To the editor:

Wellesley Middle School is one of the only districts in the Boston area to offer accelerated math placement in the 6th grade. For this they should be commended, as there is over a hundred years of research showing that high ability students benefit from an accelerated mathematics curriculum.

In English classes we encourage students to choose books at their reading level, even if it is for an older age group. In the world of sports, a 12 year old who is gifted at hockey or softball might move up to a u14 team to find more challenging competition. Similarly, some students need to be accelerated to a higher grade level in math to be adequately challenged and engaged.

For this reason, school districts across the U.S. have accelerated math programs in their middle schools. How do these districts place students into a higher level of math? At Sidener Academy in Indiana where our daughters attended before moving to Wellesley, students scoring 240 or above on NWEA MAP were recommended for pre-algebra (7th grade math). The 240 MAP cutoff, which in 2020 corresponded to the 94th percentile nationally among fall 6th graders, is also used in Washington state. In New Jersey, a similar cutoff of 242 is used to place 6th graders into 7th grade math. In Illinois, a student in the 80th percentile of MAP testing is accelerated one grade level and a student in the 93rd percentile is accelerated two grade levels. The highest cutoff I was able to find (outside of Wellesley) is in the Carmel school district, where students scoring in the 98th percentile nationally on the NWEA MAP test are accelerated one grade level.

And then there is Wellesley, which just might have the most exclusive accelerated math policy in the country. For example, a 6th grade student who scored 252 on her NWEA MAP exam this fall is in the 99th percentile nationally. She also is in the 96th percentile of 7th graders and the 91st percentile of 8th graders—so she is likely ready for 8th grade math (to achieve a score of 252 you would need to demonstrate proficiency in pre-algebra concepts). However, the current Wellesley cutoff for accelerated math placement into pre-algebra is 257. So that student, who is ready for 8th grade math and would be accelerated in any other school district in the country (that offers acceleration), is denied placement at WMS into even pre-algebra (a class in which they are already demonstrating proficiency).

The new accelerated math policy, written by principal Mark Ito and the head of the math department, Elizabeth Gentes, accelerates students who test in the top 10% among students at Wellesley Middle School (not nationally) on three separate standardized tests. The policy appears logical at first glance, until one considers that over 10% of the school is testing in the 99th percentile nationally on these standardized tests. Students then have to pass another exam written by WMS staff to be placed in the program, so ultimately fewer than 10% of students make it through this process. In a district like Wellesley where 20-30% of students may be high achieving in mathematics (e.g. a fall 6th grade MAP score above 240), students who would benefit from accelerated mathematics are left out. Not only that, but the handful of students who are placed in the program are not fully benefiting either, as a 6th grade student with a MAP score above 257 is likely ready for Algebra 1.

A better policy would be to base the cutoffs for placement on whether the MAP or IXL assessments in the spring of 5th grade indicate that the student is ready, rather than based upon the student’s rank among WMS students. Other school districts take into account teacher and parent input, and include an appeal process for situations where the standardized tests don’t tell the whole story (for example if students are learning English as a second language).

I encourage those parents who are passionate about this topic to set up a time to meet with Mark Ito, Elizabeth Gentes, and the School Committee and voice your support for the following updated policy:

Single grade acceleration if the spring 5th grade NWEA MAP score is 243 or above. This would place the student above the 90th percentile nationally among fall 7th graders.
An option for double grade acceleration if the spring 5th grade NWEA MAP score is 256 or above (which would place the student above the 95th percentile nationally among fall 8th graders) and the student passes a WMS math assessment exam.

An appeal process that includes 5th grade teacher, parent and student input.

The above policy, which includes double acceleration, can be implemented using existing resources by alternating every other year whether Geometry or Algebra II is offered at the middle school (these can be taken in either order). The policy moves the placement process back to the spring of 5th grade, to prevent disruption to the student’s schedule in the fall of 6th grade. The above policy also removes the WMS placement exam for single grade acceleration, which is burdensome for families and is redundant given that the school district already uses two separate assessments (MAP and IXL).

On a personal note, I greatly benefited from being able to take Algebra and Geometry in middle school. I felt challenged for the first time in my mathematics classes, I had a leg up in standardized testing and competitions like Mathcounts, and ultimately I was able to start mathematics research earlier in college. My older daughter was one of the lucky 6 kids at WMS who was placed in the accelerated math program, and she is now thriving as an 8th grader in a honors high school Geometry class (which is her favorite class). However, some of her peers who are equally as talented at mathematics were denied the opportunity. Under the new guidelines, my 8th grade daughter would not have been placed in accelerated math at WMS at the start of 6th grade (since she had a MAP score of 252 at the time).

We should take advantage of the data and evidence that has been collected for decades around our country. Let’s implement an accelerated math placement policy that meets the needs of our high ability WMS students.

Sincerely,

George Mohler
PhD in Mathematics
WMS parent