivation in teaching material that the students have already mastered To provide curriculum that is adapted to the learning needs, rates, and interests of students To "streamline" and modify the grade level curriculum by eliminating material that students have previously learned

Curriculum Compacting in Math The purpose is to prepare students for Algebra 1 in eighth grade. The content will be compressed into three years instead of skipping content completely. We have two models at our school: Model 1 begins the compacting in the seventh grade. 6th Grade: 6th grade standards 7th Grade: 7th grade standards and some of 8th grade 8th Grade: Remaining 8th grade standards and Algebra 1 Model 2 begins the compacting in the sixth grade. 6th Grade: 6th grade standards and some of 7th grade 7th Grade: Remaining 7th grade standards and some of 8th grade 8th Grade: Remaining 8th grade standards and Algebra 1

YearMath (6th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 100% 6 th grade and 50% 7 th grade Exam: 6 th grade End of Grade Exam (7 th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 50% 7 th grade and 50% 8 th grade Exam: 7 th grade End of Grade Exam (8th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 50% 8 th grade and Algebra 1 Exam: 8 th grade End of Grade Exam AND Algebra 1 End of Course Exam (9th Grade) Honors Geometry (10th Grade) Honors Algebra II (11th Grade) Honors Pre Calculus (12th Grade) AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics Rising 6 th Graders Math Compacted Curriculum Plan

YearMath (6th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 100% 6 th grade and 50% 7 th grade Exam: 6 th grade End of Grade Exam (7 th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 50% 7 th grade and 50% 8 th grade Exam: 7 th grade End of Grade Exam (8th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 50% 8 th grade and Algebra 1 Exam: 8 th grade End of Grade Exam AND Algebra 1 End of Course Exam (9th Grade) Honors Geometry (10th Grade) Honors Algebra II (11th Grade) Honors Pre Calculus (12th Grade) AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics Rising 7 th Graders Math Compacted Curriculum Plan

YearMath (6th Grade) Class: 6 th grade Exam: 6 th grade End of Grade Exam (7 th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 100% 7 th grade and 50% 8 th grade Exam: 7 th grade End of Grade Exam (8th Grade) Class: Compacted Curriculum: 50% 8 th grade and Algebra 1 Exam: 8 th grade End of Grade Exam AND Algebra 1 End of Course Exam (9th Grade) Honors Geometry (10th Grade) Honors Algebra II (11th Grade) Honors Pre-Calculus (12th Grade) AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics Rising 8 th Graders Math Compacted Curriculum Plan

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