Laguna Middle School

Exceptional. They really focus on developing students level of responsibility and confidence as well as their academics. I feel heard if and when parent interaction is appropriate.

poor because of a lack of follow through on issues

Laguna used to offer Algebra in 8th grade for students who scored above 80% on a test called MDTP, developed by UCSD and Cal Poly. In 2014 they changed the requirements so that in addition to MDTP, students had to score "appropriately" (cut-score varies from year to year) on a test developed by the Silicon Valley Math Initiative (SVMI), which promotes reform-based math practices that have proven to be largely ineffective. The exam is essentially what would be called a "formative" exam, but given in a "summative" fashion. That is, the questions are nothing like they have seen before in classes, but must use their prior knowledge to solve problems in a new setting. While this may be appropriate for a classroom exercise, it certainly is not a definitive way to judge algebra readiness which is how it is used. The number of students eligible for algebra in 8th grade dropped from about 300 (prior to SVMI) to less than 100 every year since SVMI was adopted. Having taught 8th grade algebra in this school district, I can tell you the calibre of students in the algebra class (prior to SVMI being used) was fairly high. I strongly suspect that there are students who would otherwise qualify and do well in algebra in 8th grade being excluded on the basis of this dubious exam. The attitude of the school district is that if you want your child to take AP calculus in 12th grade, and he/she doesn't qualify for algebra in 8th grade, then he/she can double up math courses in 10th grade. Sounds like a solution but taking algebra2 and geometry in the same year is an imposition.The school adheres to an education philosophy that embraces student-centered inquiry-based approaches. It is unknown how many students who do well have benefitted from outside help like tutors, Sylvan, Huntington, Mathnasium, Kumon and the like. It would be interested to get a breakdown of how many students are enrolled in such centers.

My son received a good educational base for High School. However, the teachers seem over burdened and distracted. Overall, please advocate for your child so she or he is not lost in the shuffle. He liked many of his teachers, but was relieved to be out of the school.