9th grade - Alg 2 or Alg 2 Honors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A B math student should not be on that math pathway.

+1

It is preferable to take the honors level at the expense of acceleration.

A in Honors Geometry in 9th is better than A in Algebra 2 which is better than B in Honors Algebra 2.

This is so not true

Care to explain?

Algebra 2 in 9th is still two years accelerated in math. If the end goal is Calculus BC, that can be done with Geometry in 9th and sticking to the honors path.

It’s really stupid to accelerate your kid into being a mediocre math student with a bunch of Bs. I can’t see any benefit to it and will likely take any kind of STEM major off the table.

Are you people crazy??? B’s do not take a STEM major off the table.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A B math student should not be on that math pathway.

+1

It is preferable to take the honors level at the expense of acceleration.

A in Honors Geometry in 9th is better than A in Algebra 2 which is better than B in Honors Algebra 2.

This is so not true

Care to explain?

Algebra 2 in 9th is still two years accelerated in math. If the end goal is Calculus BC, that can be done with Geometry in 9th and sticking to the honors path.

It’s really stupid to accelerate your kid into being a mediocre math student with a bunch of Bs. I can’t see any benefit to it and will likely take any kind of STEM major off the table.

Ok, but a B is the most rigorous level is not failing or being “mediocre.” My kid has a B in her math classes (highest track), and her understanding of math is far and above stronger than her friends who took Geometry in 9th, Alg 2 in 10th, etc.

You should be aware that the average GPA for all students nationally is 3.0, and for the ones college bound it is 3.5. That’s what grade inflation gets you, B is the new C, so yeah, B is mediocre as in common, medium, average.

Getting a B alone in Algebra 2 is probably fine, but if followed by B in Precalculus and then Calculus is definitely not fine, your daughter is not on a good trend, and she needs to find a way to turn it around. It only gets harder from here.

If her friends are getting A’s in Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Precalculus and AP Calculus, they will have a much better college admission outcome, even if they are one year “behind”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A B math student should not be on that math pathway.

Are you saying that everyone taking geometry in middle school should be getting A's? And if they're not, they shouldn't be in that class?

DP, buy yes, if they can’t get an A they shouldn’t be in that class.

A student that took geometry in middle school was supposedly accelerated because they could handle it, not so they can struggle for a B, which is more for the on grade students.

Unfortunately that’s what happens when the ego of the parent trumps the level and capability of the student.

[Anonymous]

I don’t understand the thinking that only kids who get A’s in the honors class should be in honors. Are B’s the new C’s?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A B math student should not be on that math pathway.

+1

It is preferable to take the honors level at the expense of acceleration.

A in Honors Geometry in 9th is better than A in Algebra 2 which is better than B in Honors Algebra 2.

This is so not true

Care to explain?

Algebra 2 in 9th is still two years accelerated in math. If the end goal is Calculus BC, that can be done with Geometry in 9th and sticking to the honors path.

It’s really stupid to accelerate your kid into being a mediocre math student with a bunch of Bs. I can’t see any benefit to it and will likely take any kind of STEM major off the table.

Ok, but a B is the most rigorous level is not failing or being “mediocre.” My kid has a B in her math classes (highest track), and her understanding of math is far and above stronger than her friends who took Geometry in 9th, Alg 2 in 10th, etc.

You should be aware that the average GPA for all students nationally is 3.0, and for the ones college bound it is 3.5. That’s what grade inflation gets you, B is the new C, so yeah, B is mediocre as in common, medium, average.

Getting a B alone in Algebra 2 is probably fine, but if followed by B in Precalculus and then Calculus is definitely not fine, your daughter is not on a good trend, and she needs to find a way to turn it around. It only gets harder from here.

If her friends are getting A’s in Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Precalculus and AP Calculus, they will have a much better college admission outcome, even if they are one year “behind”.

OP-Please read beyond this because it’s crazy. Select the math class that is best with your kid in mind. You can’t be concerned about what class or grade friends are taking or getting. Do what is right for your kid for 9th grade.
Yes college is competitive, but trust and believe B students are still getting admitted. They may not be getting admitted as Freshman to an Ivy but very students are being admitted there regardless even if they are an A student.
Have your child take a rigorous course load that works for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the thinking that only kids who get A’s in the honors class should be in honors. Are B’s the new C’s?

No they are not. DCUM likes to perpetuate the myth tje everyone is getting A’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the thinking that only kids who get A’s in the honors class should be in honors. Are B’s the new C’s?

read ^ post 16:43

No they are not. DCUM likes to perpetuate the myth tje everyone is getting A’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the thinking that only kids who get A’s in the honors class should be in honors. Are B’s the new C’s?

Not talking about kids on a normal
track getting Bs in honors classes. We are talking about kids accelerated on a path to Calculus in 11th grade and then getting Bs or having to take non honors classes. This won’t do them any favors when they apply to college. As someone else said, it’s a setup to be a mediocre math student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand the thinking that only kids who get A’s in the honors class should be in honors. Are B’s the new C’s?

No they are not. DCUM likes to perpetuate the myth tje everyone is getting A’s.

Yes, B is the new C.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/contentassets/ff589b22b8ef4a4c8b54ba4161ac9a7e/school-profile-2.pdf

Median looks to be about 3.25 unweighted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A B math student should not be on that math pathway.

+1

It is preferable to take the honors level at the expense of acceleration.

A in Honors Geometry in 9th is better than A in Algebra 2 which is better than B in Honors Algebra 2.

This is so not true

Care to explain?

Algebra 2 in 9th is still two years accelerated in math. If the end goal is Calculus BC, that can be done with Geometry in 9th and sticking to the honors path.

It’s really stupid to accelerate your kid into being a mediocre math student with a bunch of Bs. I can’t see any benefit to it and will likely take any kind of STEM major off the table.

Ok, but a B is the most rigorous level is not failing or being “mediocre.” My kid has a B in her math classes (highest track), and her understanding of math is far and above stronger than her friends who took Geometry in 9th, Alg 2 in 10th, etc.

You should be aware that the average GPA for all students nationally is 3.0, and for the ones college bound it is 3.5. That’s what grade inflation gets you, B is the new C, so yeah, B is mediocre as in common, medium, average.

Getting a B alone in Algebra 2 is probably fine, but if followed by B in Precalculus and then Calculus is definitely not fine, your daughter is not on a good trend, and she needs to find a way to turn it around. It only gets harder from here.

If her friends are getting A’s in Honors Geometry, Honors Algebra 2, Honors Precalculus and AP Calculus, they will have a much better college admission outcome, even if they are one year “behind”.

OP-Please read beyond this because it’s crazy. Select the math class that is best with your kid in mind. You can’t be concerned about what class or grade friends are taking or getting. Do what is right for your kid for 9th grade.
Yes college is competitive, but trust and believe B students are still getting admitted. They may not be getting admitted as Freshman to an Ivy but very students are being admitted there regardless even if they are an A student.
Have your child take a rigorous course load that works for them.

+1
This is the most sensible post on this thread

[Anonymous]

From my experience watching two kids go through and stay on the accelerated track, I think the most important thing to know is that, in our HS at least, math is the only subject in which the honors designation actually seemed to mean what it meant in past decades. The best clue for this is that it was pretty much the only subject in which there are separate classes for Honors and grade level kids. For both of my kids (one graduate, the other a current junior), math has consistently been the most challenging class they have taken. Honors pre-calc (the 10th grade class on this path) is particularly challenging. It worked out fine for them, because they both generally got math, but they had to work hard at it.

Challenge isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if your kid is ultimately interested in a stem path or enjoys math, it could be worth it to take that on. OTOH, you and they have to decide, based on your kids' particular interests and abilities, how much effort it will take to master the material and what other classes/paths they will balance it with.

I would have your kid ask their teacher what the teacher's advice is for them for next year. One option is to register for honors, and then see how it goes for the first week or two and drop down to grade level if it seems like it's too much.

In terms of college if that matters to you, there is probably no benefit in taking H Alegebra II and then dropping down to grade level for pre-calc (although the honors class will better prepare them for the next level). My point being that if thinking about college, as opposed to her education, life balance and mental well being, is key to the decision, realize that you'd have to stay on this track for the long haul for it to matter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From my experience watching two kids go through and stay on the accelerated track, I think the most important thing to know is that, in our HS at least, math is the only subject in which the honors designation actually seemed to mean what it meant in past decades. The best clue for this is that it was pretty much the only subject in which there are separate classes for Honors and grade level kids. For both of my kids (one graduate, the other a current junior), math has consistently been the most challenging class they have taken. Honors pre-calc (the 10th grade class on this path) is particularly challenging. It worked out fine for them, because they both generally got math, but they had to work hard at it.

Challenge isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if your kid is ultimately interested in a stem path or enjoys math, it could be worth it to take that on. OTOH, you and they have to decide, based on your kids' particular interests and abilities, how much effort it will take to master the material and what other classes/paths they will balance it with.

I would have your kid ask their teacher what the teacher's advice is for them for next year. One option is to register for honors, and then see how it goes for the first week or two and drop down to grade level if it seems like it's too much.

In terms of college if that matters to you, there is probably no benefit in taking H Alegebra II and then dropping down to grade level for pre-calc (although the honors class will better prepare them for the next level). My point being that if thinking about college, as opposed to her education, life balance and mental well being, is key to the decision, realize that you'd have to stay on this track for the long haul for it to matter.

For college admissions there is a benefit for taking Honors Algebra 2 in the weighted GPA boost if the school allows it. That’s why accelerating less and taking all honors geometry, algebra 2, and precalculus is preferable, besides mastering the material better.

Honors precalculus is harder and AP Calculus is even more so. I don’t disagree it’s important to choose the right course level for the child, not only for mental health reasons, but also because they learn more and better when the material is a reasonable challenge but not overwhelming.

The issue here is that the student was accelerated two years ahead typically recommended for the top 5-10% of the cohort, that ended up with a B, indicative of being in the top 30-40%, so something went wrong. That’s why posters say these students should not get B’s, supposedly they are the very best and it should be easy for them to get an A (top 20%, but there days it’s actually more than that).

It’s possible the child gradually started to struggle and it was not caught early because of the lax grading in middle school, or the parents pushed for acceleration when the student was not ready, which I think is the more likely explanation.

[Anonymous]

If a student does (not honors) Algebra 2, is there a path in which they can take AP Calculus (AB) later in high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience watching two kids go through and stay on the accelerated track, I think the most important thing to know is that, in our HS at least, math is the only subject in which the honors designation actually seemed to mean what it meant in past decades. The best clue for this is that it was pretty much the only subject in which there are separate classes for Honors and grade level kids. For both of my kids (one graduate, the other a current junior), math has consistently been the most challenging class they have taken. Honors pre-calc (the 10th grade class on this path) is particularly challenging. It worked out fine for them, because they both generally got math, but they had to work hard at it.

Challenge isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if your kid is ultimately interested in a stem path or enjoys math, it could be worth it to take that on. OTOH, you and they have to decide, based on your kids' particular interests and abilities, how much effort it will take to master the material and what other classes/paths they will balance it with.

I would have your kid ask their teacher what the teacher's advice is for them for next year. One option is to register for honors, and then see how it goes for the first week or two and drop down to grade level if it seems like it's too much.

In terms of college if that matters to you, there is probably no benefit in taking H Alegebra II and then dropping down to grade level for pre-calc (although the honors class will better prepare them for the next level). My point being that if thinking about college, as opposed to her education, life balance and mental well being, is key to the decision, realize that you'd have to stay on this track for the long haul for it to matter.

For college admissions there is a benefit for taking Honors Algebra 2 in the weighted GPA boost if the school allows it. That’s why accelerating less and taking all honors geometry, algebra 2, and precalculus is preferable, besides mastering the material better.

Honors precalculus is harder and AP Calculus is even more so. I don’t disagree it’s important to choose the right course level for the child, not only for mental health reasons, but also because they learn more and better when the material is a reasonable challenge but not overwhelming.

The issue here is that the student was accelerated two years ahead typically recommended for the top 5-10% of the cohort, that ended up with a B, indicative of being in the top 30-40%, so something went wrong. That’s why posters say these students should not get B’s, supposedly they are the very best and it should be easy for them to get an A (top 20%, but there days it’s actually more than that).

It’s possible the child gradually started to struggle and it was not caught early because of the lax grading in middle school, or the parents pushed for acceleration when the student was not ready, which I think is the more likely explanation.

As a parent of a child who is similarly a B student in honors geometry, I can promise you, it’s not the latter. Or at least, not consciously. In our case, we were encouraged to push our child into this accelerated track by the elementary teachers originally and to be honest, it’s hard to predict how a 4/5/6 grader will do in 7/8 honors math, especially in a pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From my experience watching two kids go through and stay on the accelerated track, I think the most important thing to know is that, in our HS at least, math is the only subject in which the honors designation actually seemed to mean what it meant in past decades. The best clue for this is that it was pretty much the only subject in which there are separate classes for Honors and grade level kids. For both of my kids (one graduate, the other a current junior), math has consistently been the most challenging class they have taken. Honors pre-calc (the 10th grade class on this path) is particularly challenging. It worked out fine for them, because they both generally got math, but they had to work hard at it.

Challenge isn't necessarily a bad thing, and if your kid is ultimately interested in a stem path or enjoys math, it could be worth it to take that on. OTOH, you and they have to decide, based on your kids' particular interests and abilities, how much effort it will take to master the material and what other classes/paths they will balance it with.

I would have your kid ask their teacher what the teacher's advice is for them for next year. One option is to register for honors, and then see how it goes for the first week or two and drop down to grade level if it seems like it's too much.

In terms of college if that matters to you, there is probably no benefit in taking H Alegebra II and then dropping down to grade level for pre-calc (although the honors class will better prepare them for the next level). My point being that if thinking about college, as opposed to her education, life balance and mental well being, is key to the decision, realize that you'd have to stay on this track for the long haul for it to matter.

For college admissions there is a benefit for taking Honors Algebra 2 in the weighted GPA boost if the school allows it. That’s why accelerating less and taking all honors geometry, algebra 2, and precalculus is preferable, besides mastering the material better.

Honors precalculus is harder and AP Calculus is even more so. I don’t disagree it’s important to choose the right course level for the child, not only for mental health reasons, but also because they learn more and better when the material is a reasonable challenge but not overwhelming.

The issue here is that the student was accelerated two years ahead typically recommended for the top 5-10% of the cohort, that ended up with a B, indicative of being in the top 30-40%, so something went wrong. That’s why posters say these students should not get B’s, supposedly they are the very best and it should be easy for them to get an A (top 20%, but there days it’s actually more than that).

It’s possible the child gradually started to struggle and it was not caught early because of the lax grading in middle school, or the parents pushed for acceleration when the student was not ready, which I think is the more likely explanation.

As a parent of a child who is similarly a B student in honors geometry, I can promise you, it’s not the latter. Or at least, not consciously. In our case, we were encouraged to push our child into this accelerated track by the elementary teachers originally and to be honest, it’s hard to predict how a 4/5/6 grader will do in 7/8 honors math, especially in a pandemic.

Honors Geometry in 9th is about 30% of the cohort so a B, while not ideal, is not necessarily indicative of over acceleration. If it’s Geometry in 8th, consider repeating if possible and getting an Algebra 1 refresher over this summer and the summer before Algebra 2 so the material is not forgotten.

If the student was put on this path four years ago, you have to check along the way, take the grades and teacher feedback along with more objective measures like MAP scores etc. at the bare minimum A should be 80th percentile for the above grade level.