What Math track to take?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, have him take the highest track. He can always level down if bad comes to worse. But it’s hard to level up.
I sort of squeezed my kid into the highest track, he somewhat struggled the first year, had to help him a lot, but still got a B in all three trimesters. He is doing much much better in 7th, they just started Algebra 1 this trimester.
If your kid is fairly intelligent and can get extra help/tutoring if needed, most likely the US school math will not be rocket science to him.
FYI mine isn’t a straight A student and can be lazy and distracted! He still does ok

OP - Thank you, this is a good perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my experience, the advanced kids who are STEM-oriented are likely to take Algebra H in 7th grade, whereas the advanced kids who have broader interests in humanities/social sciences may opt to take it in 7th or 8th grade. It has less to do with what they are capable of right now, but more about the HS trajectory--7th grade algebra puts on track to take Calculus jr year. If you also want to do AP/IB level courses in history, literature, foreign language it can be a bit much. Plus you need to come up with another math class (often AP stats which is a good fit for these kids) sr year. So really either way is advanced enough for selective college admissions, more about where your kid wants to put their energy. I know for our schools, high school math classes go on HS GPA too--so you end up having courses you took in 7th and 8th grade affecting your HS GPA.

OP - Hard to tell with DS because he’s strong in both areas right now, but of course that could change. Per the track if he does Calculus junior year it’s either AP stats or duel enrollment senior year. Right now he wants to go to a service academy and be a fighter pilot, lol Top Gun effect, but again who really knows.

[Anonymous]

If your child is scoring in the 99th percentile, have him do the highest track possible. He could honestly do even more than that. In the DMV, the highest track your son is being offered is not that uncommon.

[Anonymous]

OP,
I'm not in the DMV either and my kid is currently taking Algebra in 7th. He's a good math student so he's finding it easy. And I loved Geometry so I think he will too as we think similarly (for math anyway.)

But I've been concerned at how watered down this Algebra seems to be compared to when I took it. Of course it's easy to do well. I don't feel like he gets enough practice problems to cement the topics. My worry is that he'll be unprepared for Algebra 2. Not only will he be dealing with high school, but add to that Algebra 2 which is a challenging class. Not having a good foundation will not help.

And if he does poorly? All everyone will say is "That's what happens when you accelerate a kid too quickly." Keep an eye on the curriculum for Algebra if you go that route. Supplement if you need to or take a Algebra refresher course before Algebra 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP,
I'm not in the DMV either and my kid is currently taking Algebra in 7th. He's a good math student so he's finding it easy. And I loved Geometry so I think he will too as we think similarly (for math anyway.)

But I've been concerned at how watered down this Algebra seems to be compared to when I took it. Of course it's easy to do well. I don't feel like he gets enough practice problems to cement the topics. My worry is that he'll be unprepared for Algebra 2. Not only will he be dealing with high school, but add to that Algebra 2 which is a challenging class. Not having a good foundation will not help.

And if he does poorly? All everyone will say is "That's what happens when you accelerate a kid too quickly." Keep an eye on the curriculum for Algebra if you go that route. Supplement if you need to or take a Algebra refresher course before Algebra 2.

Good advice. But if Algebra 1 was watered down, chances are the rest of the sequence was/will be watered down too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,
I'm not in the DMV either and my kid is currently taking Algebra in 7th. He's a good math student so he's finding it easy. And I loved Geometry so I think he will too as we think similarly (for math anyway.)

But I've been concerned at how watered down this Algebra seems to be compared to when I took it. Of course it's easy to do well. I don't feel like he gets enough practice problems to cement the topics. My worry is that he'll be unprepared for Algebra 2. Not only will he be dealing with high school, but add to that Algebra 2 which is a challenging class. Not having a good foundation will not help.

And if he does poorly? All everyone will say is "That's what happens when you accelerate a kid too quickly." Keep an eye on the curriculum for Algebra if you go that route. Supplement if you need to or take a Algebra refresher course before Algebra 2.

Good advice. But if Algebra 1 was watered down, chances are the rest of the sequence was/will be watered down too.

In our case, it is the middle school classes which are suspect. From what I hear, the high school has the expected curriculum. We'll be studying the geometry also to see it it's watered down. But the lack of rigor in Algebra will show up immediately in Algebra 2.

[Anonymous]

I am an engineer. Most kids shouldn’t take Calc 2 in high school. Stopping at Calc 1 in high school is just fine. Have him take AP computer science instead or earn some certifications/licenses in the academy track. There’s no award for finishing college first. The journey is just as important. And having to switch to a lower track or always needing tutors to do well can affect a kid’s self-esteem and lead to burn out. Kids who end up in STEM careers still enjoy math in senior year because they find it fun and easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tracking in mathematics is a concept which is both racist and sexist.

What school system in 2023 still does this??!?

Ignore this poster.

+1 They don't believe what they say, just trying to stir things up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids will probably be different. So I would consider that as much as the work.

What do you mean? As in older?

The better behaved and higher SES kids will likely be in the higher classes. For some people, that’s important. For others, it’s not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids will probably be different. So I would consider that as much as the work.

What do you mean? As in older?

The better behaved and higher SES kids will likely be in the higher classes. For some people, that’s important. For others, it’s not.

True

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am an engineer. Most kids shouldn’t take Calc 2 in high school. Stopping at Calc 1 in high school is just fine. Have him take AP computer science instead or earn some certifications/licenses in the academy track. There’s no award for finishing college first. The journey is just as important. And having to switch to a lower track or always needing tutors to do well can affect a kid’s self-esteem and lead to burn out. Kids who end up in STEM careers still enjoy math in senior year because they find it fun and easy.

Disagree with most of the above - and I am a scientist.

It is easy to switch down or take an alternate course (e.g., Statistics, CS, whatever) than it will be to go up to the faster track. Picking the slower track closes doors right now. Being on the faster track now keeps all doors open. Switching down does not necessarily hurt self-esteem, particularly if doing so LATER ON opens doors for other courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an engineer. Most kids shouldn’t take Calc 2 in high school. Stopping at Calc 1 in high school is just fine. Have him take AP computer science instead or earn some certifications/licenses in the academy track. There’s no award for finishing college first. The journey is just as important. And having to switch to a lower track or always needing tutors to do well can affect a kid’s self-esteem and lead to burn out. Kids who end up in STEM careers still enjoy math in senior year because they find it fun and easy.

Disagree with most of the above - and I am a scientist.

It is easy to switch down or take an alternate course (e.g., Statistics, CS, whatever) than it will be to go up to the faster track. Picking the slower track closes doors right now. Being on the faster track now keeps all doors open. Switching down does not necessarily hurt self-esteem, particularly if doing so LATER ON opens doors for other courses.

I'm in stem as well. 20 years out it does not matter when you took courses.

Have your kid be normal and stick with the lower track.

Chances are either the Calc 1 or Calc 2 course is going to be terribly taught and your kid will take Calc 2 in college anyway. Skipping more than one math course in college is usually not recommended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an engineer. Most kids shouldn’t take Calc 2 in high school. Stopping at Calc 1 in high school is just fine. Have him take AP computer science instead or earn some certifications/licenses in the academy track. There’s no award for finishing college first. The journey is just as important. And having to switch to a lower track or always needing tutors to do well can affect a kid’s self-esteem and lead to burn out. Kids who end up in STEM careers still enjoy math in senior year because they find it fun and easy.

Disagree with most of the above - and I am a scientist.

It is easy to switch down or take an alternate course (e.g., Statistics, CS, whatever) than it will be to go up to the faster track. Picking the slower track closes doors right now. Being on the faster track now keeps all doors open. Switching down does not necessarily hurt self-esteem, particularly if doing so LATER ON opens doors for other courses.

I'm in stem as well. 20 years out it does not matter when you took courses.

Have your kid be normal and stick with the lower track.

Chances are either the Calc 1 or Calc 2 course is going to be terribly taught and your kid will take Calc 2 in college anyway. Skipping more than one math course in college is usually not recommended.

It helps having had calculus in high school even if you retake it in college. Kids who take college calculus for the first time have a harder road; some dig in and end up doing ok but others can get discouraged. TAs often fly through the material assuming kids have already seen it once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an engineer. Most kids shouldn’t take Calc 2 in high school. Stopping at Calc 1 in high school is just fine. Have him take AP computer science instead or earn some certifications/licenses in the academy track. There’s no award for finishing college first. The journey is just as important. And having to switch to a lower track or always needing tutors to do well can affect a kid’s self-esteem and lead to burn out. Kids who end up in STEM careers still enjoy math in senior year because they find it fun and easy.

Disagree with most of the above - and I am a scientist.

It is easy to switch down or take an alternate course (e.g., Statistics, CS, whatever) than it will be to go up to the faster track. Picking the slower track closes doors right now. Being on the faster track now keeps all doors open. Switching down does not necessarily hurt self-esteem, particularly if doing so LATER ON opens doors for other courses.

I'm in stem as well. 20 years out it does not matter when you took courses.

Have your kid be normal and stick with the lower track.

Chances are either the Calc 1 or Calc 2 course is going to be terribly taught and your kid will take Calc 2 in college anyway. Skipping more than one math course in college is usually not recommended.

It helps having had calculus in high school even if you retake it in college. Kids who take college calculus for the first time have a harder road; some dig in and end up doing ok but others can get discouraged. TAs often fly through the material assuming kids have already seen it once.

Yes, it helps to be exposed to calc 1. Kids don’t need calc 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am an engineer. Most kids shouldn’t take Calc 2 in high school. Stopping at Calc 1 in high school is just fine. Have him take AP computer science instead or earn some certifications/licenses in the academy track. There’s no award for finishing college first. The journey is just as important. And having to switch to a lower track or always needing tutors to do well can affect a kid’s self-esteem and lead to burn out. Kids who end up in STEM careers still enjoy math in senior year because they find it fun and easy.

Disagree with most of the above - and I am a scientist.

It is easy to switch down or take an alternate course (e.g., Statistics, CS, whatever) than it will be to go up to the faster track. Picking the slower track closes doors right now. Being on the faster track now keeps all doors open. Switching down does not necessarily hurt self-esteem, particularly if doing so LATER ON opens doors for other courses.

Most engineers don’t take and don’t need Statistics. Calculus 1 in high school opens up plenty of doors and is an advanced track.