calc BC in 8th grade at Takoma Park Middle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dc (now a 12th grader, so this was several years ago) had a friend whose parents wanted him to be able to test out of Alg II and move straight to precalculus in 8th grade, and MCPS would not let him skip the Alg II class no matter his skill level, the parents were told that taking the class was a grad requirement. So I can’t think of how a student would be able to be in calc as an 8th grader.

The only way I would know to do it is to take summer classes for credit and then you'd have to go to the high school for the calc class.

Students who take Algebra 1 as 6th graders would have to take their 8th grade math class at their high school anyway. There are buses to take them to first period math at the high school, and bus them back to first period at their middle school, since that works with the staggered starts of middle and high school. It works well if there are several students of the same school all taking the same class.

And yes, Algebra 2 is a requirement. You can skip something else, but you have to take Algebra 2 in some form or another. Usually kids skip Pre-calc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dc (now a 12th grader, so this was several years ago) had a friend whose parents wanted him to be able to test out of Alg II and move straight to precalculus in 8th grade, and MCPS would not let him skip the Alg II class no matter his skill level, the parents were told that taking the class was a grad requirement. So I can’t think of how a student would be able to be in calc as an 8th grader.

The only way I would know to do it is to take summer classes for credit and then you'd have to go to the high school for the calc class.

Students who take Algebra 1 as 6th graders would have to take their 8th grade math class at their high school anyway. There are buses to take them to first period math at the high school, and bus them back to first period at their middle school, since that works with the staggered starts of middle and high school. It works well if there are several students of the same school all taking the same class.

And yes, Algebra 2 is a requirement. You can skip something else, but you have to take Algebra 2 in some form or another. Usually kids skip Pre-calc.

Why skip pre cal?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dc (now a 12th grader, so this was several years ago) had a friend whose parents wanted him to be able to test out of Alg II and move straight to precalculus in 8th grade, and MCPS would not let him skip the Alg II class no matter his skill level, the parents were told that taking the class was a grad requirement. So I can’t think of how a student would be able to be in calc as an 8th grader.

The only way I would know to do it is to take summer classes for credit and then you'd have to go to the high school for the calc class.

Students who take Algebra 1 as 6th graders would have to take their 8th grade math class at their high school anyway. There are buses to take them to first period math at the high school, and bus them back to first period at their middle school, since that works with the staggered starts of middle and high school. It works well if there are several students of the same school all taking the same class.

And yes, Algebra 2 is a requirement. You can skip something else, but you have to take Algebra 2 in some form or another. Usually kids skip Pre-calc.

Why skip pre cal?

For students with an interest in math, who take a class on the side and want to skip ahead to AP math classes and beyond. This is to show colleges that they're serious about a STEM major. Selective universities will have more in-depth math courses for undergrads than anything taught by the College Board, but it's to demonstrate interest and stand out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dc (now a 12th grader, so this was several years ago) had a friend whose parents wanted him to be able to test out of Alg II and move straight to precalculus in 8th grade, and MCPS would not let him skip the Alg II class no matter his skill level, the parents were told that taking the class was a grad requirement. So I can’t think of how a student would be able to be in calc as an 8th grader.

The only way I would know to do it is to take summer classes for credit and then you'd have to go to the high school for the calc class.

Students who take Algebra 1 as 6th graders would have to take their 8th grade math class at their high school anyway. There are buses to take them to first period math at the high school, and bus them back to first period at their middle school, since that works with the staggered starts of middle and high school. It works well if there are several students of the same school all taking the same class.

And yes, Algebra 2 is a requirement. You can skip something else, but you have to take Algebra 2 in some form or another. Usually kids skip Pre-calc.

Why skip pre cal?

For students with an interest in math, who take a class on the side and want to skip ahead to AP math classes and beyond. This is to show colleges that they're serious about a STEM major. Selective universities will have more in-depth math courses for undergrads than anything taught by the College Board, but it's to demonstrate interest and stand out.

You can do stem and be serious without this absurd track.

[Anonymous]

Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

It is bizarre when you are talking about kids who start algebra in 6 or 7th grade. How much further do they need to be pushed ahead and how much are they really learning if they combine algebra and geometry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

It is bizarre when you are talking about kids who start algebra in 6 or 7th grade. How much further do they need to be pushed ahead and how much are they really learning if they combine algebra and geometry.

You... completely missed my point. Am I taking crazy pills? The people I knew who did this did not have to be pushed. They did things like taught themselves algebra in early elementary school. They "really learned it." A friend of mine just solved a problem that had been unsolvable for 100 years. He didn't take calculus extra early because his pushy, awful parents wanted him to have something exciting to put on his college application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

It is bizarre when you are talking about kids who start algebra in 6 or 7th grade. How much further do they need to be pushed ahead and how much are they really learning if they combine algebra and geometry.

You... completely missed my point. Am I taking crazy pills? The people I knew who did this did not have to be pushed. They did things like taught themselves algebra in early elementary school. They "really learned it." A friend of mine just solved a problem that had been unsolvable for 100 years. He didn't take calculus extra early because his pushy, awful parents wanted him to have something exciting to put on his college application.

To make myself crystal clear, what I am saying is that it's hardly worth considering how the child came to be in Calc B/C as an 8th grader, because it's not a "track" you can or should get your kid on. Most likely, they are on that "track" because they are a wild outlier. If your kid were that kind of outlier, you would know. But that also means that it's unlikely that the kid is being "horrendously" pushed on an "absurd" track. They are just extraordinarily good at-- and most likely very much enjoy-- you know... math.

DCUM thinks in college applications, so they can't imagine anyone else does not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

It is bizarre when you are talking about kids who start algebra in 6 or 7th grade. How much further do they need to be pushed ahead and how much are they really learning if they combine algebra and geometry.

You... completely missed my point. Am I taking crazy pills? The people I knew who did this did not have to be pushed. They did things like taught themselves algebra in early elementary school. They "really learned it." A friend of mine just solved a problem that had been unsolvable for 100 years. He didn't take calculus extra early because his pushy, awful parents wanted him to have something exciting to put on his college application.

To make myself crystal clear, what I am saying is that it's hardly worth considering how the child came to be in Calc B/C as an 8th grader, because it's not a "track" you can or should get your kid on. Most likely, they are on that "track" because they are a wild outlier. If your kid were that kind of outlier, you would know. But that also means that it's unlikely that the kid is being "horrendously" pushed on an "absurd" track. They are just extraordinarily good at-- and most likely very much enjoy-- you know... math.

DCUM thinks in college applications, so they can't imagine anyone else does not.

I have a child who started Algebra in 6th. I think its absurdly early but child wanted to do it. No way I'd agree to allow for skipping pre-calculus or accelerate any more than they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid met a child who is in Calc BC in 8th grade at Takoma Park Middle School. What is the path to get there? It would mean Algebra 1 in 4th grade (?) Doubling up of classes? Im so curious. How would a kid get there?

One of my children is at TPMS and on the math team. They only know of a few kids who took AIM in 5th at wealthy schools that offered it to their students. These kids take Algebra 2 in 8th, but the school accepts this but does not encourage this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My daughter could conceivably do this. She's taking Algebra 1 in 6th, and the math coordinator at her school suggested she might take geometry and algebra 2 next year, the same timeline written above by 21:37. She's used to working with high schoolers anyway, for her instrumental practice.

Honestly, none of it matters one little bit. It's all basic formula application anyway, and none of the standard course work goes into any in-depth problem-solving, which is what students REALLY need for college work in math-heavy disciplines. I'd rather she get accepted into a magnet high school and have interesting work in math, for once in her school life. On the side, she goes on the internet and looks for videos of proofs and interesting problems. Like her biostatistician father, she has a mathematical turn of mind. But it does not take a genius to have that kind of pathway in school. I'm sure many kids could do it, but it's a logistical hassle so they don't.

Are you in MCPS? I haven't heard of any middle schools offering geometry and Algebra two combined.

It isn't a combined class. The student takes Algebra II as an elective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

It is bizarre when you are talking about kids who start algebra in 6 or 7th grade. How much further do they need to be pushed ahead and how much are they really learning if they combine algebra and geometry.

Ah, yes. The old “my math genius friend solved an unsolvable math problem.” I’ve heard this one on DCUM a few times!

You... completely missed my point. Am I taking crazy pills? The people I knew who did this did not have to be pushed. They did things like taught themselves algebra in early elementary school. They "really learned it." A friend of mine just solved a problem that had been unsolvable for 100 years. He didn't take calculus extra early because his pushy, awful parents wanted him to have something exciting to put on his college application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid met a child who is in Calc BC in 8th grade at Takoma Park Middle School. What is the path to get there? It would mean Algebra 1 in 4th grade (?) Doubling up of classes? Im so curious. How would a kid get there?

One of my children is at TPMS and on the math team. They only know of a few kids who took AIM in 5th at wealthy schools that offered it to their students. These kids take Algebra 2 in 8th, but the school accepts this but does not encourage this.

Does he know this kid who took algebra in 4th? That is the track one would be on to take AP calc BC in 8th.
I'm the OP. My kid is in private school and met this kid who came for an accepted students day. There is no way that the private can handle this level of advancement. They offer one class beyond calculus.
I hope he/she has or will get a magnet high school spot. It sounds like he/she is a math genius!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uhhhh these responses are weird, but I guess understandable considering the typical DCUM profile.

In my experience, 99% of the time, a kid would get there by being an extreme outlier math genius who (most likely) loves math and does it for fun. Not by having some striver parents hothouse them by pushing them through Algebra 2 in preschool or something.

The people reacting as if it were the latter ("horrendous") fail to see the most likely answer. It's more that the school has just enough outliers to create an actual demand for such a class-- whether offered at TPMS (I have no idea) or requiring busing to Blair.

I attended the Blair math-science magnet and knew a few kids who had finished Calculus before HS-- or took it in their freshman year-- at a time most kids graduating HS didn't even take calculus at all. They're mostly MacArthur Genius Grant awardees and math professors who will probably be up for the Fields Medal someday.

It is bizarre when you are talking about kids who start algebra in 6 or 7th grade. How much further do they need to be pushed ahead and how much are they really learning if they combine algebra and geometry.

You... completely missed my point. Am I taking crazy pills? The people I knew who did this did not have to be pushed. They did things like taught themselves algebra in early elementary school. They "really learned it." A friend of mine just solved a problem that had been unsolvable for 100 years. He didn't take calculus extra early because his pushy, awful parents wanted him to have something exciting to put on his college application.

Ah, yes. The old “my math genius friend solved an unsolvable math problem.” I’ve heard this one on DCUM a few times!

I think that PP is the same one who mentiones being a Blair alumnus every time the magnet comes up, and who seems VERY stuck in their identity as a former "gifted kid" despite admitting on another thread that none of this giftedness has really translated into adulthood.

As far as I can tell, Blair has produced three MacAurthur fellows but the ones working in math were different enough in age that PP could not have overlapped with both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid met a child who is in Calc BC in 8th grade at Takoma Park Middle School. What is the path to get there? It would mean Algebra 1 in 4th grade (?) Doubling up of classes? Im so curious. How would a kid get there?

One of my children is at TPMS and on the math team. They only know of a few kids who took AIM in 5th at wealthy schools that offered it to their students. These kids take Algebra 2 in 8th, but the school accepts this but does not encourage this.

Does he know this kid who took algebra in 4th? That is the track one would be on to take AP calc BC in 8th.
I'm the OP. My kid is in private school and met this kid who came for an accepted students day. There is no way that the private can handle this level of advancement. They offer one class beyond calculus.
I hope he/she has or will get a magnet high school spot. It sounds like he/she is a math genius!

My TPMS magnet 8th grader got into the Blair SMCS magnet for next year without taking any advanced classes outside his regular magnet curriculum. He is in the magnet geometry class now, and will likely take the magnet Precalc A/B/C 3-semester track next year in 9th. (He could probably handle functions, which combines the 3-semester track into a single year, but he doesn't want that kind of pressure, and I'm not going to force him.) He says there are about 4-5 students in his grade who go to the high school for Algebra 2, and at least one who is there for Precalc, but he doesn't know of anyone going there currently for Calculus. So, that's maybe 6 out of 125 in the TPMS 8th grade magnet. Don't worry if your kid isn't on an "advanced" track; no one is expecting it, and it's not a requirement for success or even for magnet high school acceptance.

I will mention that the 8th grade math teacher specifically told the students that she can't "recommend" skipping Algebra 2, but did say that it could be taken in the summer before 9th grade, and then go straight to Precalc in 9th. This could also be done for Blair SMCS magnet students who want to take Functions in 9th grade. Unless your kid loves math and wants that kind of pressure and workload, I wouldn't recommend this. Only 25% of Blair SMCS magnet students take Functions, which requires Algebra 2 as a prerequisite to enroll. Even fewer take it in recent years, now that Algebra 2 is not usually taken before high school in MCPS. Supposedly, at least half of those who enroll in Functions drop down to Precalc A/B/C by the end of the first semester because it's THAT intense, and they don't want their GPA to suffer just to save a semester down the road for an extra elective.