Can someone explain the "behind in math" thing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The standard in private school is Algebra 1 in 8th. A few are accelerated to A1 in 7th, but almost none in 6th. Some public school systems are willing to accelerate much more routinely. I'm not sure what the point is -- anyone who needs post-calculus would benefit from taking a more in depth class in college.

The obsession with doing post calculus work in HS is silly—I’d argue that’s true even if your kid will likely be a math major (and you’d have to start thinking about that at a very young age which I also think is silly). You will get more in depth post calculus classes in college.

You don't get it. It's for college admissions. The arms race for college admissions has never been more cutthroat.

Generally, if the school doesn’t offer the class, kid won’t be penalized by AO for not taking it.

Yup. And most private school kids are big fish swimming in small ponds. Plus they're full-pay. Your kid will survive even if they don't take AP Calculus in 10th grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The standard in private school is Algebra 1 in 8th. A few are accelerated to A1 in 7th, but almost none in 6th. Some public school systems are willing to accelerate much more routinely. I'm not sure what the point is -- anyone who needs post-calculus would benefit from taking a more in depth class in college.

The obsession with doing post calculus work in HS is silly—I’d argue that’s true even if your kid will likely be a math major (and you’d have to start thinking about that at a very young age which I also think is silly). You will get more in depth post calculus classes in college.

You don't get it. It's for college admissions. The arms race for college admissions has never been more cutthroat.

It is completely unnecessary for college admissions. I looked at math class compared to college choice at our school and there was zero correlation.

[Anonymous]

Private is typically a year behind due to their tracks. For schools like MIT this matters but for all others less so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Private is typically a year behind due to their tracks. For schools like MIT this matters but for all others less so.

No they aren’t. The standard track is Calculus of some flavor in 12th. Sure, there are more kids taking post-calc math in publics than in privates, but most privates offer at least a year of post-Calc math. There are also far more students only hitting Precalculus by 12th in public schools than in privates. It’s not common for privates schools to have seniors in precalc.

Privates are not “typically” a year behind.

[Anonymous]

Private schools tend to be much more hesitant to allow acceleration and prefer for students to go by a rigid progression. Their math standards also tends to be more rigorous than public schools, so they will often encourage a student to take, say, Geometry in grade 9 even if they're ready for Algebra II. Many, many kids end up having to take math a year lower than they would at a public school. This can hurt the overall assessment of their transcript rigor when it comes time for college applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private is typically a year behind due to their tracks. For schools like MIT this matters but for all others less so.

No they aren’t. The standard track is Calculus of some flavor in 12th. Sure, there are more kids taking post-calc math in publics than in privates, but most privates offer at least a year of post-Calc math. There are also far more students only hitting Precalculus by 12th in public schools than in privates. It’s not common for privates schools to have seniors in precalc.

Privates are not “typically” a year behind.

I would expect most private school kids, depending on the private to be super smart and more advanced. Depending on the school system kids can start taking Algebra in 7th, and some allow it in 6th. Average kids start in 8th or 9th.

You canot go by test scores at a school alone as there is a much bigger range of students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Private is typically a year behind due to their tracks. For schools like MIT this matters but for all others less so.

No they aren’t. The standard track is Calculus of some flavor in 12th. Sure, there are more kids taking post-calc math in publics than in privates, but most privates offer at least a year of post-Calc math. There are also far more students only hitting Precalculus by 12th in public schools than in privates. It’s not common for privates schools to have seniors in precalc.

Privates are not “typically” a year behind.

I would expect most private school kids, depending on the private to be super smart and more advanced. Depending on the school system kids can start taking Algebra in 7th, and some allow it in 6th. Average kids start in 8th or 9th.

You canot go by test scores at a school alone as there is a much bigger range of students.

Not sure why you expect private school kids to be “super smart and advanced” such that they are hitting calculus before 12th. That’s not the point or purpose of most private schools except for a few that specifically aim for stem advancement (like Basis). Regardless, hitting calc in 12th still doesn’t make them “a year behind” as pp (you?) stated.

[Anonymous]

Private schools are as much about depth as breadth. They don’t accelerate for the sake of acceleration. If getting two years of college math in high school is your best be all and end all, or if your kid is actually profoundly gifted in math, most mainstream private schools are not going to be a good fit.

That doesn’t mean the kids aren’t extremely smart, just that the goal isn’t to get as far ahead as humanly possible.