FAQ's
Strengthening DoDEA's standards-based educational system is a priority for our strategic goals as a school system. These standards provide consistency within our system and align with the majority of our Nation that also educates our highly mobile military-connected students. Through this adoption, students are provided access to curriculum, with increased rigor and relevancy that ensures they are prepared for college, career and their future.
Fluency is addressed in every grade level, and single digit mastery appears throughout the early grades. In Kindergarten they should be able to add and subtract within 5, by first grade they should know their facts within 10, and by second grade they should be fluent and know from memory all single digit addition and subtraction facts. Single digit multiplication facts from memory are introduced and should be mastered in 3rd grade.
There are many ways you can help your child practice math. You can make specific connections between math and their daily life, such as you have 30 minutes before bed, what time do you need to go to sleep?, or The book you are reading has 95 pages, and you are on page 72, how many pages to you have left of the book? You can also discuss the math you use in your daily use, such as measuring while cooking or estimating when shopping.
Students wishing to accelerate an instructional sequence in middle school that prepares them to successfully complete AP Calculus in high school have several options. Rising 7th grade students can choose to enroll in the Accelerated Math 7/8 course; this compacts all of 7th grade math standards with approximately half of the 8th grade math standards. The successful completion of this course provides the gateway for a student to take a credit-bearing, high school Algebra 1 equivalent during their 8th grade year. Completion of this Algebra 1 credit equivalent in 8th grade creates the time for the student to complete all course prerequisites by their junior year, thus enabling the student to enroll in AP Calculus their senior year.
If a student does not choose to enroll in the Accelerated Math 7/8 course during their 7th grade year, but still wishes to take the Math8/Algebra 1 course for high school Algebra 1 credit, they have the option of completing Math 7 during 7th grade and enrolling in a course over the summer devoted to the 8th grade standards they have missed as part of the Accelerated Math 7/8 course. Successful completion of these two course options would also allow students to enroll in Math 8/Algebra 1 for high school Algebra 1 credit during their 8th grade year.
A student choosing not to accelerate in middle school still has the option to accelerate in high school in order to take AP Calculus. A high-achieving student could co-enroll in Algebra 1 and Geometry or Geometry and Algebra 2. While this option would only be appropriate for a small percentage of students, enrolling in two simultaneous mathematics courses in one academic year does allow a student an opportunity to access AP Calculus during high school. There is no option for co-enrolling in the same school year for Algebra 1 and Algebra 2.
Acceleration at the high school level is locally determined and should be discussed with the school counselor, teacher and/or principal. I see that my student needs Algebra II "or an identified equivalent" to graduate.
An identified equivalent would be any course offered outside of DoDEA that matches the level of rigor of DoDEA's Algebra II curriculum and spans the same material. A common course equivalent is Integrated Math III; instruction that blends Geometry and Algebra II standards in schools that offer an integrated mathematics pathway. DoDEA offers several 400 level or higher courses that are designed to meet the 4th credit (1.0) needed for graduation. Please see the course catalog for a list of options.
