Freshman Math Placement
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Anonymous
Send your kid to public school for free and he can get into any class he wants even if he has no business being in it. |
Anonymous
:lol: |
Anonymous
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Math is one subject where if you rush it, things fall apart.
If you’re coming in from public school, the math curriculum there tends to go fast and shallow. What kids are required to do in terms of problem-solving at private schools like NCS/STA is much more demanding. If your child has done Beast Math or is in AOPS, the math test questions can be at a high AOPS level of problem-solving and that’s on timed exams. If the school has told you they are not ready, trust them. They are not ready. Don’t set your child up for failure and frustration by not listening to the people who will be teaching and testing them in the future. |
Anonymous
+1. I know a family in Arlington who was able to get their kid in AP Algebra 2 but hadn't qualified. |
Anonymous
+1 I agree with all the above. Public school math alone is shallow. When my DD took the math placement test entering 9th, the private high school put her one level down from where we thought she actually should be. By that point in the spring, her public school math had not covered some of the topics on the test while the private school kids had already learned that material. We went along with their placement. She could have definitely handled one placement up but they didn't know that. After freshman year where she had a nearly perfect grade in the class and got 100% on the final, she asked to skip a class and they allowed it because she had demonstrated she could pick up math easily. I would say, unless you have good evidence to the contrary, it's better for them to play it safe and get a good grade in the math course they are assigned to. If it turns out that they are indeed a very fast learner and can demonstrate that to the school, there is wiggle room later. |
Anonymous
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Idk PP. It sounds like your child was not placed correctly and they corrected it the next year. Based on SSAT testing and teacher recommendations they should have known how quickly she would pick up math and should have placed her more appropriately.
At TJ they take kids who may have gone to weak middle schools with terrible math but have high aptitude in math and put them in the regular TJ track which is really levels above what most private schools teach, expecting that they will catch up and thrive and they do. |
Anonymous
She was definitely not placed correctly, but I would say this was not a huge deal to fix. Most of the kids found that they were placed correctly even if they were dissatisfied at the beginning. Parents are worried their kids will be locked in if they are one of the few placed incorrectly, but if the kid is motivated it is easy to demonstrate this and correct later. And she is still on a math track years ahead of what I think our designated public school would have let her do. She'll have time to take MV and then some. On the whole I am glad she had an easy time in the math class freshman year, because her writing intensive classes were tougher than mine were at a T10 college. I think that is part of their placement consideration as well. |
Anonymous
| Are you a parent who is going to freak out when the kid gets a B- or C+ on the report card as a result of pushing to go into a class your kid is not ready for that then "ruins their chance at an ivy" lol and kills their GPA? Remember one C freshman year really will ruin a GPA -- a C freshman year is likely not matched with straight As for all other classes, so throw in a 2.0 or 2.3 into a GPA that is otherwise a 3.0, and suddenly you cant get into UVA and UMD. Just something to chew on. |
Anonymous
Um, what? Algebra 2 is not an AP class. |
Anonymous
Not PP, but I think she meant AP or Honors track. It’s been years since aI was in high school, but we were tracked in math from freshman year on. To get into the calculus AP track, you had to start with honors (or AP track) geometry your freshman year. |
Anonymous
This. 100% |
Anonymous
My child is twice gifted with dysgraphia. his learning plan says he needs to be challenged. he also scores in the upper 90% in quant on IQ tests. His dad is a mathematician. He identifies and is known as a mathematician. he lost all motivation and confidence when he was misplaced. What's annoying about advocating for your child when they are being discriminated against? |
Anonymous
Thank you for coming back to respond. And with such grace. |
Anonymous
| Public or Private, it doesn't matter. Both institutions need to put themselves first at some point. Never stop advocating for your child, even in private. |
Anonymous
Your child is unusual. With 2 kids in 2 top privates I've never heard of a kid being allowed to skip a math class. I think in most cases putting a kid in the wrong track does lock them in and isn't something that can be fixed. Privates don't usually let a child skip a class but it also sounds like they really messed up the 9th grade placement. A kid who will have time to take MV and then some is exceptional and not knowing a particular topic in a course is a poor reason to make a kid repeat a full course especially if they are motivated to do more. The fact that she close to 100 makes it really clear. |