Algebra 1 Honors in 7th - yay or nay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Getting early exposure to algebra is good but it's not like you can take it twice.

If I could have done anything different with my kid, I would have given him algebra enrichment over the summer. He got an A but those algebra skills are important for the test of your math career.

I believe you can in MS. You can expunge the grade and retake the class. You are right, RSM runs Algebra classes in the summer and I am sure that there are other programs as well.

I think the biggest factor is how much your kid likes math and are they going to be interested in higher level math in HS. I know that is hard to know in 6th grade but there are signs.

My kid loved math, participates in multiple math competitions because he thought they were fun, and asked to take math competition classes. Algebra 1 in 7th was a no brainer, he was in the 99th percentile on the IAAT and a 600 on the Math 7 SOL.

He had friends who scored high enough and found Advanced Math easy. They are not interested in outside classes or competitions, but they didn't find the math hard. They have not struggled with Algebra 1 and have not had a ton of homework. They may or may not take Calculus and Multivariate or they might choose the Stats route. Either way, they will be fine.

He had friends who scored high enough on the IAAT and SOL to take Algebra and took it. The kids wanted to take it and their parents let them, which is fine. The kids were stressed, had a ton of homework, and earned a B. A solid grade, especially when you consider that they are in 7th grade and taking a far faster paced class then anything they took before. These kids are not interested in math outside of school and I don't think they have any interest in advanced math in college at the time that I am writing this. While they did fine, I suspect that if they had taken Math7H they would have been less stressed and better prepared for Algebra 1H in 8th grade. They would have been less stressed in 8th grade and probably scored higher. The kids wanted to take the same class their friends were, it kind of felt like wanting to keep up with the Joneses.

He also had friends who scored high enough to take Algebra who choose not to. The kids were not internally motivated but perfectly capable. The parents listened to the kids and begrudgingly enrolled them in Math 7H, acknowledging that the kids don't have an interest in math and probably will not choose the Calculus path in HS. Some of the parents are annoyed with the choice their kid made but respect it. They knew that the class wouldn't be that hard for their kid but the kid really didn't want to be challenged. Others were fine with the choice because they know that their kid will be fine if they "only" have Calculus in HS.

Which kid is your kid? What does the rest of their schedule look like? are they taking a foreign language in 7th grade? Do you think they will be able to handle the requirements of 2 HS level classes in 7th grade?

I would not put a kid into Algebra 1H in 7th grade who did not score in the 95 percentile or higher on the IAAT and a 550 or above on the SOL, especially if they are a kid who had to work in Advanced Math to do well and are not really motivated by math. Some kids find the class a breeze, others will grind away for their A or B, and a good number of kids drop into M7H after the first quarter. A smaller number expunge the grade and retake the class.