Math acceleration

MATH ACCELERATION

Consideration of math acceleration may happen at various points throughout the student’s career if there is data justifying acceleration. In East Penn School District, a rubric is used and includes data points such as universal screening data (aMath), iReady diagnostic data, past standardized test scores, etc… This rubric provides a recommendation for the appropriate math course pathway given the available data. This rubric is used for the first time to identify potential students in the 5th-to-6th grade transition and is used again for course placement in 8th grade and 9th grade.

It is important to understand the impact that math acceleration has on the math course sequence for those accelerating and those staying on-level. The information below outlines typical pathways in math courses in middle school and Emmaus High School.

Accelerated pathway starting in 6th grade

Students accelerating in mathematics in 6th grade will likely follow the sequence in the table below. Please note that some acceleration sequences starting in 6th grade require skipping Math Course 1 and Math Course 3. As a reminder, Math Course 1 is comparable to 6th Grade Math, Math Course 2 is comparable to 7th Grade Math, and Math Course 3 is comparable to 8th Grade Math.

This pathway puts students on-track to take AP Calculus in 11th grade. It is also important to note that students accelerating and taking Math Course 2 in 6th grade will still be required to take the 6th grade PSSA, which assesses the content taught in Math Course 1. Similarly, when these students are taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade, they will have to take the Algebra Keystone exam and the 7th grade PSSA, which assesses the content normally taught in Math Course 2.

This pathway puts students on-track to take Calculus in 12th grade. Students in Math Course 1.5 will receive accelerated instruction in Math Course 1 and the first half of Math Course 2. Students then move on to take Math Course 2.5 in 7th grade before moving on to Algebra 1 in 8th grade.

accelerated pathway starting in 8th grade

Some students may take on-level math courses in 6th and 7th grade, but skip Math Course 3 in 8th grade to take Algebra 1. This pathway puts students on-track to take Calculus in 12th grade. Please note that this pathway allows students to take Precalculus and beyond before leaving high school.

ways to accelerate at Emmaus high school

Rubrics are used to provide course recommendations for students entering 9th grade. Some students may be recommended to take both Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 in 9th grade. These students would take Algebra 1 every day in the fall semester and Algebra 2 every day in the spring semester. The purpose of this pathway is to provide these students an opportunity to take math classes beyond Precalculus during high school (likely in 12th grade).

In the future, we may also look to allow students to take Algebra 2 and Geometry concurrently in 10th grade.

important considerations with math acceleration

Math is unique. Unlike other departments that offer a course for all students in that grade level (English 9 for 9th grade students), Math departments typically offer many math courses beyond the basics. For example, students can take Calculus at Emmaus High School, but not all students need or want Calculus before going to college. Accessing these upper-level courses requires taking Algebra at an earlier age. This is what we call math acceleration.

There is existing research that challenges the typical systems in place for math acceleration. According to a report by the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), "It makes no sense to rush through the middle school mathematics curriculum in order to get to advanced algebra as rapidly as possible. Given the strong evidence that mastery of middle school mathematics plays a very important role in college and career success, strong consideration should be given to spending more time, not less, on the mastery of middle school mathematics..." Instead, they found that a strong foundation was critical for success after high school. "The most advanced mathematics content used in the vast majority of the first-year college programs we analyzed can reasonably be characterized as the mathematics associated with Algebra 1.25, that is some, but not all, of the topics usually associated with Algebra I, plus a few other topics, mostly related to geometry or statistics."

There is a small percentage of students who will actually use Calculus later in their work and a greater percentage that are interested in upper-level math courses for a variety of reasons. However, the research brings up important considerations.

If the data suggests that math acceleration is possible for students, it is still an important decision for each student and family. We recommend thinking about the following questions and encourage you to reach out to the school district if you care to discuss further:

Math acceleration allows students to take Calculus and beyond. Please familiarize yourself with the math course sequencing below so that students are on a path to meet their goals.

Math acceleration requires students to skip math courses in middle school. This means that teachers may cover some essential 6th-grade skills in Math Course 2, but it requires a faster pace of instruction.

Choosing to accelerate means that a strong foundation exists to be successful in the advanced courses at a later time.

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