8th Grade Recommendations

There are two 8th grade science courses offered at WMS: Earth Science (Level 2) and Accelerated Earth Science (Level 3). Before April Break, seventh grade teachers are asked to recommend students for one of the levels of Earth Science.  Both classes are rigorous, and students will see an increase in expectations of students skills and abstract thinking across all subject in 8th grade.

Level 2 and Level 3:  hands-on labs to model Earth and Space concepts, check-in formative assessments, homework, and unit tests.  Students read informative text and analyze videos to work on summarizing, claims, evidence, and reasoning.  Both levels assess and begin new units at the same time.

Level 2: More opportunities to practice and review concepts before assessments.  More flexibility to revise or reassess to standards.  What is assessed is always clearly practiced in classwork, labs, and through homework. 

Level 3:  Additional work on weekly homework focusing on inference, independently-completed Thought Questions (enrichment) assignments once or twice per unit, and an additonal day of unit testing requiring application of skills to new ideas not always discussed in class.  Fewer opportunities to revise. Students should plan to spend a significant amount of time outside of class completing work.  

Students who are interested in enrolling in the accelerated level will need to show that they are committed to and successful at independent work at a higher abstract level.  To be eligible for a recommendation into the accelerated class, students will need to meet standards for a minimum of 3 out of the 5 enrichment assignments (which will be offered once per unit).  Enrichment assignments will not be included on report cards, or for extra credit, but will be used to show a student’s progress towards their own personal learning goal. They may also be used to show advanced progress on the applicable standard.  Revisions are encouraged, but not reviewed for a score change, modelling the expectations in 8th grade.

Each student's performance on the standards throughout the year will also come into consideration of the recommendation.  Students should be succeeding in exceeding the standard work most of the time.  Students need to earn exceeds on 6 out of the 12 portfolio standards during the year.  Students should also not need frequent revisions on work to meet the standard. 

The science teachers have over the years have had an ongoing conversation with the 8th-grade science teachers to determine what metrics have been good predictors of appropriate placement and success for students.   Our current system seems to have the best outcomes for students and their families, knowing that there is flexibility and room for growth as students mature in 8th grade.

With the switch over to standards-based grading, the opportunities to show work exceeding the standard is now very clear.  Students needing to earn exceeds on 6 out of the 12 portfolio standards leaves room for student growth and the ability to delve deeper into topics that more closely align with intrinsic interests.

The recommendation process of student 3 out of the 5 enrichment assignments again leaves room for trying out methods and growth in independent learning.  Each of the enrichments is designed to focus on a skill students will need to be successful in accelerated science, such as independent analysis of challenging text, writing in claims-evidence-reasoning form, conducting laboratory experiments using the scientific method, using logic to apply skills learned in class to the next level, and developing complex models to show understanding and connections between scientific concepts, often abstractly.

Recommendations will be released around April break.

If your child has not met the requirements for the recommendations, but there is a disagreement in their readiness, there are a few choices:

1) Students continue in 8th grade in level 2 science, readying their skills in a more challenging grade full of abstract concepts and increasingly complex tasks across content areas.  Students may still take honors science classes in high school having taken level 2 science in 8th grade, with additional work.

2)  Students may start in level 2 science and complete the "Thought Questions" as well as the accelerated portions of the unit tests.  Thought questions are major assignments that are similar to the enrichments of 7th grade.   In 8th grade, the Thought Questions are a part of the grade for students in level 3, but optional and not part of the grade for students in level 2.  

If students are able to complete the work successfully independently and the Level 3 coursework is better fit for their learning, the 8th grade science teachers would move the student to that level based on that evidence.  This can happen at various parts of the year, usually after the completion of a unit, and both levels switch units at the same time.  This can be great option for students to try out work that may be a stretch for them in a lower-stress environment as they get used to the increased expectations across all content areas in 8th grade.

3) There a pathway to change your child's enrollment despite the evidence students and teachers have collected through the year to consider the best placement for the student.  After recommendations come out, a parent or guardian will need to email the teacher to discuss the reasons for the recommendation and any concerns.  If you and your student are still interested in changing the recommendation. Conversations completed by mid-May allow the school to create schedules accordingly.

A lot of evidence has been collected and thought has been put into this process to best evaluate readiness for accelerated science during the seventh-grade year for our students.  The process for how students earn the recommendation and show evidence of their readiness has been made clear since the beginning of the school year on the syllabus, in class conversations, and emails home. We have had great success matching students based on the evidence they have submitted and scores they have earned with environments where they can feel successful and grow in their skills.  We hope that families consider this if they choose to override.