Repeating Spanish 3 in 9th?

[Anonymous]

Looking for input about whether my 8th grader, who's currently taking Spanish 3 in middle school, should consider repeating Spanish 3 next year in 9th grade rather than moving on to Spanish 4. Kid is doing fine, putting in effort and getting an A, but we just aren't sure if the MS class is being taught at the same level as a HS class. I have a current 10th grader who is also taking Spanish 3 -- they are in theory covering the same units, but the HS class is conducted entirely in Spanish, and the MS class is definitely not. We're worried that there might be a big gap in jumping to Spanish 4 in 9th grade, and it seems like there may be an opportunity to slow down by repeating, but maybe that would be too boring/repetitive or unnecessary. Not worried about grade replacement, obviously, just trying to have a solid foundation and also not be overwhelmed in 9th grade (kid will have APUSH and Hon Algebra 2 as other likely challenging 9th grade classes). My kid is going to talk to their teacher and get some advice, and I'll check with the HS counselor, but I was wondering if anybody here had considered this and has thoughts to share. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Aren't there other children in your younger child's track?

If there's a big cohort, Spanish 4 for freshmen may be different from Spanish 4 for juniors.

Just like Algebra 1 for middle schoolers differs from Algebra 1 for juniors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't there other children in your younger child's track?

If there's a big cohort, Spanish 4 for freshmen may be different from Spanish 4 for juniors.

Just like Algebra 1 for middle schoolers differs from Algebra 1 for juniors.

Oh, that's a good question - thanks! I will ask the HS counselor when I reach out to them.

[Anonymous]

A few points
1) As far as I know from this board, if you repeat Spanish 3 on grade 9, it will never show on your transcript that you repeated the class. Grade 9 is the only opportunity to do this. I never had direct experience with this, but this is what some people said on this board.
2) If you continue Spanish 4 on 9th grade, you'd have to take AP Spanish Literature (not AP Spanish Language) unless you stop taking Spanish. Taking AP Spanish Literature is no joke.

[Anonymous]

I meant Spanishl iterature on grade 12.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in 9th grade taking Spanish 4. Spanish 3 was in middle school and was a big jump from Spanish 2. Spanish 4 by contrast, hasn’t been a big jump. However, starting in Spanish 3 his classes have been conducted entirely in Spanish. I’d guess this varies by teacher and respecting the class in middle school might not be much different.

[Anonymous]

DC repeated their language class in 9th despite an A in middle school. We could tell the MS teacher was not covering enough and we were right. Now our child has a much better foundation and we are happy we had them repeat.

[Anonymous]

If kid is doing okay then I would just do review over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Duolingo all summer

[Anonymous]

Our middle school encouraged the repeat a couple years ago when they started hearing complaints that Spanish 3 in middle school wasn't preparing kids for Spanish 4 in hs

[Anonymous]

We’ve been wondering the same for a kid on a similar academic path. He meets with the HS counselor tomorrow and is supposed to ask whether there’s a placement test he could take. We figured the HS would know their own course expectations best. I’ll report back!

Good to know about the AP lit ceiling in 12th, though.

[Anonymous]

We forced our kid to retake a Spanish class. He had an "A" in 8th grade but he should not have had better than a "D". It was absolutely the right call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few points
1) As far as I know from this board, if you repeat Spanish 3 on grade 9, it will never show on your transcript that you repeated the class. Grade 9 is the only opportunity to do this. I never had direct experience with this, but this is what some people said on this board.
2) If you continue Spanish 4 on 9th grade, you'd have to take AP Spanish Literature (not AP Spanish Language) unless you stop taking Spanish. Taking AP Spanish Literature is no joke.

It will show up on the transcript.

[Anonymous]

My 8th grader is in Spanish 3 at the TPMS magnet. They have A's, and it's also their hardest class. They are attending SMCS next year. I'm recommending they repeat it mostly to stay engaged in Spanish, ensure their workload is manageable, and avoid AP Spanish Lit during their senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A few points
1) As far as I know from this board, if you repeat Spanish 3 on grade 9, it will never show on your transcript that you repeated the class. Grade 9 is the only opportunity to do this. I never had direct experience with this, but this is what some people said on this board.
2) If you continue Spanish 4 on 9th grade, you'd have to take AP Spanish Literature (not AP Spanish Language) unless you stop taking Spanish. Taking AP Spanish Literature is no joke.

It will show up on the transcript.

Your HS transcript shows a class you took in middle school?