Educational Philosophy and Math Placement Process

  • Every effort is made to ensure that each student is placed according to his or her math readiness and skill development. The administrators and math faculty of LNC have developed a math curriculum that emphasizes mathematical application and understanding beyond rote memorization of concepts. Our experience has shown that our math students are very well prepared for the demands of high school math courses because their ability to reason mathematically has been strengthened and extended.

    Even with careful consideration and sound diagnostics, it is difficult to predict the readiness of all students for algebraic thinking. Students must have developed their ability to think abstractly, not only linguistically but also numerically. This is a cognitive skill that is dependent on developmental maturity. There is a readiness for algebra that cannot be forced. Simply put, students must be ready. We will not set a student up for failure. Likewise, we will not hold a student back who has a readiness for these math courses.

    Students are carefully evaluated at the beginning of the school year to be sure that all students are appropriately placed. Please understand that students will be expected to show good progress in upper level courses. If a student is struggling with the concepts or is not diligent in keeping up with homework assignments, parents will be notified and the student may be reassigned to another level of class. Similarly, if a student excels early in the school year, s/he may be advanced to an upper level class.

    The following factors are carefully considered for each student with regards to their middle school math placement:

    •  Teacher recommendations
    •  EOG scores
    •  Grade Point Average in math from the previous year (all 4 quarters)
    •  Analyzing Measures of Academic Performance data (trend data; given 3x's per school year)
    •  Orleans Hanna exam
    •  Orleans Hanna review portion of the exam

     

    The following factors are carefully considered for each student with regards to their high school math placement:

    • Algebra I EOC scores
    • Teacher recommendations
    • 8th grade EOG math scores
    • Grade Point Average in math from the previous year (all 4 quarters)
    • Math subtest scores from the PSAT 8/9