What is considered an advanced or competitive math course pathway
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Hskid
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| Im gonna be a freshman in hs next year and my math class is gonna be magnet precalc in poolesville hs , I feel like this is decent but I wanna know what you guys think . |
Anonymous
| At Poolesville, if you are a SMCS student, you start in magnet pre-cal and then a test is given. If you score high enough on the test, you are given the option to move up to Functions or stay in magnet pre-cal. Some who test into Functions choose to stay in pre-cal. Magnet pre-cal is already an advanced course (covering Algebra 2 and pre-cal in one year), but Functions includes additional topics and goes even faster. You do not need to be a SMCS student to be in Functions. My child in Functions has at least one non-SMCS student in their class. |
Anonymous
| I have a hard time believing this is a real post from a high school kid. A freshman taking pre-calc in 9th grade is obviously on an advanced and super competitive math pathway. |
Anonymous
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It's not the Precal you think.
Magnet Precal covers Alg. 2 and Precal together in 2 years. So at Poolesville they take Magnet Precal A, B, C and D over two years instead of Alg. 2 over one year and Precal over one year. |
Anonymous
| It's also important not to rush through fundamentals. It's not a race. Being in Precalc at 14 is plenty advanced; you have the luxury of time. Also, functions have 2X the homework of magnet precalc, which is a high price for simply getting a semester ahead. Being a magnet student entails roughly 2-3 hours of homework a night on average. Functions will add at least another 1 or more likely 2 hours to that. Sure there are some who thrive on that but I'd rather ensure my kids get involved in fun ECs or get a decent night's sleep than get another semester ahead in math. |
Anonymous
What do the students who have completed Alg II in 8th grade take? |
Anonymous
Some do Functions but many also do Precal. It's not really repetitive because they go into much more depth and cover a lot more things. It'll just be easier for them to keep up. |
Anonymous
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It's very advanced, OP, but if you're targeting very selective colleges, you'll have stiff competition regardless. Competition that's not just academic (a very high GPA is a must, as well as a near-perfect standardized test score), but for extra-curriculars as well.
If you're worried about college admissions, just know that being a great student will help you not only get into very selective schools, but also state or less-selective schools *with merit*. Which is crucial, given how exorbitant a college education is these days... so think of your academic success as a way to keep costs down 
My rising 9th grader will take Honors Precalc at her high school, having taken Honors Alg in 8th grade. Since she's not in a magnet, she plans on doing Honors Precalc, Ap Calc BC, Calc with differential equations, then something else, maybe at UMD (like Calc 3). |
Anonymous
| My freshman, not in Magnet, is doing pre-cal. No big deal. |
Anonymous
| If students in 8th grade math in 8th grade then have to do Algebra I, Geometry, and then Algebra II before starting Precalculus, I think starting Precalculus in 9th grade and having three more years for higher math is a pretty big deal. |
Anonymous
This is Poolesville only. At Blair magnet precalc is three semesters not two years. |
Anonymous
It seems more like a question a mom would post. |
Anonymous
Nah I’m a child but I was asking this cause I think this is average if not below average at poolesville |
Anonymous
After your research/engineering statistics class you'll understand stand why asking anonymous online people is a bad way to measure yourself. |
Anonymous
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If you don't get Alg 1 in 6th, you're behind.
Or so DCUM assures me. |