Retaking Algebra I in 9th grade

[Anonymous]

Algebra and Geometry can be taken simultaneously. If that's possible with the course offerings at her school, and if math isn't an all consuming subject for your daughter, then I'd try to go that route. But if math is her weak point and takes up more of her focus than any other subject, it may not work out well to take two math classes at once.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's time I ask my own question about math. My risen 9th grader has been placed in algebra 2/trig. after a placement test. DC has not taken geometry yet, but is good enough from personal interest/studying to test out of it, should we?

geometry is very different than algebra I don't see how she can test out of it and how she was places in algebra 2/trig without taking geometry first.

That's where DC was placed after a placement test. My DH have been doing math sequences with DC since he was in 3rd grade. DC finds trig and geometry to be easier to grasp than algebra for some reason. He as taken intensified algebra and passed that with an A. in the new school, they've bypassed the geometry sequence and placed him in algebra 2/trig for next year. I am confused by this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's time I ask my own question about math. My risen 9th grader has been placed in algebra 2/trig. after a placement test. DC has not taken geometry yet, but is good enough from personal interest/studying to test out of it, should we?

geometry is very different than algebra I don't see how she can test out of it and how she was places in algebra 2/trig without taking geometry first.

I've always wondered why they put geometry in the middle of Algebra I and II. Wouldn't it make more sense to do the Algebras consecutively, then geometry? The kids then forget their algebra before Alg. II rolls around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting how many posters are advocating moving OP's DC forward even though she struggled in the class even with a tutor. Everyone seems more focused on pushing her along so she can take AP calculus than on the fact that she doesn't seem to have mastered the course at all. OP, I would consider having her repeat the course in 9th grade. You don't want her hating math or doing poorly in future math classes because she doesn't have the appropriate foundation before moving forward. Solid grades without AP calculus will look a lot better that terrible grades in all her math class, including AP calculus.

OP here: thank you so much for this advice. We had pretty much decided to do just this and your post confirmed it for us. The priority for us is mastery of the material. Having had an older child who took stats not calculus, we're not too concerned about this adversely affecting college admissions down the road. Perhaps she can take geometry next summer if the repeat of Algebra goes well. Anyway, thanks again!

You are setting the bar too low. You should set it a little bit higher unless your child is ok with NVCC. Hard work is sometimes necessary unless she just wants to forego college and do something that doesn't require college education. If she doesn't "master" the material in 9th grade then repeat it again in 10th grade because it doesn't matter how long it might take as long as she masters the material on her own schedule?

You clearly don't have a child of college age yet. Only in this area do parents like you insist that taking math on a "normal" schedule (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Stats or Precalc.) is somehow "setting the bar too low". Plenty of excellent colleges are just fine with this, as long as four years of high school math have been completed. Not every child is interested in being a STEM major.

"--- The hard, cruel fact of the math line-up is that YES you need to plow through the math courses as quick as you can because it is depth of coursework that colleges will look at by the end of junior year, especially if you apply early decision. This means you must take as much math, and at as many levels (honors, IB, AP) as your child can handle before applications go in EA or ED in November of senior year or even Jan. of Senior year. Our DS entered langley behind in math because his private didn't accelerate fast enough. The offerings at Langley (this is just off the top of my head) are Algebra I, & II (honors and AP); pre-calculus (same with honors and AP); Calculus; Computer Science; AP Calculus; AP statistics; Linear equations; Probability and STatistics; Trigonometry; and Matrix Algebra. There are more, I just can't remember them all. Almost all are offered on the AP or Honors track. I don't think this is fair or right, but the sad fact is that the colleges have pushed the first one or two years of college down on our nation's private and public schools, so you have to show advanced math courses taken (well) by the end of Junior year. We learned the hard way with first DC who applied to college with only having finished Calculus under his belt (jr. year) and then Computer Science (senior year). No. 2 child is taking pre-calculus this summer so will enter junior year taking Calculus and then more advanced math next summer and another advanced math course senior year. However, if your child is not heading towards college, disregard all the above and let them enjoy life. I don't agree with the current system, but the hard fact is that you must show advanced math coursework if you want to get into any good college or university."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any FCPS math teachers here?
My DC has something like an A-/B+ in algebra but I'm not sure the depth of understanding is really there yet. Math teacher emphatically says not to retake algebra in 9th,
and DC is scheduled for honors geometry...when it's time for algebra 2, will the algebra 1 solidify conceptually? It's been so long since I had HS math, I do not have a sense of the connection or content of the algebra sequence. TIA

FCPS parent here: Algebra II starts in Geometry. They have a new approach now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Algebra and Geometry can be taken simultaneously. If that's possible with the course offerings at her school, and if math isn't an all consuming subject for your daughter, then I'd try to go that route. But if math is her weak point and takes up more of her focus than any other subject, it may not work out well to take two math classes at once.

Math teacher here: I would NOT recommend this for someone who is struggling/ not excelling in Math. One class is hard enough for some student -- two at once?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting how many posters are advocating moving OP's DC forward even though she struggled in the class even with a tutor. Everyone seems more focused on pushing her along so she can take AP calculus than on the fact that she doesn't seem to have mastered the course at all. OP, I would consider having her repeat the course in 9th grade. You don't want her hating math or doing poorly in future math classes because she doesn't have the appropriate foundation before moving forward. Solid grades without AP calculus will look a lot better that terrible grades in all her math class, including AP calculus.

I think this is very bad advice. Geometry is a year long course that is required for graduation from HS. Putting it off will only cause major difficulties alter on with fitting everything in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting how many posters are advocating moving OP's DC forward even though she struggled in the class even with a tutor. Everyone seems more focused on pushing her along so she can take AP calculus than on the fact that she doesn't seem to have mastered the course at all. OP, I would consider having her repeat the course in 9th grade. You don't want her hating math or doing poorly in future math classes because she doesn't have the appropriate foundation before moving forward. Solid grades without AP calculus will look a lot better that terrible grades in all her math class, including AP calculus.

This. STEM is every other word that comes out of some posters' mouths. You can have a life without AP Calculus in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DC took Algebra this year as an 8th grader and did pretty well until the last quarter. Unfortunately, although she tried very hard and had a tutor, her grade completely tanked and we've agreed she should retake it as a freshman. Not only to improve the GPA, but also to make sure she's understanding everything thoroughly before moving on. Does anyone have an experience like this with your own kids? What was their math sequence in high school if they took Algebra in 9th grade? TIA.

We had a similar experience with our DS. He was doing pretty well until the 2nd semester. Then, he struggled. Tried tutoring. Didn’t help.
I have a mathematics background, and understand the importance of foundational knowledge. We had him retake Algebra I in grade 9. He received the “mathematics student award” at the end of the year. We are so happy he retook it. No problems with Geometry - no problems with Algebra II. In fact, he found it easy. I cannot remember what math course he took as a senior, but he did well in that too. Got into all the colleges he applied to, including GMU (but didn’t go there).
My advice would be to ensure he has the foundational background for success. So glad we did what we did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC took Algebra this year as an 8th grader and did pretty well until the last quarter. Unfortunately, although she tried very hard and had a tutor, her grade completely tanked and we've agreed she should retake it as a freshman. Not only to improve the GPA, but also to make sure she's understanding everything thoroughly before moving on. Does anyone have an experience like this with your own kids? What was their math sequence in high school if they took Algebra in 9th grade? TIA.

We had a similar experience with our DS. He was doing pretty well until the 2nd semester. Then, he struggled. Tried tutoring. Didn’t help.
I have a mathematics background, and understand the importance of foundational knowledge. We had him retake Algebra I in grade 9. He received the “mathematics student award” at the end of the year. We are so happy he retook it. No problems with Geometry - no problems with Algebra II. In fact, he found it easy. I cannot remember what math course he took as a senior, but he did well in that too. Got into all the colleges he applied to, including GMU (but didn’t go there).
My advice would be to ensure he has the foundational background for success. So glad we did what we did.

What colleges did he get into?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC took Algebra this year as an 8th grader and did pretty well until the last quarter. Unfortunately, although she tried very hard and had a tutor, her grade completely tanked and we've agreed she should retake it as a freshman. Not only to improve the GPA, but also to make sure she's understanding everything thoroughly before moving on. Does anyone have an experience like this with your own kids? What was their math sequence in high school if they took Algebra in 9th grade? TIA.

We had a similar experience with our DS. He was doing pretty well until the 2nd semester. Then, he struggled. Tried tutoring. Didn’t help.
I have a mathematics background, and understand the importance of foundational knowledge. We had him retake Algebra I in grade 9. He received the “mathematics student award” at the end of the year. We are so happy he retook it. No problems with Geometry - no problems with Algebra II. In fact, he found it easy. I cannot remember what math course he took as a senior, but he did well in that too. Got into all the colleges he applied to, including GMU (but didn’t go there).
My advice would be to ensure he has the foundational background for success. So glad we did what we did.

What colleges did he get into?

He only applied to two VA colleges - GMU and Christopher Newport. He was a high school athlete and was interested in playing in college, which he did. He ended up going to a private out of state college to play, and did quite well. He really wanted a D2 or D3 school so he would get playing time, which he did, all 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any FCPS math teachers here?
My DC has something like an A-/B+ in algebra but I'm not sure the depth of understanding is really there yet. Math teacher emphatically says not to retake algebra in 9th,
and DC is scheduled for honors geometry...when it's time for algebra 2, will the algebra 1 solidify conceptually? It's been so long since I had HS math, I do not have a sense of the connection or content of the algebra sequence. TIA

FCPS parent here: Algebra II starts in Geometry. They have a new approach now.

Not sure what you mean by this...but I can attest that Algebra 2 starts in Algebra 1 honors. My 7th grade Algebra 1 honors dd had he exact same homework as our 10th grade Algebra 2 neighbor on several occasions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's time I ask my own question about math. My risen 9th grader has been placed in algebra 2/trig. after a placement test. DC has not taken geometry yet, but is good enough from personal interest/studying to test out of it, should we?

geometry is very different than algebra I don't see how she can test out of it and how she was places in algebra 2/trig without taking geometry first.

I've always wondered why they put geometry in the middle of Algebra I and II. Wouldn't it make more sense to do the Algebras consecutively, then geometry? The kids then forget their algebra before Alg. II rolls around.

There are a lot of school systems that do it that way. I makes a lot more sense, but FCPS is known for being stuck in the mud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting how many posters are advocating moving OP's DC forward even though she struggled in the class even with a tutor. Everyone seems more focused on pushing her along so she can take AP calculus than on the fact that she doesn't seem to have mastered the course at all. OP, I would consider having her repeat the course in 9th grade. You don't want her hating math or doing poorly in future math classes because she doesn't have the appropriate foundation before moving forward. Solid grades without AP calculus will look a lot better that terrible grades in all her math class, including AP calculus.

This. STEM is every other word that comes out of some posters' mouths. You can have a life without AP Calculus in high school.

+1,000,000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's interesting how many posters are advocating moving OP's DC forward even though she struggled in the class even with a tutor. Everyone seems more focused on pushing her along so she can take AP calculus than on the fact that she doesn't seem to have mastered the course at all. OP, I would consider having her repeat the course in 9th grade. You don't want her hating math or doing poorly in future math classes because she doesn't have the appropriate foundation before moving forward. Solid grades without AP calculus will look a lot better that terrible grades in all her math class, including AP calculus.

OP here: thank you so much for this advice. We had pretty much decided to do just this and your post confirmed it for us. The priority for us is mastery of the material. Having had an older child who took stats not calculus, we're not too concerned about this adversely affecting college admissions down the road. Perhaps she can take geometry next summer if the repeat of Algebra goes well. Anyway, thanks again!

You are setting the bar too low. You should set it a little bit higher unless your child is ok with NVCC. Hard work is sometimes necessary unless she just wants to forego college and do something that doesn't require college education. If she doesn't "master" the material in 9th grade then repeat it again in 10th grade because it doesn't matter how long it might take as long as she masters the material on her own schedule?

You clearly don't have a child of college age yet. Only in this area do parents like you insist that taking math on a "normal" schedule (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Stats or Precalc.) is somehow "setting the bar too low". Plenty of excellent colleges are just fine with this, as long as four years of high school math have been completed. Not every child is interested in being a STEM major.

"--- The hard, cruel fact of the math line-up is that YES you need to plow through the math courses as quick as you can because it is depth of coursework that colleges will look at by the end of junior year, especially if you apply early decision. This means you must take as much math, and at as many levels (honors, IB, AP) as your child can handle before applications go in EA or ED in November of senior year or even Jan. of Senior year. Our DS entered langley behind in math because his private didn't accelerate fast enough. The offerings at Langley (this is just off the top of my head) are Algebra I, & II (honors and AP); pre-calculus (same with honors and AP); Calculus; Computer Science; AP Calculus; AP statistics; Linear equations; Probability and STatistics; Trigonometry; and Matrix Algebra. There are more, I just can't remember them all. Almost all are offered on the AP or Honors track. I don't think this is fair or right, but the sad fact is that the colleges have pushed the first one or two years of college down on our nation's private and public schools, so you have to show advanced math courses taken (well) by the end of Junior year. We learned the hard way with first DC who applied to college with only having finished Calculus under his belt (jr. year) and then Computer Science (senior year). No. 2 child is taking pre-calculus this summer so will enter junior year taking Calculus and then more advanced math next summer and another advanced math course senior year. However, if your child is not heading towards college, disregard all the above and let them enjoy life. I don't agree with the current system, but the hard fact is that you must show advanced math coursework if you want to get into any good college or university."

Please... take a valium and relax. A child does NOT need to run the gauntlet of advanced math classes to get into a good college, unless they are bound and determined to be a STEM major. Many kids have zero interest in STEM and instead prefer the humanities. It is simply a myth that kids need to drive themselves into the ground taking math class after math class in order to somehow stand out to college admissions committees. What makes them stand out is an interest in something unusual, a love for learning, writing, languages, etc. It sounds like you are panicked for some reason and I feel so sorry for your kids who are clearly being micromanaged by you.