will not taking calculus hinder a kid's chance at getting into a top college?

[Anonymous]

Agreed but most schools are offering most kids around here 8th grade Algebra 1. In my kids' private, the grade level class for 8th grade is Algebra one and the only students not taking algebra 1 are a handful of kids with math disabilities. So this shouldn't be an issue.

Interestingly, my nephew in the midwest is in algebra 1 in 9th grade - and he is on grade level - I think the competition here is just so much more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is your daughter on track for taking Calculus? (i.e. did she take Alg I this year?)

Yes.

Then say whatever she needs to hear right now, but know that by the time high school comes around she is expected to keep taking the next class in the sequence straight through senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What sucks is that the middle school math teacher was discouraging rather than encouraging, on top of being wrong.

seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed but most schools are offering most kids around here 8th grade Algebra 1. In my kids' private, the grade level class for 8th grade is Algebra one and the only students not taking algebra 1 are a handful of kids with math disabilities. So this shouldn't be an issue.

Interestingly, my nephew in the midwest is in algebra 1 in 9th grade - and he is on grade level - I think the competition here is just so much more.

I live in Northern Virginia and Algebra I in 9th is considered on grade level as well. But I would say that slightly more than half the class takes Algebra I in 8th. Only 30 8th graders in my daughter's school take geometry in 8th grade.

[Anonymous]

Most kids in my daughter's 5th grade class are tracking to take Algebra 1 in 9th grade. They are all considered to be on grade level. About a third of the class (including my daughter) is tracking to take Algebra in 8th grade. I think this is generally the norm across the country. It does bother me that our school is so behind in math, but my kid above grade level, so I'm not that worried.

[Anonymous]

I believe there is a developmental shift that needs to take place to succeed in Alg I. My DC took it with great pain in 8th grade. Had he taken it in 9th it would have been much easier. It doesn't help that they teach it in strange ways now. The VA schools that teach it in 9th have the right idea. Colleges admissions reps know how each school works and adjust their expectations accordingly, from what I understand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most kids in my daughter's 5th grade class are tracking to take Algebra 1 in 9th grade. They are all considered to be on grade level. About a third of the class (including my daughter) is tracking to take Algebra in 8th grade. I think this is generally the norm across the country. It does bother me that our school is so behind in math, but my kid above grade level, so I'm not that worried.

In my kid's school, there was no tracking at all in 5th grade. It was still elementary school and they didn't switch teachers for subjects, so they all just learned the same math. Tracking for math didn't start till middle school in 6th grade and then you could take regular math, extended, or double extended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I believe there is a developmental shift that needs to take place to succeed in Alg I. My DC took it with great pain in 8th grade. Had he taken it in 9th it would have been much easier. It doesn't help that they teach it in strange ways now. The VA schools that teach it in 9th have the right idea. Colleges admissions reps know how each school works and adjust their expectations accordingly, from what I understand.

The VA schools that teach it in 9th also teach it in 8th and 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She needs to take math all four years of high school. If she is on track to take calculus, she should take it.

Yes, but if she bumps down to a lower level she wouldn't be in calculus her senior year. And now she has this idea that that wouldn't hurt her.

Wait, isn't she on track to take BC Calc as a junior now? Algebra 2 in 9, Precalc in 10, Calculus 11?

Yes. The point is she now thinks she doesn't have to continue this track and can bump down and take the easier math classes because of college advise that her 8th grade math teacher gave her.

Well then I agree with her teacher. Your daughter is on the extra advanced math track, not the regular advanced track. Unless she is trying to get into CalTech or something, Calc BC senior year is great for any college. My high school junior has 10th graders in his precalc class who are seriously struggling, and it's a shame. My engineer/math major husband wouldn't let either of my kids take Algebra in 7th because while they made the cut, it was only by a slim margin and he wanted them to be solid.

[Anonymous]

OP's title is misleading. Her question is not whether calculus is necessary. Her question apparently whether calculus in 11th grade is necessary. That is an entirely different question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I believe there is a developmental shift that needs to take place to succeed in Alg I. My DC took it with great pain in 8th grade. Had he taken it in 9th it would have been much easier. It doesn't help that they teach it in strange ways now. The VA schools that teach it in 9th have the right idea. Colleges admissions reps know how each school works and adjust their expectations accordingly, from what I understand.

The VA schools that teach it in 9th also teach it in 8th and 7th.

They all do but some school systems push kids to take it in 7th or 8th so the majority of them do. Some of those kids struggle later.

[Anonymous]

I have to wonder if the teacher would have made the same recommendation for a male student. I have found at my DD's school, they seem to encourage the girls to drop down, but not the boys. Fascinating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to wonder if the teacher would have made the same recommendation for a male student. I have found at my DD's school, they seem to encourage the girls to drop down, but not the boys. Fascinating.

My daughter is the ONLY GIRL in the advanced math section in her fifth grade class. The class is evenly broken with about 12 girls and 12 boys. She is in a group with about 7 or 8 boys. All the others are either on grade level or slightly above grade level (broken in 3 groups). I also find it fascinating. I had to push the school to bump her up because all she was doing in math was helping the teacher with kids who need extra attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymou[b wrote:s]I have to wonder if the teacher would have made the same recommendation for a male student. [/b]I have found at my DD's school, they seem to encourage the girls to drop down, but not the boys. Fascinating.

The teacher addressed this to the entire class, not just my daughter.

[Anonymous]

not taking calculus in HS will not hurt your child if she is not majoring in STEM.

FWIW, I took calculus BC in HS and studied Computer Science in college. In my current job as cyber security engineer, I do NOT use calculus at all. I don't think any software developers use calculus in their day to day job at all.