Which math to take after Algebra 2 for mediocre math student?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've taught AP Stat and don't recommend it straight out of Algebra 2 for any student, even though it's technically the prerequisite. High grades in Algebra 2 Honors are okay.

Interesting. The prerequisite for AP stats is now only algebra 1. I recommend it as an elective math to high achieving underclassmen or as a stand alone class to hard working seniors, whether they took algebra 2 or algebra 2 honors. They don't all pass the AP exam but they all learn a ton. I find the course success is based far more on work ethic than mathematical ability. (AP stats teacher)

Maybe it's relative to the actual profile of Algebra 2 students at your school versus mine?
I haven't typically had high-achieving Algebra 2 students take the class-- a couple did and they still struggled with the concepts. A year of precalc or prob/stats seemed to help a lot. Most of the Alg2 students who take AP Stats at my school seem to have low math grades (and usually terrible work ethic) and think that it's going to be easy because it's not precalc. My Alg2 Honors students usually were high performers who were taking it along with some other class and they rocked.

And Algebra 1 as the prereq sounds nuts. They haven't even had most of the math they need to graduate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You know, that's a good idea to email his teacher. I will do that.

But to answer the questions above, DS is currently a sophomore, so this is for junior year.

The options in the course catalog are:
Alg Func Data Analysis
AP Precalculus AB
AP Precalculus BC
Precalculus w/ Trig DE
Trigonometry/Prob & Statistics
Data Science
AP Statistics

What does he want to do after HS? DD went to Business School and stats was a great foundation for the math that was part of her degree. Calc would have been fairly useless. I could see the flip being true if he wants to be an Engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You know, that's a good idea to email his teacher. I will do that.

But to answer the questions above, DS is currently a sophomore, so this is for junior year.

The options in the course catalog are:
Alg Func Data Analysis
AP Precalculus AB
AP Precalculus BC
Precalculus w/ Trig DE
Trigonometry/Prob & Statistics
Data Science
AP Statistics

What does he want to do after HS? DD went to Business School and stats was a great foundation for the math that was part of her degree. Calc would have been fairly useless. I could see the flip being true if he wants to be an Engineer.

Calculus was required for my business school degree, so make sure to look up school specific requirements! It's a lot easier to take stats for the first time in college than take a year off from calc and go back to it. (Not impossible for a strong student, but unnecessarily challenging)

[Anonymous]

My kid took an unusual math path but has gained so much confidence in her math skills the past two years. There are options for kids who want to slow down but you need a helpful counselor who will think outside the box (Trig/Discrete is usually only open for juniors and seniors, however, since she had the prerequisites her counselor made it happen.)

Algebra 1 HN (7th)
Geometry HN (8th)
Algebra 2
Trig/Discrete
Stats

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid took an unusual math path but has gained so much confidence in her math skills the past two years. There are options for kids who want to slow down but you need a helpful counselor who will think outside the box (Trig/Discrete is usually only open for juniors and seniors, however, since she had the prerequisites her counselor made it happen.)

Algebra 1 HN (7th)
Geometry HN (8th)
Algebra 2
Trig/Discrete
Stats

Interesting. What math does she plan to take as a senior?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid took an unusual math path but has gained so much confidence in her math skills the past two years. There are options for kids who want to slow down but you need a helpful counselor who will think outside the box (Trig/Discrete is usually only open for juniors and seniors, however, since she had the prerequisites her counselor made it happen.)

Algebra 1 HN (7th)
Geometry HN (8th)
Algebra 2
Trig/Discrete
Stats

Interesting. What math does she plan to take as a senior?

This was my question as a math teacher also. I can see this being fine for a kid who doesn't want a senior year math because their post high school plans don't require any math, but if you want another math class you've made it really challenging. Maybe computer science if your school offers it and you don't plan to use it as a science?

[Anonymous]

AP Precalc (from College Board) was designed for kids who would end 12th grade with precalc and so they could have the experience of taking an AP math class.

FCPS has created two versions of the class - AP Precalc AB (aligns with AP exam, prep for AP Calc AB); and AP Precalc BC (goes beyond AP exam, prepares kids for AP Calc BC).

I don't have first hand experience with AP Precalc AB because my kid decided to take BC. But I did do a deep dive on this as we decided, and it does not seem that AP Precalc AB is going to be overwhelming for a kid who did ok in previous math classes.

At our school, there is no non-AP Precalc. So, there are definitely kids from regular Algebra II, who take AP Precalc AB and then go on to the non-AP Applied Calculus course, which is, less rigorous than AP Calc AB. Colleges like to see calculus, so I would not tap out on that track so early, even if they aren't planning to be a STEM major.

[Anonymous]

The thing about DE is that you have to really dig to understand what it means for this particular course in your particular school. For some classes, the class is taught in the school, for others, it's online that meets 1x a week with a non-FCPS teacher, who could be really qualified by content but may not be a great high school level teacher.

IMO, good teaching is really important and especially for not strong math students. I would not want to put them in a fend for yourself situation if it's already a subject they struggle with.