Jump to content

Menu

If your kids are in public school, do they have exams in grade 7


Bluegoat
 Share

Recommended Posts

I was talking to my dd13, and she mentioned that her friend in a private school had exams, unlike her school.

 

It had not occurred to me that she had not had any yet.  Grade 7 is the first year of middle school here, and when I was a student we started doing exams that year.  In fact I was in the same school dd is.  At some point they ave dropped them.

 

This also got me thinking about what the exams were like.  We had essays for both social studies and English.  In SS, we had sheets of foolscap, and had to write an outline on the left side pages, and the corresponding essay on the other side.  That was my main instruction in essay writing in school.

 

I am realizing that dd's work is not at all at a similar level.  Now, she has just begun immersion this year, so to some extent that seems natural, but even her English class is doing no essay writing - it's more like a lot of little projects, projects on the computer, or stories.  They don't seem to ever write more than a page.  Dd also says the non-immersion kids are doing similar projects in ss as dd's class.

 

I'm curious, does this seem typical?  Do you think it's an improvement?  What's the thinking?

 

Dd is a good natural writer and I'm confident to help her, so I'm not worried about her personally.  And I don't know that losing exams matters at this point.  But I kind of feel like essay writing was the major thing I learned in middle school, and it was important too in terms of learning to think logically.

 

ETA - I am thinking of exams at the end of term, for that subject.  Not standardized testing or other tests.

Edited by Bluegoat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son is in 5th grade.  He has already done more work than you described. They had a 9-week exam yesterday in math.  He has not, to my knowledge, had any longer than 3 paragraph essays (other than the 3 9-week projects he's done -- all of which ended up much longer than 1 page) but his english teacher warns us they will need to write a 3 page paper in the first 3 weeks of 6th grade next year (to encourage us to help him with writing more/longer)

 

They do more projects that are not necessarily writing based.

 

Edited by vonfirmath
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you mean tests and quizzes throughout the school year or by "exams" are you specifically referring to midterm and final exams.?

 

Oh, yes, midterms and finals.  I don't think of the others as exams.

 

I'm not thinking of standardized tests either.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only midterms and finals referred to in that manor here are for high school level classes taught in middle school.  Usually they are the honors level classes and have to follow the same curriculum as high school classes they mirror.  

 

They do however write quite a few essays throughout the year and have have both stand alone essays as assignments and tests in essay format.  They started writing what I would consider a standard essay in about 4th or 5th grade with precursor type writing before that.  There is also enormous emphasis in middle school on different writing styles such as  narrative, thematic, argumentative, scientific, etc.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

In middle school at a public charter, I think the only semester exams were for high school-level classes (e.g. definitely math).

 

For 7th, there was emphasis on essay writing - stages (outlining, writing the essay, then a second draft) as well as occasional "timed writes" which are in-class like tests.  But, I don't recall there being a semester final.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dss attended a private school for K-8. Their "middle school" went from 5th-8th grade, but they started taking exams in 7th. Some of these classes were at a high school level, but they also had midterm and final exams for classes like "English 7". Their school went up to Grade 12, so they followed the typical high school exam routine - during exam week, all of his regular classes were cancelled and they wrote their exams in the gymnasium.

 

He started writing essays, with a lot of steps and support, in 5th grade, and was expected to be able to write a basic 4-6 paragraph essay independently by 7th. I know that essays were required on his English exams, but I am not sure about social studies. 

 

In the local public schools, I am pretty sure they only require exams for students who are taking high school classes in middle school, and these exams are given during class time. I have no idea when they begin writing essays, but Dss told me that many students were unsure about how to write a basic essay at the beginning of 9th. 

 

When I was attended public school in Canada in the late 90s, we also started taking exams in all core subjects in 7th. I started immersion in 7th, which meant that I took math, science, and social studies exams in French after less than 5 months of immersion. We started writing essays in English at the beginning of 7th (essays were required on our English exams that year), and in French toward the end of the year. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What do people mean by middle school classes at a high school level?  Like, they offer a grade 10 math class in grade 8?

 

I don't think we d that here.  Middle school classes are at a middle school level.  If you want high school level you have to go to the high school.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What do people mean by middle school classes at a high school level?  Like, they offer a grade 10 math class in grade 8?

 

I don't think we d that here.  Middle school classes are at a middle school level.  If you want high school level you have to go to the high school.

 

Algebra I taken in 7th or 8th grade s considered a high school level class at middle school.

Geometry I've heard of being offered as well.

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Statistics say about half of American middle schoolers take at least one "high school" level math, including algebra and geometry - sometimes those classes have required final exams. There are also a few middle schools that let advanced kids take AP's and other classes, but mostly just math.

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What do people mean by middle school classes at a high school level?  Like, they offer a grade 10 math class in grade 8?

 

I don't think we d that here.  Middle school classes are at a middle school level.  If you want high school level you have to go to the high school.

 

Here in the States colleges/universities look at your grades from 9th-11th or 12th grade for college admittance.  Also, a certain amount of high school credits are required for graduation. Because of this, certain class that are taught in middle school (6-8th grade) are labeled "high school level" so that they can count toward graduation credits and show up on the college transcript.  It's the sames as working at an advanced level at any other grade, but they have to label it in order to have it included on the high school transcript. So, Algebra 1 or Geometry would be considered "high school level" classes that are taught in junior high.  It might also include Biology (instead of the middle school Life Science) or a World Geography class taught with a high school level book and assignments.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Roughly half the students in my son's Honors Algebra 2 class are also freshmen, so they all took Algebra and Geometry at the middle school.

 

Some years there aren't as many 8th graders taking geometry so they arrange to take it at the high school instead.

 

The high schools here have midterm and final exams in all the classes. They even had to write a 5 paragraph essay for their PE midterm, which of course was spectacularly stupid. But the other exams were major.

 

Idk about middle school though. I would guess they have exams there as well.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

What do people mean by middle school classes at a high school level?  Like, they offer a grade 10 math class in grade 8?

 

I don't think we d that here.  Middle school classes are at a middle school level.  If you want high school level you have to go to the high school.

 

Are there no opportunities for advanced students?  Algebra 1 and up math is above-grade-level for middle school yet still often offered in middle schools.

 

(Incidentally, my three older kids attended a public charter middle and a private middle, and now attend a private high school that starts in 9th.  While they placed out of some high school math courses at the private high school, none of those grades or credits from middle school will appear on their transcript AFAIK - I've seen my junior's current transcript and there's nothing from middle school on it.)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Higher level courses taken in middle school here don't count as high school on transcripts. Universities still want 4 years of math, etc taken during the actual high school years.

 

Taking algebra and geometry in middle school allows students to get through calculus B-C in high school. They don't allow you to just stop taking math as a junior, though.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If memory serves, I believe my son had both culminating and mid-term math exams last year (7th Grade). That might have been a particular requirement of his teacher and program (as opposed to being a district-wide (or school-wide) policy.

 

I don't remember any other such exams in other courses.

 

Next year, for high school, he will be in a program that (highly unusually in our district) requires long (2-3 hour) college "bluebook-style" exams for most classes. I'm told it is quite a shock for most incoming freshman and expect it will be the same in my son's case.

 

Bill

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No kids in public school at the moment.  The first "exam" like that I remember was in 5th grade social studies.  We took a "pre" test that included the same questions, and a "final" that was the same class.  I'm pretty sure the only purpose was to try to prove to us that our collectively most hated subject was something he could make fun, and that we would learn a lot.  I don't remember what, if any, weight it had towards our grades.

 

Even in high school I think I only had one class (Western Civ) with a true final. Every other class offered an either/or option - your paper or your exam will be worth more toward your grade, depending on which one scores higher.  I suspect this is because teachers realized it wasn't fair that bright but lazy kids who tested well could easily get a better grade than hardworking kids who were bad at exams. The paper option leveled the playing field for the hardworking - especially because if you asked for help with a paper you'd drafted early the teacher would help you craft it into an A.  Even the AP classes didn't have the exam count toward the grade.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My eighth grader is doing high school math. She has unit math tests that include review questions from previous units but as far as I am aware, no exams as such.

 

Her advanced science teacher has informed them though that they will have a final exam.

 

Other than that, no. She is in a public middle school.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here in the States colleges/universities look at your grades from 9th-11th or 12th grade for college admittance.  Also, a certain amount of high school credits are required for graduation. Because of this, certain class that are taught in middle school (6-8th grade) are labeled "high school level" so that they can count toward graduation credits and show up on the college transcript.  It's the sames as working at an advanced level at any other grade, but they have to label it in order to have it included on the high school transcript. So, Algebra 1 or Geometry would be considered "high school level" classes that are taught in junior high.  It might also include Biology (instead of the middle school Life Science) or a World Geography class taught with a high school level book and assignments.

 

 

That's actually not the way it is here.  Kids can take advanced high school classes in middle school but they do not count towards high school credit.  A student taking high school Algebra 1 or Spanish 1 in middle school just advances along the higher track.  Those classes are the same classes taught in the high school with the same exams but they do not count toward high school credits or show up on high school transcripts.  That's the way it was when I was a a kid in the 80's and that is still how it is now in public schools across the state.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Charter school kiddos here...

 

8th grader is taking high school level math and honors level in all subjects- has final exams for each quarter in math, and history and science. She will still need 4 more years of math when officially in high school. Sigh.

 

Also a cumulative project that is a 6-8 page research paper and 10-15 minute oral presentation with slides. Which IMHO is a lot for her grade level as the majority of it is done outside of school in addition to regular course work.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's actually not the way it is here.  Kids can take advanced high school classes in middle school but they do not count towards high school credit.  A student taking high school Algebra 1 or Spanish 1 in middle school just advances along the higher track.  Those classes are the same classes taught in the high school with the same exams but they do not count toward high school credits or show up on high school transcripts.  That's the way it was when I was a a kid in the 80's and that is still how it is now in public schools across the state.

 

They don't count towards high school credit, no (IE you still need so many math classes, etc) but they are taught more like high school classes. Depending on proximity of the high school, number of kids takingthe classes, etc. sometimes kids go to the high school to take a higher level math. (The one exception I see to this is Spanish. Usually two years of jr High SPanish gets you out of 1 year of High School Spanish -- so you have to take Spanish II and Spanish III instead of I and II)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Charter school kiddos here...

 

8th grader is taking high school level math and honors level in all subjects- has final exams for each quarter in math, and history and science. She will still need 4 more years of math when officially in high school. Sigh.

 

Also a cumulative project that is a 6-8 page research paper and 10-15 minute oral presentation with slides. Which IMHO is a lot for her grade level as the majority of it is done outside of school in addition to regular course work.

 

My 8th grader has this type of project, too. Though her teacher is really fantastic about carving out class time and giving the kids a ton of scaffolding.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, my Middle School kids have not had mid-terms or finals yet.  I had them, though...but this was private school...35 years ago.  We had to write them in "blue books."

 

They do have an EOC (End of Course) exam for Civics in 7th grade.  It's a state-standardized test.

 

In 8th grade, they take an EOC in Algebra 1...and it's one of the things kids must pass to graduate from high school in Florida.  They also have an EOC in Biology 1 in 8th.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 2018-03-23 at 3:23 PM, wapiti said:

 

Are there no opportunities for advanced students?  Algebra 1 and up math is above-grade-level for middle school yet still often offered in middle schools.

 

(Incidentally, my three older kids attended a public charter middle and a private middle, and now attend a private high school that starts in 9th.  While they placed out of some high school math courses at the private high school, none of those grades or credits from middle school will appear on their transcript AFAIK - I've seen my junior's current transcript and there's nothing from middle school on it.)

 

The way it works, including in high school to a large extent, is that there is grade 7 math, grade 9 math, and so on.  They don't have separate classes like algebra or geometry.  My dd13 has just been doing algebra in grade 7 and will do geometry too, and will probably do both every year along with all the other topics.

In jr high advanced students (or those with problems) are typically given help individually.  In high school they will have more differentiation, there will be honours math, or a level not suitable for university, or sometimes two suitable for university but one intended for science students, but to a large degree they all cover the same topics - they may go into more depth or if there is time they will have extra topics in honours math, as the students are all expected to be able to work to a deeper level and good pace.  It's not impossible but pretty unusual for someone to just skip ahead a year. Sometimes in grade 12 there is a separate calculus course available as well as the regular grade 12 math, but students do both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, dd brought her English work home for the end of term on Friday.  I am actually a bit shocked.

 

In the grade 7 exams I had the main thing I remember was social studies.  We had two in class essays, which meant writing out an outline, and the the essay on the topic which we'd learned about in class.  That year we spend a fair amount of time on learning how to produce the outline, and then that was what we did for all three years of SS exams for jr high.  We did some research papers too, but it started with these in-class versions.

 

That's really what got me through university essay writing.

 

Dd's class is working on capitalization, and the period, question mark, and exclamation mark.

 

Their lit study is pretty poor too - they've read one book - the teacher read it aloud to them in class.

I had thought I would likely have to supplement the writing instruction at the public school, but maybe not quite so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My kids all had mid-term and culminating assessments starting around 6th grade.  They weren't high stake in the sense of being an enormously weighted percentage of the term grade, but they were culminating in the sense that they attempted to assess a longer term span of material covered, and get the kids into the habit of reviewing and studying material that had been covered weeks or months earlier (rather than the default of "remember the current unit until the unit test, then forget all about it."

The format of the assessments varied, and is I think a different issue than the concept of reviewing and showing mastery of longer and larger chunks of material.  Only one of my three could write a decent 5 paragraph persuasive essay by 7th grade -- that is indeed among the major skills that middle school works on from a variety of fronts.  A "final exam" can be one part multiple choice, one part short answers, one part map labeling, one part identifying quotations, (etc), though -- it doesn't have to be in persuasive essay format.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Danae said:

 

My kids are in a magnet school, but they are expected to have capitalization and punctuation down by third grade. Fifth graders write multi-paragraph essays. In the fall they write on topics of their choice to learn the form and then in the spring they start writing them on the topics they are learning in history and science.  

I have been told that the middle school just split English into two classes so all 6-8th graders will have one period of reading/literature and one period of writings skills every day. 

I still plan to require writing practice over the summer, because my kids' handwriting is atrocious. 

 

That's what they did when I was a kid in Jr High (6-8) -- We had both "Reading Class" and "English" separate.  In 6th grade, you stayed in the same class for both with the same teacher. AFter that, we had separate teachers.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 24/03/2018 at 7:23 AM, wapiti said:

 

Are there no opportunities for advanced students?  Algebra 1 and up math is above-grade-level for middle school yet still often offered in middle schools.

 

(Incidentally, my three older kids attended a public charter middle and a private middle, and now attend a private high school that starts in 9th.  While they placed out of some high school math courses at the private high school, none of those grades or credits from middle school will appear on their transcript AFAIK - I've seen my junior's current transcript and there's nothing from middle school on it.)

Not Bluegoat and in NZ but not really.  My son is in year 7 (6th grade) which is the first year of intermediate (7/8).  He goes to a year 1 to 8 combined school and they let him do y8 maths in y6.  They talked about enrolling him in the national correspondence school, then about calling in some extension expert but what they have actually done is give him and another kid a year 9 workbook.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...