Understanding 6th Grade Placement & Math Pathways Presented by: Sue Lemke, Program Manager Peta Gaye Robinson, Secondary Math Coach

Outcomes: Understand the shifts in mathematics education and the goals of the Fremont Secondary Math Pathways Understand the logistics of the 6th grade math placement test Understand Fremont Unified Secondary Math Pathways Sue

Many of us have had traditional math instruction that has focused on memorizing procedures. We were never given the chance to develop a love for problem solving and thinking flexibly when working with numbers. Some of our parents may have had low math expectations for us that we are now passing on to our children. And some of us were pushed too fast through math classes that left us feeling inadequate and fearing math. And now we are doing the same to our children. Very few of us left high school loving math and wanting to pursue more in college.

Let’s take a look at some statistics about Calculus Let’s take a look at some statistics about Calculus. [Graph 1] As we look at the green line, we see that Calculus enrollment in high school has gone up. My first thought is: this is good! We are creating more mathematicians! However, when we look at the other information we get a different picture. The blue and red points show how many students are enrolled in calculus in college. What do you notice when you look at these lines? (pause) We see stagnation. We see students who are not compelled to continue their study of higher math beyond high school. With the increase in the numbers of students interested in taking Calculus in high school, one would think that if we were creating lovers of math, we would see that same pattern in college. But then we wondered, maybe a lot of those high school Calculus students were really successful and didn’t take Calculus 1 in college so they are not represented here. Maybe they went on to higher math and explored math intensive majors. Let’s take a look at that data.

Here we see the numbers of students majoring in math-intensive subjects. Again stagnation. With the dramatic increase in numbers of students taking Calculus in high school, one would think that we would see more students in math-intensive majors. What is happening here? Although our kids are taking higher math earlier, we are not creating lovers of math. That’s what we are working to change in Fremont.

In early grades our kids get to play with numbers. They love math In early grades our kids get to play with numbers. They love math. It’s still fun for them. They do well both in standardized and performance-based testing.

How do we determine appropriate placement?

Testing Dates & Placement Criteria

Testing Logistics Testing Window: March 27th - April 7th Two Parts - 45 minute session each One day with a break or two separate days Every student will take this assessment unless the parent opts out

Test Details Covers Standards addressed in Units 1 through 4 of Springboard Test addresses application of the content 20 Questions Each (paper and pencil) Part 1: traditional multiple choice Part 2: non-traditional multiple choice with multiple answers possible We are testing standards NOT Springboard. There aren’t any practice tests available. Students who know their math concepts at a deep level will be able to apply them and will perform well on this assessment. Students who have just memorized enough to pass assignments and assessments will struggle. The test addresses the application of standards in novel situations that your child may not have seen before, and students will be required to apply knowledge and skills to predictable and unpredictable real-world situations. .

Placement Criteria 6th Grade Placement Test SBAC 5th Grade Math Scores (if available) 6th Grade District Mid-Year Assessment 6th Grade Report Card Math Grades *All 6th grade students will be notified of placement by end of May. We will be using Multiple Measures to determine the proper placement of your child. The 6th grade placement test, SBAC 5th grade scores, District Interim ASsessment, and 6th grade report card grades will be considered.

Math Pathways

What Happens in Junior High School? CC1 CC2 GFA Placement Test Administered CC2/GFA GFA/ALG1 Accelerated is a compaction of courses not a skipping of content. To stay in the accelerated pathway, students must maintain a B- or better Minimum B- to continue

UC Qualified Pathway with No Acceleration GFA ALG1 GEO ALG2/TRIG PRECAL This is a UC qualified path

Accelerated Pathway GEO 12th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th CC2/GFA GFA/ ALG 1 TRIG PRECAL AP CAL Or Calculus GEO/ ALG2 Trig ALG2 Trig/ PreCal AP Cal Or Calculus B- or better required to continue to HS accelerated. Minimum B- to continue

How can my child get to accelerated pathway? GFA Summer Bridge after CC2 to get into GFA/ALG1 CC2/GFA GFA/ALG1

High school options for acceleration. GEO/Alg2 Trig ALG2/Trig & PreCal AP Cal or Calculus ALG1 GEO ALG2/ Trig PreCal

Additional Path to AP Calculus GEO ALG2/Trig PRECAL ALG2/Trig as an elective class PRECAL AP CAL or Calculus

Prerequisites for High School Science Course Prerequisites Chemistry Honors Chemistry Algebra 1 (C) Concurrent enrollment in Algebra 2 strongly encouraged Physics Algebra 2-Trig(C) or 2 yrs college prep math and concurrent Algebra 2-Trig Honors Physics Algebra 2-Trig and teacher recommendation AP Biology Biology or Honors Biology; no math req AP Chemistry Strongly recommended: Chemistry (A or B), AP Physics Algebra 2-Trig (A or B) Pre-Calculus (A or B) or Concurrent enrollment in Pre-Calculus AP Physics C Physics or AP Physics (A or B) and Calculus (A or B) or Concurrent enrollment in Calculus

College entrance requirements

Questions?

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