Anyone wavering on whether or not to do Algebra in 7th

[Anonymous]

Same. My son scored a 97 on the IAAT. He still has to pass the SOL this year, but we arent sure we would even have him take Algebra. I dont want him to miss out on fundamentals and we arent in a rush, we just want him to enjoy school without the added stress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. He should be able to handle it and going forward, and if not, he repeats alg I in 8th. Big deal. We are considering and weighing pros/cons of Alg I for our child who will be in 6th grade next yr. I would have zero hesitation about it for 7th. My current 7th grader is finishing Alg II right now, no issues.n

How is your 7th grader in Algebra II? What school are they in?

You sometimes have kids come in from another school district, and they are more advanced. LCPS has a student taking calculus in 8th grade, after coming from BASIS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. He should be able to handle it and going forward, and if not, he repeats alg I in 8th. Big deal. We are considering and weighing pros/cons of Alg I for our child who will be in 6th grade next yr. I would have zero hesitation about it for 7th. My current 7th grader is finishing Alg II right now, no issues.n

How is your 7th grader in Algebra II? What school are they in?

My friend’s child, a 7th grader, is doing Algebra II. They are in Woodson pyramid.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have a 7th grader, and agonized over that call last year. DD and all her classmates that qualified took it. A few that didn’t appealed and took it. They’re all doing fine. The material is not difficult.

I have a friend whose 8th grader is doing Algebra II. She’s going to take pre-calc and call it done because she has no interest in math (despite being very good at it). So if your child later wants to slow things down or not continue this path, there are certainly ways to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a 7th grader, and agonized over that call last year. DD and all her classmates that qualified took it. A few that didn’t appealed and took it. They’re all doing fine. The material is not difficult.

I have a friend whose 8th grader is doing Algebra II. She’s going to take pre-calc and call it done because she has no interest in math (despite being very good at it). So if your child later wants to slow things down or not continue this path, there are certainly ways to do it.

You keep posting about this girl who is not your DC - but that's really not usual at all. That girl isn't an example of anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. He should be able to handle it and going forward, and if not, he repeats alg I in 8th. Big deal. We are considering and weighing pros/cons of Alg I for our child who will be in 6th grade next yr. I would have zero hesitation about it for 7th. My current 7th grader is finishing Alg II right now, no issues.n

How is your 7th grader in Algebra II? What school are they in?

You sometimes have kids come in from another school district, and they are more advanced. LCPS has a student taking calculus in 8th grade, after coming from BASIS.

They don’t have to come from other schools or districts. DD had a third grader in her 5th grade math class. She knew a kid that was doing AP Calc BC as an 8th grader in her MS. I think one of the FCPS kids that placed in Regeneron last year or the year before was similar. Some kids are outliers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a 7th grader, and agonized over that call last year. DD and all her classmates that qualified took it. A few that didn’t appealed and took it. They’re all doing fine. The material is not difficult.

I have a friend whose 8th grader is doing Algebra II. She’s going to take pre-calc and call it done because she has no interest in math (despite being very good at it). So if your child later wants to slow things down or not continue this path, there are certainly ways to do it.

You keep posting about this girl who is not your DC - but that's really not usual at all. That girl isn't an example of anything.

All I’m saying is that taking a higher level math course does not obligate the kid to continuing down a path of more and more math.

[Anonymous]

My kid very much wants to, and I personally wouldn’t encourage it. But like PP, I’m trying to let her steer the bus here, so I won’t stop her from taking it if she chooses.

[Anonymous]

My son got a 97th percentile IOWA, very high SOL, always had 4s in math. Got into middle school and the hormones hit - suddenly he cares too much about girls, what his friends think, being the coolest person on the whatsapp messages or whatever. Was getting like a B- in Algebra. I yanked him out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid very much wants to, and I personally wouldn’t encourage it. But like PP, I’m trying to let her steer the bus here, so I won’t stop her from taking it if she chooses.

Why wouldn’t you encourage it? It isn’t so far accelerated it will derail math options later on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. He should be able to handle it and going forward, and if not, he repeats alg I in 8th. Big deal. We are considering and weighing pros/cons of Alg I for our child who will be in 6th grade next yr. I would have zero hesitation about it for 7th. My current 7th grader is finishing Alg II right now, no issues.n

How is your 7th grader in Algebra II? What school are they in?

My friend’s child, a 7th grader, is doing Algebra II. They are in Woodson pyramid.

Our district’s AAP program is Alg I and II in 7th then geo and precalc in 8th. It is both accelerated by a couple yrs above grade level and taught at twice as fast rate since they are doing two yrs of content in a single year. Definitely not for kids who don’t have executive function together.

[Anonymous]

My kid got 99% on IOWA and 600 on SOL, she is doing great in Honor Algebra I at 7th grade. It requires some work but totally manageable. Based on what she told me, most of her class are doing well with a few students falling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC got 96% on IOWA, has routinely gotten pass advance on math SOLs (understanding that this years has not happened yet) and gets straight 4s on report cards, as well as interim exams and work projects in the classroom. I feel confident he can handle Algebra next year, and Geography the following year, but am concerned about the level of rigor beyond that (taking college level math by 11th grade!) Too early to tell if DC is even interested in pursuing a major or career in this area despite his competency. Some of his peers who are similarly situated are steering clear, whereas others (friends studying advanced levels outside of school; which he is not doing) are pursuing.

Would love to hear anecdotally what direction others are looking at. We have until July obviously, and there’s always the chance he bombs the SOL (although unlikely).

Taking AP calc in 11th is no different than taking any other AP in 11th. They're all considered college level.
7th grade Algebra does not lock you into some sort of math career or even post-AP math coursework. If he decides in 10th grade that he's not especially interested in math, he can easily take AP Calc AB in 11th and then AP Stats in 12th. AP Stats would be a useful class for just about any humanities or softer science majors.

When Algebra 2 is taken in 8th grade, what students take in 10th grade? Can DC take 2 math classes in a year, say in 10th grade? What's the pre req for AP Calc?

[Anonymous]

My kid didn’t find Algebra 1 difficult, her Geometry class (8th grade) was difficult in the best way- extremely challenging but rewarding. 9th grade Alg 2 Honors has been horrific - completely due to the teacher. No one does well in her class. So you’ll have to revisit things when your child gets to high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid didn’t find Algebra 1 difficult, her Geometry class (8th grade) was difficult in the best way- extremely challenging but rewarding. 9th grade Alg 2 Honors has been horrific - completely due to the teacher. No one does well in her class. So you’ll have to revisit things when your child gets to high school.

Yeah..alg II is significantly harder than alg I.