Class of ‘26 Parents: Did MS do enough to prepare your child for HS?

[Anonymous]

Wondering whether others feel like kids are adequately prepared, for example, in math. Were there things that didn’t matter in MS that suddenly matter now.

What would you have done differently during MS?

[Anonymous]

I actually think the requirements were stricter in middle school. High school is more desperate to get kids to graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I actually think the requirements were stricter in middle school. High school is more desperate to get kids to graduate.

You have a 9th grader this year and feel
This way?

[Anonymous]

It’s only been a month but it’s been fine. The work load hasn’t been much different. He’s had very little homework but they get a block every other day that’s basically a study hall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually think the requirements were stricter in middle school. High school is more desperate to get kids to graduate.

You have a 9th grader this year and feel
This way?

Sorry, I should probably have refrained from responding. I taught 8th grade for many many years and now teach high school. My own child is a junior and his experience at different schools backs up what I have seen with my colleagues.

[Anonymous]

I have had many 4 high schoolers and MS doesn’t prepare them well to study or write.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s only been a month but it’s been fine. The work load hasn’t been much different. He’s had very little homework but they get a block every other day that’s basically a study hall.

Is your kid taking any honors classes? Our HS discourages kids from taking more than 2-3 honors classes at a time. The honors classes have had homework from day one but from what I’ve observed from a small subset — then non-honors classes barely have homework which was the MS experience for both honors and non-honors. So our POV the honors classes in MS did not prepare kids and did not get the kids up to where they needed to start 9th grade. I think learning loss during 7th grade when school was COVID weird and largely at home had a huge impact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had many 4 high schoolers and MS doesn’t prepare them well to study or write.

Do you think the 2026 was worse off? I’m trying to distinguish what is normal versus this class where much if the MS experience (6-8) was during distance learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have had many 4 high schoolers and MS doesn’t prepare them well to study or write.

Agreed.

[Anonymous]

We felt Longfellow prepared our kids well for high school, but this was pre-Covid.

[Anonymous]

Nope.

AoPS and my parenting did. Middle school was a joke.

[Anonymous]

Cooper prepared our kids for high school.

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts from Carson parents?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s only been a month but it’s been fine. The work load hasn’t been much different. He’s had very little homework but they get a block every other day that’s basically a study hall.

Is your kid taking any honors classes? Our HS discourages kids from taking more than 2-3 honors classes at a time. The honors classes have had homework from day one but from what I’ve observed from a small subset — then non-honors classes barely have homework which was the MS experience for both honors and non-honors. So our POV the honors classes in MS did not prepare kids and did not get the kids up to where they needed to start 9th grade. I think learning loss during 7th grade when school was COVID weird and largely at home had a huge impact.

Where is this? My 9th grader has 4 honors classes (Core: Algebra 2 H, English 9 H, Bio H, and WH 1 H) and 1 AP class (Ap Comp Sci A). She also has Spanish 2 and PE 9. So 4 honors and an AP Course in 9th. I think AAP at Twain prepared my child but HS has a lot more tests and quizzes more often. It's non-stop.

[Anonymous]

Yes, but our kid, who has her own issues, actually settled in well via distance learning. I'd think the '25s would have had a harder time, having missed 3/4 of MS.