Differences in what a kid is allowed to take

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to insist. DD is taking high school science in this order: Honors Chem, AP Chem, AP Physics C and AP Bio. Most kids start with Bio.

Me again. She's at BCC, and is taking Honors Precalc as a rising 9th grader.

Are you OP? BCC doesn't offer AP physics 1. It offers AP physics C and IB Physics. Neither is appropriate for a 9th grader.

OP here—my kid is not at BCC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to take biology in 9th grade. There is a MSDE state test that is required at this level.



Physics is not an option right now. Maybe at private school. Because then you can boss people around to get what you think you want.

No. My 9th grader and her friend are taking Honors Chem. MCPS would rather everyone take Bio in 9th so that everyone take the state Bio test at the same time, but actually, kids can take that test at any grade level, which is what mine is going to do. The test is a Maryland high school graduation requirement, so it can be taken at any time before graduation.

People, this is public school. You need to be informed, and not get confused between College Board recs, MCPS rules and MD state requirements. Do not rely on the school's general annual presentations to parents to tell you about all the outside-the-box things you can do. Schools don't have the time and it's in their best interest to keep everyone on the same track, for administrative ease.

Same thing for all the special needs programs MCPS offers - you need to do your own digging...

You realize the bio test is part of their bio grade so if they do badly, it may give them a poor grade when they do take bio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to take biology in 9th grade. There is a MSDE state test that is required at this level.



Physics is not an option right now. Maybe at private school. Because then you can boss people around to get what you think you want.

No. My 9th grader and her friend are taking Honors Chem. MCPS would rather everyone take Bio in 9th so that everyone take the state Bio test at the same time, but actually, kids can take that test at any grade level, which is what mine is going to do. The test is a Maryland high school graduation requirement, so it can be taken at any time before graduation.

People, this is public school. You need to be informed, and not get confused between College Board recs, MCPS rules and MD state requirements. Do not rely on the school's general annual presentations to parents to tell you about all the outside-the-box things you can do. Schools don't have the time and it's in their best interest to keep everyone on the same track, for administrative ease.

Same thing for all the special needs programs MCPS offers - you need to do your own digging...

You realize the bio test is part of their bio grade so if they do badly, it may give them a poor grade when they do take bio.

Your point? My kid is set to take AP Bio, not regular or Honors Bio, in 11th or 12th grade. They will take the test then. Why on earth do you assume they'd do badly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to take biology in 9th grade. There is a MSDE state test that is required at this level.



Physics is not an option right now. Maybe at private school. Because then you can boss people around to get what you think you want.

No. My 9th grader and her friend are taking Honors Chem. MCPS would rather everyone take Bio in 9th so that everyone take the state Bio test at the same time, but actually, kids can take that test at any grade level, which is what mine is going to do. The test is a Maryland high school graduation requirement, so it can be taken at any time before graduation.

People, this is public school. You need to be informed, and not get confused between College Board recs, MCPS rules and MD state requirements. Do not rely on the school's general annual presentations to parents to tell you about all the outside-the-box things you can do. Schools don't have the time and it's in their best interest to keep everyone on the same track, for administrative ease.

Same thing for all the special needs programs MCPS offers - you need to do your own digging...

You realize the bio test is part of their bio grade so if they do badly, it may give them a poor grade when they do take bio.

Your point? My kid is set to take AP Bio, not regular or Honors Bio, in 11th or 12th grade. They will take the test then. Why on earth do you assume they'd do badly?

I thought it was required for the freshman bio course and you are required to take it then and could not put it off. It's 20 percent of the 2nd semester grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to take biology in 9th grade. There is a MSDE state test that is required at this level.



Physics is not an option right now. Maybe at private school. Because then you can boss people around to get what you think you want.

No. My 9th grader and her friend are taking Honors Chem. MCPS would rather everyone take Bio in 9th so that everyone take the state Bio test at the same time, but actually, kids can take that test at any grade level, which is what mine is going to do. The test is a Maryland high school graduation requirement, so it can be taken at any time before graduation.

People, this is public school. You need to be informed, and not get confused between College Board recs, MCPS rules and MD state requirements. Do not rely on the school's general annual presentations to parents to tell you about all the outside-the-box things you can do. Schools don't have the time and it's in their best interest to keep everyone on the same track, for administrative ease.

Same thing for all the special needs programs MCPS offers - you need to do your own digging...

You realize the bio test is part of their bio grade so if they do badly, it may give them a poor grade when they do take bio.

Your point? My kid is set to take AP Bio, not regular or Honors Bio, in 11th or 12th grade. They will take the test then. Why on earth do you assume they'd do badly?

Because they take the bio test in 9th. That’s great your kid has access to ap bio. Our school doesn’t. Why not take it in 9th?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to take biology in 9th grade. There is a MSDE state test that is required at this level.



Physics is not an option right now. Maybe at private school. Because then you can boss people around to get what you think you want.

No. My 9th grader and her friend are taking Honors Chem. MCPS would rather everyone take Bio in 9th so that everyone take the state Bio test at the same time, but actually, kids can take that test at any grade level, which is what mine is going to do. The test is a Maryland high school graduation requirement, so it can be taken at any time before graduation.

People, this is public school. You need to be informed, and not get confused between College Board recs, MCPS rules and MD state requirements. Do not rely on the school's general annual presentations to parents to tell you about all the outside-the-box things you can do. Schools don't have the time and it's in their best interest to keep everyone on the same track, for administrative ease.

Same thing for all the special needs programs MCPS offers - you need to do your own digging...

You realize the bio test is part of their bio grade so if they do badly, it may give them a poor grade when they do take bio.

Your point? My kid is set to take AP Bio, not regular or Honors Bio, in 11th or 12th grade. They will take the test then. Why on earth do you assume they'd do badly?

I thought it was required for the freshman bio course and you are required to take it then and could not put it off. It's 20 percent of the 2nd semester grade.

To recap students are required to take and pass a Bio class for graduation. Students are also required to take the end of course exam. If you take AP Bio the end of course exam does not count for 20% of your grade. Most students take regular Bio before taking AP Bio (as recommended by the college board and most teachers) and in regular bio (on level or honors) the end of course exam does count for 20% of the 2nd semester grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG you sound horrible. Why does it matter and why do you feel so entitled to an exception? This will make no difference to your child's happiness.

STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE ANY CLASS AS LONG AS THEY HAVE THE PREREQUISITES.

There is no MCPS rule that mandates a particular order. It's just that by convention, kids start with regular or Honors Bio, and move on from there, because most kids aren't taking advanced math. The game changes entirely if the kid is advanced in math, because then they can take any class in any order. The College Board recommends taking a preparatory class before AP Chem and AP Bio (usually the Honors version of same), but that is not an MCPS requirement, so if the kid feels strongly about it, they can insist they want to enroll in the class anyway. AP Physics C (or the other, simpler one) do not have prerequisites apart from Calculus.

Do not weigh in if you don't know what you are talking about. There is no entitlement here. OP and family are savvy people, that's all!

OP, email the counselor yourself today. I had to do that many times to discuss advanced coursework for my kid.

Unfortunately, this drags down the AP classes. No, your middle school science class and lack of lab experience do not prepare you adequately to be a strong participant in either AP Bio or AP Chem, even if you end up scoring OK in the end. The teacher absolutely has to make up for these shortfalls in preparation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG you sound horrible. Why does it matter and why do you feel so entitled to an exception? This will make no difference to your child's happiness.

STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE ANY CLASS AS LONG AS THEY HAVE THE PREREQUISITES.

There is no MCPS rule that mandates a particular order. It's just that by convention, kids start with regular or Honors Bio, and move on from there, because most kids aren't taking advanced math. The game changes entirely if the kid is advanced in math, because then they can take any class in any order. The College Board recommends taking a preparatory class before AP Chem and AP Bio (usually the Honors version of same), but that is not an MCPS requirement, so if the kid feels strongly about it, they can insist they want to enroll in the class anyway. AP Physics C (or the other, simpler one) do not have prerequisites apart from Calculus.

Do not weigh in if you don't know what you are talking about. There is no entitlement here. OP and family are savvy people, that's all!

OP, email the counselor yourself today. I had to do that many times to discuss advanced coursework for my kid.

Unfortunately, this drags down the AP classes. No, your middle school science class and lack of lab experience do not prepare you adequately to be a strong participant in either AP Bio or AP Chem, even if you end up scoring OK in the end. The teacher absolutely has to make up for these shortfalls in preparation.

Lab experience depends on the teachers. In Bio last year I think my child had 1-2 basic simple labs and that was it. We had far more labs in middle school, especially virtually.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG you sound horrible. Why does it matter and why do you feel so entitled to an exception? This will make no difference to your child's happiness.

STUDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO TAKE ANY CLASS AS LONG AS THEY HAVE THE PREREQUISITES.

There is no MCPS rule that mandates a particular order. It's just that by convention, kids start with regular or Honors Bio, and move on from there, because most kids aren't taking advanced math. The game changes entirely if the kid is advanced in math, because then they can take any class in any order. The College Board recommends taking a preparatory class before AP Chem and AP Bio (usually the Honors version of same), but that is not an MCPS requirement, so if the kid feels strongly about it, they can insist they want to enroll in the class anyway. AP Physics C (or the other, simpler one) do not have prerequisites apart from Calculus.

Do not weigh in if you don't know what you are talking about. There is no entitlement here. OP and family are savvy people, that's all!

OP, email the counselor yourself today. I had to do that many times to discuss advanced coursework for my kid.

Unfortunately, this drags down the AP classes. No, your middle school science class and lack of lab experience do not prepare you adequately to be a strong participant in either AP Bio or AP Chem, even if you end up scoring OK in the end. The teacher absolutely has to make up for these shortfalls in preparation.

"Best students are dragging down AP classes". This is a new one. If only no one was ever accelerated the teaching level would be sooo incredibly high!

[Anonymous]

The bigger issue is that being the only 9th grader with all juniors and seniors is not usually a fun experience for the 9th grader.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger issue is that being the only 9th grader with all juniors and seniors is not usually a fun experience for the 9th grader.

But OP wants it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger issue is that being the only 9th grader with all juniors and seniors is not usually a fun experience for the 9th grader.

This is a big issue. My kid did this freshman year and two of the seniors were down right nasty to them, in an elective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bigger issue is that being the only 9th grader with all juniors and seniors is not usually a fun experience for the 9th grader.

It's a terrible experience for the juniors and seniors. Who wants to parter with a 9th grader?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some schools also offer NSL to freshman while others only allow U.S. History. There are so many variations. Our school does not offer ASL which is a big bummer for our child.

Take ASL at Montgomery College through Dual Enrollment.

[Anonymous]

What is ASL in social studies? It doesn't sound like you meant Sign Language.