Academic Program

In addition to the CAAT program's team-based approached to teaching, our teachers also focus on how each subject area's learning builds from year to year. We want parents to know that our program is carefully structured to support students through all three years of their experience at Oak View with an advanced program of study. Read on to hear about the academic opportunities available to students in each subject area from sixth through eighth grades.

Mathematics

All students who are accepted into the CAAT program will be placed on an advanced track in their math courses. In 6th grade, students will take Advanced Math, which moves at a faster, more in-depth pace than the normal 6th grade curriculum. In 7th grade, those students will move on to Pre-Algebra, and will take Algebra 1 as 8th graders for high school credit.

CAAT students who score high enough on the advanced math placement exam in 5th grade have the opportunity to place into Pre-Algebra as 6th graders. They will take Algebra I in 7th grade and Geometry in 8th grade, both for high school credit.

Language Arts

Students in the CAAT program will take one Advanced Language Arts course each year that will cover the standards for both Language Arts and Reading; a separate Reading course is not offered. Our Language Arts courses are structured to work more like a high school English course. Our teachers focus on novel studies and literary analysis as a focal point around which lessons in grammar, vocabulary, and writing are structured. As students move into higher levels of 7th and 8th grades, the literary analysis becomes more in depth, and students are engaging with high-school level texts such as Hound of the Baskervilles and Frankenstein.

Social Studies

Our Social Studies program follows the same curriculum map as general program students, but at an advanced pace and depth. In 6th grade World Cultures, students will encounter the unique histories and cultures of different societies around the world. 7th grade Civics students will discuss the role of government in our every day lives. In 8th grade American History, students dive in to the study of our own country's important and distinguished history. Our program focus through all three years is on accessing primary source documents and synthesizing them for independent analysis.

Science

Like the other content areas, our Science program follows the county's curriculum map at a deeper pace. We emphasize inquiry-based learning with lots of hands-on labs and demonstrations that encourage students to learn by asking questions and seeking answers. 6th graders experience the beauty of our planet and its unique ecosystems through Earth and Space Science. 7th Graders will discovery the principles of biology in Life Science, and 8th graders learn how the world works at a molecular level as they study Physical Science with elements of physics and chemistry. In all three grade levels, students are encouraged to participate in Science Fair and receive support from their teachers throughout the competition process. Our science program is also a huge anchor of our cross-curricular studies, as the research that goes into their experiments often form the basis for connections in other subject areas.

Technology

In place of the Reading class that general program students are required to take, CAAT students have room for an extra Technology elective. At Oak View, our magnet students are required to take Technology for all 3 years of their middle school experience. The Tech program is carefully and deliberately structured to equip students with skills that are essential to their success as digital students in the 21st century while earning a variety of Industry Certifications.

In 6th grade, students learn the business technology skills necessary to achieve their Technology Tools Certification in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. These software applications develop skills that are essential in every academic class, and so are introduced early in our program.

In 7th grade, students' focus shifts to creative technology as they begin working on graphic design skills for print and digital publishing, and earn their Adobe Certified Professional certification in Visual design, mastering Photoshop and Illustrator.