Is there such a thing as too much acceleration?

[Anonymous]

I was talking with a friend who also has a kid in 9th. DS is taking Calc AB and her kid is in Geometry. She said that too much acceleration is a bad thing, and that we should be careful because it can make kids seem like overachievers and/or gunners. At first I thought it's just jealousy and that she is mad my kid is so advanced, but then I thought there may be some truth to what she is saying. It seems these days, colleges aren't looking for excellence so much as quirkiness and that kids who do well in subjects like math, aren't valued at all. It doesn't help that we're Asian. Anyway. I'm wondering what other people think.

PS. My younger child is in 7th and is not on an accelerated track. Both kids are happy and love school.

[Anonymous]

Depends. Does your child love math- will he major in math, engineering, etc? I think it just has to fit the narrative you want to share with the colleges.

[Anonymous]

Profs want students back to being strong in the basics.
The average STEM student in Calc Ab and BC should be repeating calc 2 in college. They skip along to linear or calc 3 and usually have poorer math skills than peers who repeated or began the calc sequence in college.

The colleges won’t think you’re “doing too much,” but your kid won’t be seen as any different than someone with Calc Ab As a senior or Bc if in stem. The really good math students have already blown your kid out of the water- they have the math Olympiad awards and college math work to prove it.

[Anonymous]

Is your child a math prodigy? If yes, and you have other evidence for it, it will help your admission. If not, I would say that calculus AB in 9th grade is too much acceleration resulting in superficial grasp of the material.

[Anonymous]

What does your kid love? Like what would they do in their room alone? or for hours by themselves?

that's what they should be doing.....if its not math you know your answer. if it is, you know your answer too.

[Anonymous]

Yes, too much acceleration is a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is your child a math prodigy? If yes, and you have other evidence for it, it will help your admission. If not, I would say that calculus AB in 9th grade is too much acceleration resulting in superficial grasp of the material.

I'm not sure what "evidence" you mean- DS doesn't do math competitions because it's not his thing. but he does many problems a day for fun. he likes experimenting with topics outside of class. also, he has an A in class and aces every test, so I think he has a prety strong grasp of the material.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Profs want students back to being strong in the basics.
The average STEM student in Calc Ab and BC should be repeating calc 2 in college. They skip along to linear or calc 3 and usually have poorer math skills than peers who repeated or began the calc sequence in college.

The colleges won’t think you’re “doing too much,” but your kid won’t be seen as any different than someone with Calc Ab As a senior or Bc if in stem. The really good math students have already blown your kid out of the water- they have the math Olympiad awards and college math work to prove it.

This makes sense. What do you mean by college math work though... like taking college classes? or research?

[Anonymous]

It's a bad thing if you run out of math classes. Is that going to happen? Are there Montgomery College advanced math classes your kid can dual enroll into later in HS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child a math prodigy? If yes, and you have other evidence for it, it will help your admission. If not, I would say that calculus AB in 9th grade is too much acceleration resulting in superficial grasp of the material.

I'm not sure what "evidence" you mean- DS doesn't do math competitions because it's not his thing. but he does many problems a day for fun. he likes experimenting with topics outside of class. also, he has an A in class and aces every test, so I think he has a prety strong grasp of the material.

High school calc isn’t anywhere near college calc level. Have you gotten a stem degree? College calculus is much more difficult. If he wants to get into a good college for math, he really should consider competition math and try out proofs- math is not what you’re shown in high school.

[Anonymous]

What is his favorite subject in school? What was his favorite assignment this year? Has he ever come really excited about something he learned? What was it?

[Anonymous]

I guess my main question is, what math is your kid going to take for the next three years? I guess BC, then ... what else?

You'll want to have a plan for him taking DE classes or something else.

Your friend was a little rude -- it's not hurting anyone that he's two or three years ahead in math.

[Anonymous]

all the (asian) male applied math majors I know were rejected or deferred in their REA or ED.

its a dime a dozen. boring story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your child a math prodigy? If yes, and you have other evidence for it, it will help your admission. If not, I would say that calculus AB in 9th grade is too much acceleration resulting in superficial grasp of the material.

I'm not sure what "evidence" you mean- DS doesn't do math competitions because it's not his thing. but he does many problems a day for fun. he likes experimenting with topics outside of class. also, he has an A in class and aces every test, so I think he has a prety strong grasp of the material.

There are ways other than math competitions to signal that your son loves math, rather than just accelerating for show. Taking upper level math courses at a college, working with a professor doing math research, etc...

Acceleration by itself may not be a wholly positive signal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is his favorite subject in school? What was his favorite assignment this year? Has he ever come really excited about something he learned? What was it?

math! math, math math. he loves it. It's never been a question of whether he CAN do advanced math; it's totally his thing. I'm just wondering if he SHOULD be doing it.