HS science sequence
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Anonymous
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My child is a 9th grader. His school website recommends physics, chemistry and biology in that order based on the math he is in. He took physics this year and signed up for chemistry for 10th grade but his counselor switched him to biology.
The counselor is not helpful at all and we have no idea why he was switched. Any insights? This is non-magnet at Blair FWIW. |
Anonymous
| Your counselor really should be able to give an answer. Maybe there was a scheduling issue? Does your child know which AP Science classes he would like to take as an upperclassman (I know that this is not known yet by many freshmen). |
Anonymous
Hmm, my 9th grader was signing up for the same, but haven't heard counselors input yet. My oldest took the classes in this order, which allows for going straight to AP bio as a junior. My 9th grader would have been fine with bio this year as most 9th graders are in it, but wouldn't enjoy that next year. Any chance it's a mistake, there's still plenty of time to make a correction, the actual scheduling isn't going on now. |
Anonymous
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I think you should ask
My DS at Whitman's path is (for non-science kid) Honors biology regular chemistry AP environmental science physics of some sort. |
Anonymous
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Please keep in mind that regular or honors chemistry is a recommended prerequisite for many AP's: AP Environ Science, AP Biology, AP Chem
Chemistry is fundamental! |
Anonymous
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You might also want to keep in mind that some MCPS schools are now requiring juniors and seniors who sign up for Physics to take AP Physics 1 instead of Honors Physics. AP Physics 1 is not so easy for some students. The AP exam itself has a very low pass rate.
The lack of a standard science sequence in MCPS is a mess. So is the advising. |
Anonymous
| I have a non-SMACs 10th grader at Blair, strong math and science student. She took Honors Physics, Honors Chem. Next year AP Bio -- so the Blair recommended pathway. Her Chem teacher was urging the kids to take AP Chem junior year instead of AP Bio, but most kids signed up for AP Bio so my kid did too. I would definitely ask the counselor why your kid was put in biology for 10th, and try to figure out what that means for the AP classes the kid would take. Would the kid then take Honors Chem junior year and then AP Bio, Chem, or Physics senior year? Are all the other advanced kids in his class taking two AP's by the time they graduate? Is there a reason your kid is on a different path from them? Find out the answers. |
Anonymous
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I don't think it matters that much, honestly -- my kid did both biology and chemistry his freshman year and physics his sophomore year. They're not that related at this intro level.
Is your kid really interested in science? As the space for electives gets a little less tight, he could always double up one year with two honors level or an honors plus an AP. I found with my son (now a junior) that we really had to sit down with him freshman year and start mapping out his four-year plan. It seemed crazy based on my HS experience back in the dark ages where it was basically a lockstep progression, but there are so many options and pathways now that you kind of have to look at the big picture to navigate year by year. We are not at Blair so I don't know anything about it but looking at the website, there's a list of potential pathways for doing the STEM Academy if that's something your kid is interested in. The teachers there might also have some insights that you're not getting from the counselor. https://www.mbhsacademies.com/uploads/1/1/7/5/117522625/science_technology_engineering___math_pathways_1.pdf |
Anonymous
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It changes based on what your kid's schedule can accommodate. I have two boys on similar but different paths:
Current Junior: Environmental Science (9), Biology (10), Chemistry (11), Physics (12). Two honors, two AP. Current Sophomore: Biology (9), Chemistry (10) both honors. I'm not sure what they will recommend for the next two years. But I assume it will be AP Enviro, AP Physics. Same courses, different order. |
Anonymous
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Wow, MoCo is really all over the place on this.
My kid is in 9th grade and Honors Biology (which she complains about incessantly that she learned everything previously in middle school). Next year is Honors Chemistry - presumably that will be better because she hasn't had chemistry before. |
Anonymous
| My 10th grader is interested in science. She took 9th honors bio, 10th taking honors chem/honors physics simultaneously so she has more room for APs jr and sr year. I am pretty sure she is in pre-calc this year if you are curious about math level. |
Anonymous
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Walter Johnson recommends this sequence: Bio Chem Phys APs or electives Whether honors or not. Perhaps a student can take concurrent classes for some of these. And I seem to recall that AP Chem cannot be taken without Chem first. |
Anonymous
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It is very confusing. DC started in Honors Physics in 9th grade - but was super bored. They bumped him to AP Physics I. Much better fit.
He is in Honors Chemistry this year (10th grade) - super bored again, but we were strongly discouraged from having him skip straight to AP Chem. He is signed up for AP Bio in 11th. Senior year he will have a few options: AP Physics C, AP Chem, or AP Env Science. |
Anonymous
So he never took Bio before taking AP Bio? |
Anonymous
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The most important thing is which AP your child will want to take, since you typically need to take the regular/honors version before the AP version. So if you want AP bio and you're not taking Honors Bio til junior year, it constrains you to AP bio senior year. Not terrible, but maybe not your preference.
If you plan to take only those three classes and no APs, then the order won't matter much. (At our school, they've changed the recommended order a few times over the year. No idea why, but it means that kids are all over the place in terms of sequence.) |