Equity against Math acceleration

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an equity minion troll on this forum that downplays the benefits of math acceleration. Usually the poster did algebra1 in 6th, Calc BC in 9th, and Discrete math in 12th, but still not get admitted into Ivys, T10, Princeton, MIT, etc. The troll then replies as another poster saying Princeton admitted their child with just Calc AB in 12th, concluding math acceleration did not help at all, everyone should stick to grade level math.

How many here actually have their students accelerate in math on an average and what is the math they graduate HS with? Does it help college admissions especially for STEM majors.

I am no equity minion and believe that kid should take the highest math they are capable of. That said, I can tell you that my kid finished HS with Calc BC in 10th and multiple semester of college math all As, high scores etc, and was WL and rejected at all T10 / Ivy. Was coming from a magnet school and doing CS but goes to show that there are many factors in this.

CS/eng major for college admissions is brutal, especially for white/asian males from this area. Doesn't matter if they take the highest level math class or get a perfect SAT score. It's just brutal.

It’s only brutal if you’re obsessed with T20. What’s wrong with Florida State or U Iowa? Serious question by the way.

[Anonymous]

Multi variable in 12th. CMU CS admitted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hyper accelerated math doesnt move the needle much, now amc, usamo and aime do.

Those two things go hand in hand. The kid who going to represent his university at the Putnam competition was most likely both accelerated in math and did well on the AIME, etc.

It's a mix. Except for a few extreme math academies (California, Nevada, and a few others) and home schoolers who don't have class levels at all, the other math contest people just do whatever in school and learn advanced/enriched math after school (or on their laptops in school while ignoring class).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an equity minion troll on this forum that downplays the benefits of math acceleration. Usually the poster did algebra1 in 6th, Calc BC in 9th, and Discrete math in 12th, but still not get admitted into Ivys, T10, Princeton, MIT, etc. The troll then replies as another poster saying Princeton admitted their child with just Calc AB in 12th, concluding math acceleration did not help at all, everyone should stick to grade level math.

How many here actually have their students accelerate in math on an average and what is the math they graduate HS with? Does it help college admissions especially for STEM majors.

I am no equity minion and believe that kid should take the highest math they are capable of. That said, I can tell you that my kid finished HS with Calc BC in 10th and multiple semester of college math all As, high scores etc, and was WL and rejected at all T10 / Ivy. Was coming from a magnet school and doing CS but goes to show that there are many factors in this.

CS/eng major for college admissions is brutal, especially for white/asian males from this area. Doesn't matter if they take the highest level math class or get a perfect SAT score. It's just brutal.

Eng is different from CS.

Too many boring people hyper focused on CS that no one needs. Need to do something interesting with that computer.

[Anonymous]

STEM is done anyway. Humanities are the future.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hyper accelerated math doesnt move the needle much, now amc, usamo and aime do.

Those two things go hand in hand. The kid who going to represent his university at the Putnam competition was most likely both accelerated in math and did well on the AIME, etc.

DP. Terrible logic. The student who represents their school in the Putnam very likely did accelerate in math, no surprise. But for every such student there are five who accelerated in math who don't go on to do anything special. And there's no reason to believe that accelerating in math is causal with respect to the one who did take the Putnam.

UMD has a HS math competition that does not require calculus at all. Plenty of kids who accelerate still don't place on that exam. Someone who was deeply engaged with math at a HS level would not be at a disadvantage (except that they might never hear about this exam).

I'm not the math troll, but if there is one my opinions are probably more aligned with the troll than OP. I have a STEM background, my kid took BC in 10th. That did not that helped with admissions, and it was not the goal. I've met plenty of people who've completed all the math courses one could take at a CC, who still can't think for themselves. Age doesn't matter after the fact. One of my kids was potty trained much earlier than the other, didn't put that on the college app.

[Anonymous]

Multiple kids in my 12th graders' FCPS AB Calc class going to Ivys. And I mean about five kids going to top Ivys. So I kind of think the math acceleration thing is BS. (My own DC going to a perfectly fine college, we were not playing the Ivys game). Just noting that after going through college admissions with my 12th grader, you can really see it is a crap shoot. Just take plenty of APs and get great grades and great SATs. But you do not have to be in a super accelerated math class, that is now clear.

[Anonymous]

My kid skipped grades in elementary school and couldn't handle anything beyond Calc BC. So they will be two years younger than their college classmates AND behind some of them in math. I think in the end it will all be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:hyper accelerated math doesnt move the needle much, now amc, usamo and aime do.

Those two things go hand in hand. The kid who going to represent his university at the Putnam competition was most likely both accelerated in math and did well on the AIME, etc.

DP. Terrible logic. The student who represents their school in the Putnam very likely did accelerate in math, no surprise. But for every such student there are five who accelerated in math who don't go on to do anything special. And there's no reason to believe that accelerating in math is causal with respect to the one who did take the Putnam.

UMD has a HS math competition that does not require calculus at all. Plenty of kids who accelerate still don't place on that exam. Someone who was deeply engaged with math at a HS level would not be at a disadvantage (except that they might never hear about this exam).

I'm not the math troll, but if there is one my opinions are probably more aligned with the troll than OP. I have a STEM background, my kid took BC in 10th. That did not that helped with admissions, and it was not the goal. I've met plenty of people who've completed all the math courses one could take at a CC, who still can't think for themselves. Age doesn't matter after the fact. One of my kids was potty trained much earlier than the other, didn't put that on the college app.

The kid who is brilliant is likely to accelerate when it is possible and also to perform well in math completions. The underlying talent is the common factor in math standouts such as--to give one example-- university-level math competitors. Some not-so-brilliant kids are either pushed to or choose to accelerate. At DC's school all the most accelerated math kids were in fact extremely smart, and all got into top colleges; so I disagree with your assessment that the vast majority of kids who accelerate are nothing special. If you are in very high-level competitions (such as Putnam), you are likely to have both accelerated and done well in high school competitions. Accelerating is of course not the cause of math brilliance. Your pushing of your child to accelerate did not make him brilliant or get him into Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Equity is important. By accelerating your kids in math, you are creating an equity gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Equity is important. By accelerating your kids in math, you are creating an equity gap.

Huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is an equity minion troll on this forum that downplays the benefits of math acceleration. Usually the poster did algebra1 in 6th, Calc BC in 9th, and Discrete math in 12th, but still not get admitted into Ivys, T10, Princeton, MIT, etc. The troll then replies as another poster saying Princeton admitted their child with just Calc AB in 12th, concluding math acceleration did not help at all, everyone should stick to grade level math.

How many here actually have their students accelerate in math on an average and what is the math they graduate HS with? Does it help college admissions especially for STEM majors.

I am no equity minion and believe that kid should take the highest math they are capable of. That said, I can tell you that my kid finished HS with Calc BC in 10th and multiple semester of college math all As, high scores etc, and was WL and rejected at all T10 / Ivy. Was coming from a magnet school and doing CS but goes to show that there are many factors in this.

CS/eng major for college admissions is brutal, especially for white/asian males from this area. Doesn't matter if they take the highest level math class or get a perfect SAT score. It's just brutal.

+1 mine took multivariable and also did not get in CS at Top 20; but did get into a lot of great schools with merit -- as did classmates who did not go as far in math in HS. Many classmates who did not go as far in math did get into higher ranked colleges, including Top 10. It's not the math track.

Having had two recent HS graduates, what this poster said is spot on with our experiences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid skipped grades in elementary school and couldn't handle anything beyond Calc BC. So they will be two years younger than their college classmates AND behind some of them in math. I think in the end it will all be fine.

Why send that kid to college early? They were so bright they skipped then they couldn't handle anything besides BC? I would look at 5th year boarding schools or sending my kid to a private high school for two more years or a gap year.

[Anonymous]

So, is “equity minion” an actual phrase people are using, or just a made-up silly phrase that at least one poster keeps using in various threads?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, is “equity minion” an actual phrase people are using, or just a made-up silly phrase that at least one poster keeps using in various threads?

Comrade, we have thick skin, dont we?