Unconventional math path for rising senior who to Calc AB as junior

[Anonymous]

I am wondering if anyone has experience, insight, or reaction for my son to continue his post AP Calc AB by taking second semester of Calculus at NOVA as a DE course.

It seems a shame for an AB student to repeat material in a BC class the subsequent year when they are allegedly ready for a second semester of Calculus. I was hoping he could skip the repeated material and more efficiently just take the next class sequence and maybe finish the year with a free class or other NOVA course for the second semester. Viable or reasonable option?

[Anonymous]

I would just do the Calc BC. There will be repeats in the material during the first semester, but honestly, it provides a more solid base of understanding. A second semester of a slightly different course might create gaps in knowledge. And usually teachers don't divide the year neatly between "overview of calc AB" for the first semester and "new material" for the second - they weave it in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just do the Calc BC. There will be repeats in the material during the first semester, but honestly, it provides a more solid base of understanding. A second semester of a slightly different course might create gaps in knowledge. And usually teachers don't divide the year neatly between "overview of calc AB" for the first semester and "new material" for the second - they weave it in.

Different poster. But this sounds like a total waste of the Calc AB course. Why not just take a different non-calculus class if you need math credits? I assume it's because you want math on the senior year course list, so wouldn't it make more sense to do AP Stats or something else?

[Anonymous]

OP here: thanks for the responses.

It is the weaving in and out of AB material in a BC class that makes it seem redundant when a perfectly good class of new material is available. Perhaps, though, I am selling short the value of AB review that would make for a deeper understanding of the new calculus material.

As for the suggestion for taking Stats (21:48), can you explain why my idea would make "a total waste of the Calc AB course"? This isn't running away from the BC class, just though it could lead to more efficient (less redundant) learning.

Stats of course is an option, too, but my son has sparked an interest in physics that would be well served by additional calculus and stats will inevitably be taken at his eventual university.

[Anonymous]

He should have taken Calc BC and not AB. This the reason kids who enjoy math and are good at math skip AB. BC is more challenging but it opens more options for the kid. Then he could have taken multivariate calculus and linear algebra. Too late for your kid but good for other parents to kow.

Right now, his choices seem to be BC or Stats. BC will reinforce the AB material while providing new material. He should have a really strong foundation for college. Stats is a good class for kids to have, it helps be a bit more savy when reading about products or watching the news.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think it’s an unreasonable option, but it really depends on what else your kid has going on. I think math is generally better taken in person, and that the time wasted on the AP part of the curriculum in BC would be about the same as the time traveling to NOVA. For my kids who are busy with sports and EC’s they’d probably choose to waste time at school, and preserve their precious out of school time. But another kid might have other priorities.

If math comes easily to your kid, and there is an online option that aligns with the HS schedule then that might be different.

[Anonymous]

My son's HS seems to generally recommend AB and then BC for students who are ready for Calculus in junior year. The only ones who could jump to BC were a small group who'd taken an accelerated pre-calc class. DS could have taken that but was poorly advised. It seemed odd to me to take Ab and BC, but worked out fine. DS is an excellent math student and ended up doing AP Stats along with Calc BC senior year. Majored in data science, had to take Calc 2 on campus, which was again some review. A solid calculus foundation in a math-heavy major is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

What a waste (AB one year and BC the next)!!! Why did you have your child accelerate and take math earlier in the first place if you are “slowing” down and repeating content in Calculus over 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

What a waste (AB one year and BC the next)!!! Why did you have your child accelerate and take math earlier in the first place if you are “slowing” down and repeating content in Calculus over 2 years.

My kid took BC as a junior followed by stats. But I know others who have done both. It’s considered normal sequencing at some schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

What a waste (AB one year and BC the next)!!! Why did you have your child accelerate and take math earlier in the first place if you are “slowing” down and repeating content in Calculus over 2 years.

A good number of kids take AB and then BC, it is not an unusual path. It works well for kids who are strong in math but it is not their fac=vorite subject or they take a bit longer to pick up concepts. Kids who find math easy and have not had to work really hard at imath tend to be the ones who skip AB. There is nothing wrong with the AB to BC route.

OP seems to think that there is and is trying to take a weird route.

[Anonymous]

My son who is good at and likes math did the AB + BC path because that's what his math teachers recommended. I thought it was weird but it worked out fine. Yes, the early part of the year was review, but that's when he was focused on college applications, so it was helpful to have a lighter load.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

What a waste (AB one year and BC the next)!!! Why did you have your child accelerate and take math earlier in the first place if you are “slowing” down and repeating content in Calculus over 2 years.

A good number of kids take AB and then BC, it is not an unusual path. It works well for kids who are strong in math but it is not their fac=vorite subject or they take a bit longer to pick up concepts. Kids who find math easy and have not had to work really hard at imath tend to be the ones who skip AB. There is nothing wrong with the AB to BC route.

OP seems to think that there is and is trying to take a weird route.

It seems to be funny that what is described above is a race to take Algebra 1 in 7th grade (thus Calculus in 11th grade), but then opt to take the easy way out (Calculus BC in 12th grade and repeating much content), rather than challenge and take the next advanced math course (or another course AP Stat). Why take Algebra 1 in grade 7 then?????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

What a waste (AB one year and BC the next)!!! Why did you have your child accelerate and take math earlier in the first place if you are “slowing” down and repeating content in Calculus over 2 years.

A good number of kids take AB and then BC, it is not an unusual path. It works well for kids who are strong in math but it is not their fac=vorite subject or they take a bit longer to pick up concepts. Kids who find math easy and have not had to work really hard at imath tend to be the ones who skip AB. There is nothing wrong with the AB to BC route.

OP seems to think that there is and is trying to take a weird route.

It seems to be funny that what is described above is a race to take Algebra 1 in 7th grade (thus Calculus in 11th grade), but then opt to take the easy way out (Calculus BC in 12th grade and repeating much content), rather than challenge and take the next advanced math course (or another course AP Stat). Why take Algebra 1 in grade 7 then?????

I’m not in this boat, but…

who you are in middle school vs 12th grade changes a lot. The kid that had passion and loved the math challenge in 7th grade might not want it in 11th or 12th. Maybe they found a potential career that doesn’t require math beyond calculus, but they are looking at top schools that want rigorous schedules every year. This accomplishes that.

Taking algebra in 7th leaves options open, it doesn’t force a path.

No one asks why you took Spanish 1 in 7th grade if you’re going to stop after Spanish 4 instead of taking it all 6 years. Why do we think it’s “less then” to finish up math progression early and relax at the end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't assume the B part of AB is equivalent to the B part of BC. At some schools, maybe, it's not uncommon for kids to take AB followed by BC. Talk to your math department.

What a waste (AB one year and BC the next)!!! Why did you have your child accelerate and take math earlier in the first place if you are “slowing” down and repeating content in Calculus over 2 years.

A good number of kids take AB and then BC, it is not an unusual path. It works well for kids who are strong in math but it is not their fac=vorite subject or they take a bit longer to pick up concepts. Kids who find math easy and have not had to work really hard at imath tend to be the ones who skip AB. There is nothing wrong with the AB to BC route.

OP seems to think that there is and is trying to take a weird route.

It seems to be funny that what is described above is a race to take Algebra 1 in 7th grade (thus Calculus in 11th grade), but then opt to take the easy way out (Calculus BC in 12th grade and repeating much content), rather than challenge and take the next advanced math course (or another course AP Stat). Why take Algebra 1 in grade 7 then?????

I’m not in this boat, but…

who you are in middle school vs 12th grade changes a lot. The kid that had passion and loved the math challenge in 7th grade might not want it in 11th or 12th. Maybe they found a potential career that doesn’t require math beyond calculus, but they are looking at top schools that want rigorous schedules every year. This accomplishes that.

Taking algebra in 7th leaves options open, it doesn’t force a path.

No one asks why you took Spanish 1 in 7th grade if you’re going to stop after Spanish 4 instead of taking it all 6 years. Why do we think it’s “less then” to finish up math progression early and relax at the end?

While I value World Languages, it isn’t thought of as one of the 4 core content areas. Taking Algebra 1 in 8th grade still leaves options open (calculus BC in 12th grade without repeating content). Colleges might disagree with you about “relaxing at the end”. This constant rush to take Algebra earlier and earlier hurts students in the end, something I don’t think is taken into account as many forget to think about the pathway this leads to as the child gets older.