Summer Geometry as Rising 8th Grader
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Anonymous
What’s the unique value proposition for taking summer geometry? Geometry is unique in the sense that among high school classes is not related to any the Algebras before and after. It does have some basic trigonometry for precalculus, but most can catch up to that quite easily. Sounds like a miserable way to spend the summer to be honest, and it just seems like a quick way to catch up with the kids that started algebra in 6th. But if the kid wasn’t good enough to start Algebra in 6th, dumping a lot of geometry on them over the summer after 7th so they can do algebra 2 in 8th doesn’t seem like that great of an idea. The risk is the kid is not prepared for that pace and level. Watered down Algebra 2 taught in middle school may be fine, but if they’re stuck in honors precalculus and wreck their GPA, that’s going to be much harder to turn around. |
Anonymous
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I pulled the SOL stats for last year to get a feel for Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 in MS in FCPS.
Seventh Grade Last year 1,680 Kids took the Algebra 1 SOL and 26 took the Geometry SOL Eight Grade Last year there were 210 kids taking the Algebra 2 SOL So about 184 kids took Geometry in the summer. There were 1,470 8th graders in Geometry last year. What does this tell you? Geometry in the summer is a small number of kids. I would guess many of them have had prior exposure to Geometry through AoPS, Curie, RSM or some other enrichment program. It is not a wide spread phenomena. Parents should make decisions based on their kids needs but there are plenty of numbers out there to point to your kid who is asking to do it that it really is a small group of kids and it is not necessary if you don't think it is a great idea. If you are fine with it and your kid wants to do it, go for it. Have fun. It is not for our family so we won't be. It just isn't all that common and let's not pretend that it is. The numbers show it is a small group of kids who take Algebra 2 in 8th grade. Carson: 53 Longfellow: 41 Cooper: 32 Frost: 14 Rocky Run: 14 Kilmer:13 Thoreau: 12 Jackson: 10 Every other MS is too small to report. |
Anonymous
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My DC wanted to take geometry last summer, since several of his friends did it. Dad and mom said no thanks.
If you are concerning TJ, in our case, my DC (no summer geometry) and a few of his friends (with summer geometry) are all going to TJ this year. |
Anonymous
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Last spring, our middle school principal shared a link via email, prompting us to explore FCPS online summer learning options. Following conversations with the counselor and math teacher, DC was enrolled in summer Geometry, which they thoroughly enjoyed followed by a month long vacation. DC completed Algebra 2 in 8th grade along with dozens others, and teacher was pleased most of the class has an A.
I would suggest follow recommendations from principal, counselor, and most importantly math teacher. Students love to learn math when they are challenged appropriately. |
Anonymous
Sounds made up. As many posters said, you don’t just sign up for geometry over the summer and enjoy the 5 hours of daily math like drinking from a fire hose. You take geometry on the side and use summer school to get credit. If it were that easy to learn one years worth of math over the six week summer session, you could also do six weeks algebra 1, six weeks algebra 2 and 6 weeks precalculus to compress the entire high school math in half a year. And of course, follow up with 6 weeks calculus and 6 weeks multivariable. lol. You wouldn’t do that because it’s obviously a bad idea, learning requires time for things to sink in and to make connections. Somehow people think geometry is different. |
Anonymous
| Geometry is different from algebra, much more visually interesting. Of course with familiarity gained through enrichment or contest prep, summer Geometry is a slam dunk course. Algebra 1 or 2 need full year each, no matter. |
Anonymous
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OP here.
Just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to respond. Lots of really great data and experiences here. We ultimately decided against enrolling for summer geometry. That's not because I think it is necessarily a bad idea or good idea, but on balance is just probably not the best call for our kid, after considering her views and those of her counselor and the school math department. I'll summarize our thinking, for those who are curious. The main advantage we see is the ability to take AP Stats, and potentially other classes as a freshman that have an Algebra II prerequisite. But kid isn't even sure she'd want to take those classes, as her current interests are very broad. And as someone mentioned, if we do this we sort of force her hand to take AP Stats so she doesn't have a math-free senior year. So it isn't a huge plus. The main negatives I see are (1) loss of 5 weeks of summer of doing something that she, while willing to do, isn't her first choice, and (2) the concern that that she wouldn't retain the information as effectively in a 5 week class than a full year. The latter point was noted by her school counselor, a math teacher. Most other factors are neutral. The math dept doesn't recommend it either way. Any possible SAT benefit is outweighed by the possible loss of math info. I don't see any reason to think colleges look favorably or unfavorably on this. I don't think the difficulty cuts either way: she hasn't taken a ton of summer math enrichment stuff, but I have no doubt she would do fine given prior placement test scores and grades. (We transferred from another school where taking Algebra I in 6th wasn't an option.) At the same time, it isn't as though she didn't feel sufficiently challenged in Algebra I as a 7th grader, so there is no boredom-avoidance factor. Bottom line, without a burning desire to take AP Stats as a senior or Comp Sci as a freshman, or a personal desire to take geometry in the summer in lieu of other summer activities, it seems like advancement for its own sake. Obviously not a once-size-fits-all answer, but that's where we landed. Thanks again for the input and best wishes to all. |
Anonymous
That's what our counselor mentioned as well that about couple of hundred advanced students take summer Geometry and the course is sure to be offered every summer. Algebra 2 in 8th grade works well for students interested in stem and are bound to take calculus in high school. |
Anonymous
| How are your kids taking summer geometry doing this year? |
Anonymous
I have seen two posts in the FCPS board with people complaining about the grading being too hard and unfair and the test questions tricky. I suspect that the people posting those comments are parents or students who have not had geometry in the past and are struggling with the condensed Geometry format during the summer. One parent was asking about expunging the grade and repeating the class. |
Anonymous
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https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1215610.page
Here is the current active thread. |
Anonymous
I don't think algebra 2 helps with TJ admissions the way it used to. Heck, I'm not sure geometry helps. 160 kids with algebra 1 in 8th grade got in when they changed the system. |