Honors vs On-level Precalc
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Anonymous
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My DD, currently in 10th grade, is in Honors Alg2 this year. So far she earned a B one quarter and a low A the next quarter. She wants to take Non-honors Precalc next year because she thinks Honors will be "too hard." I would like her to take AP Calc AB senior year. Will on-level precalc be sufficient to prepare her for it? I'm inclined to have her stick with Honors but wanted to get some input.
Rest of 11th grade schedule: AP English Lang AP World History Honors Physics Foreign Language 4 AP Econ Arts Elective |
Anonymous
| She should talk to her current teacher or try honors and drop to on-level if it's too challenging. I have a senior who went from honors Alg2 in 9th grade to on-level pre-calc sophomore year as the Hon Alg2 teacher recommended on-level pre-calc for most students in the class. Honors pre-calc is apparently pretty difficult and there were a decent number of students who started and dropped to on-level (per DC's reporting). My DC took calc with applications in 11th grade (and AP Stats in 12th) -- worked fine but they're not looking to be a STEM major. |
Anonymous
| May also want to consider AP Stats instead of Calc if math isn't her thing. |
Anonymous
| Let her slow down and get a free tutor. |
Anonymous
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I’ve heard that honors pre calc is the most frequently dropped class at our W school. If that is true at your school, why even bother?
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Anonymous
| My kid did Honors Alg 2 (first semester hard), regular precalc (super easy so far), and is registered for Calc AB next year. |
Anonymous
| Sorry to hijack - but Blair is only offering Honors Alg 2 next year. Is this going to be the old/hard Alg 2 or a watered down "honors" course like "honors" English. Anyone know? |
Anonymous
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That’s surprising to me. My son is taking Honors Pre-Cal this year and not struggling but he’s my “math student”.
My older one was my struggler and found Honors Algebra 2 to be the hardest class. She got a B one semester and an A the other. Went on to Honors Pre Cal all As and AP Cal AB all As. Algebra 2 at our school is known as the make or break class. |
Anonymous
If there's only one, you can be sure it will be watered down. That's the MCPS way! |
Anonymous
| Thanks for the input. She is not aiming for a STEM major - maybe I will let her change it. Overachieving mom here was thinking that DD would take AP Calc AND AP Stats senior year. |
Anonymous
+1 You need to check around at your school.It's probably teacher and school dependent. |
Anonymous
| Which school is this? Some schools teach AP Econ very rigorously and it will be very difficult to add in certain classes with its workload. |
Anonymous
| Honors Pre-Calc moves faster than the regular Pre-Calc class and is really geared towards the high flyers in math. A lot of kids decide to do the regular Pre-Calc even if they have been on the honors track throughout middle and high school. |
Anonymous
| Honors PreCalc is very difficult. DD had to drop to regular PreCalc in the middle of the year. She did great in PreCalc but I wish she had started on level rather than dropping down mid year. |
Anonymous
This is an extremely demanding schedule even without the math class added to the list. At the W school where I teach, Honors Precalc has a reputation as being taught like an AP class. I’d caution against adding Honors Precalc or would save one of the other APs for senior year. |