(Somewhat of a vent) Can someone explain how children are chosen for honors clases?

[Nancy]

My daughter went to Catholic school for 7th and 8th grade. When switching to public for high school they put her in Honors for everything but math because they said the Catholic schools do not teach Math at the same level as the public schools (NY State) and she would not keep up. She did honors for her second year of Math.

 

[taximomfor4]

At some schools, there are a limited amount of Honors seats available. This limits the number of students who can take that level of course. They would list the kids according to performance in that subject area, and take the top kids. So kids with straight A's would get in first. In case of ties for the last few seats, perhaps attendance would be (and should be) a factor, but really only if an attendance PATTERN is looked at, as opposed to one incident.

Appeal it, the worse they can say is NO.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Every district differs, I think. Where I live, to get into the G/T class a student must have a 95 on one of the Iowa tests AND at least a 130 on the cognitive (IQ) test. My DD#1 had a 126 on the cognitive, so she did not get in. As a result (IMHO) she has suffered since. Her math teacher in 5th grade (since retired) was horrible and she has only been on the "high" honor roll twice in junior high. Not much of a crisis, you'd say, but a big drop from elementary.
Now DD#2 did get into g/t. Next year in Jr. High she'll be in a one semester g/t program during her team study time. This will lead her into higher level courses in HS. They determine honors math by a test given in grade 6. DD#1 did not make it; as a result she'll be in algebra I in 9th grade. The kids in honors math will have finished algebra I this year, have a HS credit for it, and be taking geometry next year. Also, about 50% of the 8th graders got into foreign language this year in 8th grade--DD had a 2.98 at the semester so she not eligible, she needed a 3.0. So the Spanish I class should be very small, since most of her classmates are going into spanish or french 2.
The only honors class she'll be in next year will be English, and she was recommended by her teacher for that. You can only be in honors science if you are in honors math--again, this was determined by a test in 6th grade!
As a teacher of Honors English 12, however, can I ask how MUCH your DD was absent? Did she miss a chunk of days for one illness, or a day here, a day there, "oh I have cramps" type of absences? It is really hard for my kids who are chronically absent to make things up. We move so much faster and in more depth. If your child is gone 4- 5 days a quarter, a day or two at a time, I don't think honors is the right placement either.
Robin M.

 

[sharbear]

. You can only be in honors science if you are in honors math--again, this was determined by a test in 6th grade!
Robin M.

This is a hugh pet peeve of mine. The fact that your entire HS career and to some extent your entire life (meaning the career path that you would choose at the end of HS) is determined by a test when the child is in the 6th grade. If the child is having a bad day or is sick that day and preforms poorly, their entire life could change. I know that it sounds over dramatic.

My DD did poorly on her 6th grade test and did not test into Honors math in 7th grade. This was a girl who told us in the 4th grade that she wanted to be an engineer. She was very depressed in 7th grade, all of her friends were in Honors and she was bored in non-Honors. My DH and I believed in her math ablility (my Dh is an engineer and had an idea that her math ability was above average). I talked to the Math teacher in the 7th grade and 8th. The 8th grade teacher finally believed in my DD. She helped my DD move into Honors in the middle of 8th grade. It changed my DD entire outlook. She has never received lower than an A and currently has a 97% average in Algebra II (the teacher does not give very many A's). My DD is currently thinking of being a math or physics major in college. Think of what would have happened if we (and her 8th grade teacher) had not believed in her.

To the OP, I am a firm believer in fighting for what you believe in. If they will not move your DD into Honors, I would see what your alternatives are? Will this keep her from not being in Honors science and if she can move into the Honors sequence later in HS. My DS, doubled up on Math classes sophomore year in HS so that he could have AP Calc as a Senior. Maybe she could go to summer school so that she can be in the Honors sequence. I guess it would depend on what her career plans might be. If she has any plans to major in a technical area, it would help her to have all the math that she can in HS. Unfortunately Math is one of the areas where Honors placement is important. English and History can be moved up without much trouble, math cannot.

 

[punkin]

Yes, she was absent a lot, both in chunks and in single or double days. It was a very hard year for her physically. I hope next year will be better. She wants to be an engineer. Math is vital. If she is not in honors geometry, she will still take calculus her senior year, but it will be almost impossible to get her into honors chemistry. That concerns me given her career objectives.

 

[punkin]

I also wanted to add that I am not sure why her absences make such a difference. If she is able to keep her grade up despite her absences, why should it matter?

 

[buddy&wooz]

Appeal it.

My son wasn't recommended for honors level, or even advanced college prep level, math by his 8th grade Algebra teacher. My son had gone from enjoying math and doing very well at it to hating it- while continuing to do very well at it. It was a personality conflict with the teacher.

So when she didn't recommend him for honors, he was happy, he didn't like math anyway, and I didn't argue (yes this is on my list of "parenting boo boos I have made".) He went all through HS in the basic college prep level math classes, getting A's. He easily could have handled advanced college prep, honors, or AP. How do I know? Because he breezed to a 720 on his math SAT. Because he NEVER studies and always gets A's in math. Because he was doing advanced math at age 5. He just gets math, it's natural for him.

But he still hates it.

He's taking a pre-calc elective right now, but because of his SAT score he isn't required by the college he's attending in the fall to take math unless his major requires it. Which it won't.

So my son who was always so comfortable with math, and so talented in it, will probably never go beyond pre-calculus. Such a shame.

Appeal it.

 

[punkin]

Appeal it.

My son wasn't recommended for honors level, or even advanced college prep level, math by his 8th grade Algebra teacher. My son had gone from enjoying math and doing very well at it to hating it- while continuing to do very well at it. It was a personality conflict with the teacher.

So when she didn't recommend him for honors, he was happy, he didn't like math anyway, and I didn't argue (yes this is on my list of "parenting boo boos I have made".) He went all through HS in the basic college prep level math classes, getting A's. He easily could have handled advanced college prep, honors, or AP. How do I know? Because he breezed to a 720 on his math SAT. Because he NEVER studies and always gets A's in math. Because he was doing advanced math at age 5. He just gets math, it's natural for him.

But he still hates it.

He's taking a pre-calc elective right now, but because of his SAT score he isn't required by the college he's attending in the fall to take math unless his major requires it. Which it won't.

So my son who was always so comfortable with math, and so talented in it, will probably never go beyond pre-calculus. Such a shame.

Appeal it.

First of all, I have appealed it already.

Second, what you describe is my nightmare scenario and I fear after this year we are headed in that direction unless I get her into a more challenging class. My only hope is that she has not said "I hate math" yet, more like, "I wish we would stop going over the same thing all the time and get to something new."

 

[sharbear]

Honors chem is vital for an engineering major. I'm sure that you can be an engineering major without honors chem in HS but it sure helps. If they won't recommend her for Honors Geometry, can she take it on line this summer. The worst thing that can happen is for her to be bored in her placement. I would make that very clear to the administration. Also I would ask if you can sign a waiver to put her in Honors. Sometimes this is an option which the administration will not advertise. In our school, you can waive the teacher recommendation and have them placed in Honors. The teachers don't like it but if you are certain that your child can do the work at a high level, then I would inquire.

I don't know what the criteria is but could her placement be also her standardized test scores. They are also part of the equation in our Honors placement along with grades and teacher recommendation.

I think that what Robin is saying about absences is that she might have missed out on some key points and the teacher may have reservations about this. But Geometry does not have much Algebra in it. So I wouldn't think that would be a problem.

 

[Rafiki Rafiki Rafiki]

My DD's school requires a minimum of 3.5 maintained in current honors class coursework.