FCPS honors courses, available to middle and high school students, are based on extensions of the FCPS Program of Studies. Students may self-select one or more honors courses in areas that match their academic interests or strengths. Extensions based on the Parallel Curriculum Model add depth and complexity to student learning experiences. To learn more about the parallel curriculum model, please reference Carol Ann Tomlinson’s The Parallel Curriculum: A Design to Develop Learner Potential and Challenge Advanced Learners (2009). Students in honors courses frequently use abstract, critical thinking approaches through inquiry-based projects to extend and deepen understanding of the content. Honors courses prepare students for future success in the next step of their academic journey.

In middle school mathematics, an honors course accelerates the student to the next grade level. To learn more about specific honors courses, check the individual course descriptions in our FCPS course catalog.

Mathematics 7 Honors is open enrollment for all students. This course is an acceleration of mathematics curriculum which requires students to master the content assessed on the Mathematics 8 SOL assessment. Students who have not completed Advanced Mathematics 6 may need support and/or require additional effort and study to be successful. Both Mathematics 7 and Mathematics 7 Honors prepare students for Algebra 1 or Algebra 1 Honors in Grade 8.

Algebra I Honors is open enrollment for all 8th grade students; however, there are specific requirements for enrollment in Algebra I Honors in 7th grade:

• Successful completion of the Advanced Mathematics Grade 6 curriculum or a year-long accelerated mathematics program
• Score at or above the 91st percentile on the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test (IAAT)
• Score a pass advanced (500 or above) on the grade 7 mathematics Standards of Learning (SOL) test