Middle School Math Registration Guidance for Students going into 7th grade in 2024-2025

It’s Spring! This letter is to inform you of your student’s math course options for 2024-25. As students finish sixth grade, there are two math options: Math 7+ and Algebra 1. Please read this document carefully to make an informed choice.

All students will be enrolled in the grade-level appropriate course, Math 7+. If your student’s skills, data, and goals clearly indicate that Algebra 1 is an appropriate placement, please use this form to select that option: (form sent in email). You must make this request by April 14, 2024.Please carefully consider this choice. It may not be possible to change your student’s placement mid-year.

1. Recommendation: The strong recommendation is that students take Math 7+.

The core concepts and skills in Math 7+ are drawn from 7th and 8th grade standards. This course provides a critical link to future math learning with foundational pre-algebra and geometry concepts. Understanding of these concepts is expected in later courses. Essential topics include:

• Make connections between proportional relationships, lines, linear equations, and inequalities.
• Solve real-life and mathematical problems using numerical and algebraic expressions and equations.
• Define, evaluate, and compare functions.
• Investigate chance processes and develop, use, and evaluate probability models.
• Solve real-life and mathematical problems involving angle measure, area, surface area and volume.

2. Access to High Level Math: Students who take Math 7+ will be able to reach high level mathematics courses in high school including Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB or AP Calculus BC.

3. Data Considerations for Acceleration: Some families and students may be interested in acceleration to Algebra 1 in 7th grade. To plan for a successful experience in math next year and beyond, here are data points that can help predict student success in Algebra 1 as a 7th grade student. At minimum, a student considering acceleration should have:

• Score of 4 on the two most recent Math Smarter Balanced Assessments (SBA)
• Score of 3.5 or higher on one or more semesters of math from 5th grade
• Grade of B+ or higher on the Semester 1 report card from 6th grade
• On Track for being at standard by the end of the year on FastBridge screener.

Test scores were included in the email to families. 
Current test scores are available to all families under the Test Scores tab in Skyward.

4. Acceleration: Students taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade may miss important content that is used extensively in the Algebra course and beyond. Key concepts include but are not limited to:

• Formulate and reason about expressions and equations.
• Understand and use functions to describe quantitative relationships.
• Analyze two- and three-dimensional space and figures using distance, angle, similarity, and congruence, and understanding and applying the Pythagorean Theorem.

Students who intend to take Algebra 1 as a 7th grader should complete the 7th grade course in ALEKS, LWSD’s online math learning environment, before the start of the 2024-25 school year.

5. Planning with your student: When considering math placement, discuss the following questions with your student:

• What are my student’s math goals? What is my student’s anticipated course sequence through middle and high school to reach those math goals?
• Has my student demonstrated both procedural fluency and deep understanding of Math 6+ topics?
• Will my student be able to meet the challenge of learning, at minimum, the 7th Grade Math content and skills on an abbreviated timeline using the ALEKS online program?
• Is my student able to ask for help when they do not understand?
• Is my student willing to commit to daily homework?

6. Additional Information: Algebra 1 is a high school course. Per Policy 2410P, high school courses taken and passed in middle school are automatically given high school credit and recorded on the high school transcript, unless requested otherwise. See the LWSD High School Guide for more information.

All students will be enrolled in the grade-level appropriate course, Math 7+. If your student’s skills, data, and goals clearly indicate that Algebra 1 is an appropriate placement, please use this form to select that option: (form sent in email). You must make this request by April 14, 2024.Please carefully consider this choice. It may not be possible to change your student’s placement mid-year.