Summer precalc to catch up?

[Anonymous]

When my oldest was in middle school, he had a rough time with math, and we bumped him down a level in 7th grade. We didn't realize that would knock him off track for math (bad advice from his tutor, who was an MCPS teacher but unfamiliar with the changing curriculum.) He's now a HS junior who's taking Algebra 2 (honors) this year and we're wondering whether he should do precalc during the summer so that he'd be on level when he applies to college in the fall. He's a straight A math student, with a lot of support and work.

His HS counselor suggested to try to the summer precalc and then do Calculus with Applications, since that's less intense than AP Calc. Does this make sense? Is there some different sequencing that makes sense or should he not bother trying to 'fix' his math deficit at this stage? Parents are math idiots and generally clueless about the math curriculum as evidenced by the 7th grade screwup.

Fwiw he's interested in history and languages and won't be applying for anything STEM-related. UW GPA is 3.8 at a good MCPS HS, probably 6 APs by the time he graduates. He's hoping for a SLAC but we know he's not competitive for highly selective schools no matter what he does for math.

[Anonymous]

If he's not going to college for a math related major, no.

[Anonymous]

He isn’t a strong math student so no way should he do pre-calc in summer. He can take it senior year. He will have 4 years of math.

[Anonymous]

No!

[Anonymous]

He is on grade level and he is not a strong math student. Summer math is intense. A few hours of class and a few hours of independent work every day for 6-7 weeks. I wouldn't do it.

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine this would be worth it. He’s an A student st the Honors level. I mean, is he applying to Ivys?

[Anonymous]

Does the “s” in SLAC mean selective or small?

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input! He's not applying to Ivies or anything close. Dream schools are Boston College, Middlebury, and the whole array of New England liberal arts colleges - Bates, Colby, etc. Based on Naviance, most of those are reach schools, so obviously he has a long list of more achievable schools as well.

Our concern is that PreCalc as a senior is not considered on grade level in MCPS. He has felt a bit resentful of the fact that most of the other kids in his math classes are a year below him. And his counselor said that getting on track for math might strengthen his file - or at least remove one deficit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He isn’t a strong math student so no way should he do pre-calc in summer. He can take it senior year. He will have 4 years of math.

+1. The reality is he’ll get a bad grade in fall in Calculus, right when he has to spend time applying to schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When my oldest was in middle school, he had a rough time with math, and we bumped him down a level in 7th grade. We didn't realize that would knock him off track for math (bad advice from his tutor, who was an MCPS teacher but unfamiliar with the changing curriculum.) He's now a HS junior who's taking Algebra 2 (honors) this year and we're wondering whether he should do precalc during the summer so that he'd be on level when he applies to college in the fall. He's a straight A math student, with a lot of support and work.

His HS counselor suggested to try to the summer precalc and then do Calculus with Applications, since that's less intense than AP Calc. Does this make sense? Is there some different sequencing that makes sense or should he not bother trying to 'fix' his math deficit at this stage? Parents are math idiots and generally clueless about the math curriculum as evidenced by the 7th grade screwup.

Fwiw he's interested in history and languages and won't be applying for anything STEM-related. UW GPA is 3.8 at a good MCPS HS, probably 6 APs by the time he graduates. He's hoping for a SLAC but we know he's not competitive for highly selective schools no matter what he does for math.

If it were my kid, I'd have him do a lot of math work in summer (either Khan Academy or a formal course) and register for Honors Pre-calc in fall. Note that Honors pre-calc is HARD. The difference between regular and honors matters much more in pre-calc than in earlier maths. So much so that regular pre-calc puts you on track for a lower level calc course, whereas honors pre-calc puts you on track for the hardest calc course (more material is covered). He won't do well in summer pre-calc, as a whole year's material is covered in like 10 weeks. He also may not do well in academic year *Honors* pre-calc without preparation. So I'd focus on the preparation and aim for an A in honors pre-calc (first semester will show in college applications). He could also take AP stats senior year (so two math courses) which would look like he's really working hard in math and not too bad at it.

[Anonymous]

Doesn’t that tract impact his SAT, I heard it is recommended to wait Till you finished pre-calc to take SAT?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t that tract impact his SAT, I heard it is recommended to wait Till you finished pre-calc to take SAT?

I thought the SATs only covered through Algebra 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t that tract impact his SAT, I heard it is recommended to wait Till you finished pre-calc to take SAT?

According to my dd’s pre calc teacher, there is no pre calc on the SAT but there is on the ACT. Precalc May have review that makes you better at SAT math but isn’t necessary. (Only a small amount of Pre calc is on ACt— she offered to lunchtime tutor students planning to take ACT early in the year)

[Anonymous]

My DD is an advanced math student. She's in BC Calc now and says Honors Pre-calc was by far the hardest math class at her school (WJ). It's notoriously hard there. I have a second kid who is on the same track as yours. We plan to do Geometry in the summer between 9th and 10th grade. I know this is not helpful to you at this point, but I mention it for others who may find themselves in the same boat a few years from now. I was advised that Geometry is better in a condenced form for summer school than either of the Algebra courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the input! He's not applying to Ivies or anything close. Dream schools are Boston College, Middlebury, and the whole array of New England liberal arts colleges - Bates, Colby, etc. Based on Naviance, most of those are reach schools, so obviously he has a long list of more achievable schools as well.

Our concern is that PreCalc as a senior is not considered on grade level in MCPS. He has felt a bit resentful of the fact that most of the other kids in his math classes are a year below him. And his counselor said that getting on track for math might strengthen his file - or at least remove one deficit.

The reality is that math is a building subject that requires mastery and not arbitrary association by grade level. You mentioned that he is requiring a lot of work and support to get an A, during a regular year, so I would not try to accelerate this with a summer course. I agree with another poster that if you want to strengthen the math part of the file, than do some preview of pre-cal over the summer (via a tutor, Khan Academy) that will allow him to successfully take Honor’s Pre-Calculus. Or take regular pre-cal and pair it with a business math class/business oriented class that pairs well with his interest.