My son is taking Algebra 1 in 9th grade. Is he doomed?

[Anonymous]

My son took Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Stats

He went to UMCP undecided, took Calculus there ... applied to Engineering school, got in.

He is gifted at math though. I think he got 6 questions wrong on the ACT before taking Algebra 2 or something like that.

We were not trying to go Ivy since he is not an athlete... his older brother had the athlete hook and went to a top school without Calculus... but he is a communications major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the pendulum is already swinging back. Parents thought they had the secret sauce with acceleration and “most rigorous course-load ever!!!” I don’t think this is proving to be the case any more. High SAT. High GPA. And show a passion and work ethic in something outside school. All this will get you into the crapshoot that is top 100 college admissions.

Sure, if you want to go the route of having a super-passion in math take all the math courses available—but don’t think that’s enough.

This is true. At the same, time what's really going on with Algebra 1 being taken younger, is it's not the same course as it used to be. So possibly OP's school is teaching a more rigorous algebra 1 than everyone else, and that's why her DC didn't place in. However, how does this play out now that admissions has been trained to think no one actually learns algebra until pre-calc? Course names have stayed the same, but at most schools the content has been dialed back, this is what made the excessive acceleration possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is a difference between sufficient knowledge and general intelligence. Your child has the latter but not the former. In his case, I recommend he prep over the summer and take the placement test again. It’s a question of not letting doors close in high school, OP. My son will be taking Honors Algebra 2 in 9th, after taking Algebra 1 and Geometry, and he’s not particularly gifted in math.

This means that your son took Algebra I in 7th, which actually IS advanced. Technically, the schools consider Algebra I in 8th to be advanced, and Algebra I in 9th to be average. TBH though, for most of the "better students" who are aiming for schools along the level of JMU or above, Algebra I in 8th is the norm. I take exception with the people who claim that Algebra I in 7th is par for the course. Not really. My 8th grade daughter is taking geometry. There are only 27 kids taking it, in a school with over 400 8th graders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP we are going to CHC as well. I’ve set up 4-6 hr of tutoring over next 2 weeks (we use Huntington learning center in timonium) and I expect DS will test out at that point. (He got a 62 in the first round.) it might be worth trying if he’s already taken Alg 1 - use the practice test to guide the tutor. But 4-8 hr of tutoring vs a whole class seems like an easy call. Just ask for a date in a few weeks for the retest. Worth a try at least. I’ve found them to be very accommodating.

OP again. He scored a 44 so not even close to testing out. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe he can work on Khan Academy this summer. He took Algebra 1 in 7th and didn't do well. I had him retake it in 8th and he is ending the year with a B. He did the study guide that CH put on their website but there were 2-3 pages on it that he didn't know. He hadn't covered any of it in 7th or 8th grade. So who knows? I was looking through their publications yesterday and it seems like the vast majority of boys take Algebra 1 in 9th grade. Maybe the test really is hard.


https://issuu.com/calverthallcollegehighschool/docs/web.version_calvert.hall.magazine.s


See page 7 for a profile of their incoming freshman class from a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SAT includes precalc and most kids take that in11th grade. Your DS won’t have precalc until senior year so you’ll probably want to think about extra SAT math prep.

I thought the SAT only went up through Algebra II

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP we are going to CHC as well. I’ve set up 4-6 hr of tutoring over next 2 weeks (we use Huntington learning center in timonium) and I expect DS will test out at that point. (He got a 62 in the first round.) it might be worth trying if he’s already taken Alg 1 - use the practice test to guide the tutor. But 4-8 hr of tutoring vs a whole class seems like an easy call. Just ask for a date in a few weeks for the retest. Worth a try at least. I’ve found them to be very accommodating.

OP again. He scored a 44 so not even close to testing out. Sigh. Oh well. Maybe he can work on Khan Academy this summer. He took Algebra 1 in 7th and didn't do well. I had him retake it in 8th and he is ending the year with a B. He did the study guide that CH put on their website but there were 2-3 pages on it that he didn't know. He hadn't covered any of it in 7th or 8th grade. So who knows? I was looking through their publications yesterday and it seems like the vast majority of boys take Algebra 1 in 9th grade. Maybe the test really is hard.


https://issuu.com/calverthallcollegehighschool/docs/web.version_calvert.hall.magazine.s


See page 7 for a profile of their incoming freshman class from a few years ago.

Why put him through that? What is the purpose?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SAT includes precalc and most kids take that in11th grade. Your DS won’t have precalc until senior year so you’ll probably want to think about extra SAT math prep.

I thought the SAT only went up through Algebra II

It does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do public schools offer all math classes in the summer?

FCPS does. It’s online for most schools. But only Honors in geometry. I would not have a kid do summer A2 or Pre-Calc. And I would not have a math kid settle for the non-Honors 5 week version. If you are going to accelerate, take Geometry and A1 together. Or summer Honors geometry.

Would you please elaborate? Why would you not recommend a non-Honors Geometry summer course? My DS is taking just that this summer but honors was not an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Lucifer is knocking.

Seriously. This, AGAIN?? OP, Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly fine. Move on.

Get a brain! So tired of young dull people here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Lucifer is knocking.

Seriously. This, AGAIN?? OP, Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly fine. Move on.

Get a brain! So tired of young dull people here.

People with a brain know Algebra 1 in 9th is not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your son IS doomed for competitive colleges. Many non competitive colleges, he is not doomed.

Bees the good news for engineering: where you graduate from has less impact on your salary than other degrees. Your kid could go to a small, relatively unknown (to DCUMers) school like Missouri S&T and do great in his career.

[Anonymous]

OP - CHC offers a summer honors geometry class. If your DS feels as though he really wants to take calc in HS, though as many pp have pointed out, it’s likely unnecessary, he could take that next summer.

Is DS doing any of the summer camps there this summer?

[Anonymous]

It is much more important that your son understand math than that he reach a particular class. It might mean if he wants to study Comp Sci or Math or some sciences in college, he'll need to be prepared to take a summer course or be on the 5 year plan, and it might mean getting into MIT will be close to impossible (which it already is) but that's not a big deal.

I am a programmer and I hire other programmers. I have yet to ask someone what grade they were in when they took Alg 1, or whether they had to take summer courses because they needed a retake of Calc 2. Your son will be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Lucifer is knocking.

Seriously. This, AGAIN?? OP, Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly fine. Move on.

Get a brain! So tired of young dull people here.

People with a brain know Algebra 1 in 9th is not a big deal.

OMG! It was a joke, as I explained in the following post. And OP got it straight away.

[Anonymous]

I would have not have him try and retest when he really doesn't have a solid grasp of algebra even after taking it in 7thand 8th. It may be the curriculum the school was using in middle school. Did he have a textbook or was it a curriculum the school district created that had random worksheets going home?