Reply to Algebra 2 HN and Algebra 2 differences

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wrote a handout on this for our curriculum night. I can copy the text of it tomorrow when I’m back at my desk. That said, it will vary significantly by the school and teachers.

In short at my school: honors moves significantly faster and requires students to go beyond what is explicitly shown in class. For example:

Regular A2 will be shown various types of polynomials and how to factor them. The test will be an assortment of polynomials and students will be asked to factor them. A2H will get the same instruction, but then will be given something like 4x^3-2x^2-kx+1 and asked to find a value of k that makes it factor able with using the grouping method.

It also includes at least one or two extra standards/skills per unit. In my regular A2 class, I have time to spend a day reviewing prerequisite skills. In honors, students need to already have mastered (and retained) all the material from prior coursework, because the review days are taken up with extension topics. For example:

Both classes solved systems of quadratic equations. An algebra 1 standard is systems of linear equations. In A2 I spent time (maybe 1/2 block) reviewing simplistic systems that didn’t require much manipulation (terms dropped out easily) before shifting into more difficult examples with new content. After we covered all 3 methods with quadratics, I had a full day devoted to practicing all methods. In honors, we spent a 5 minute warm up reviewing what a system is, and then dove right into the new stuff, because in addition to quadratics we had to cover systems where x is a function of y (sideways parabolas), and all graphing and solving was expected to be done by hand. In gen ed, students were able to use calculators to graph equations and find intersections to check work or find ordered pairs for graphing.

If you are in an AP school, both classes are a stepping stone to precalc. You can think of gen ed as the AB version of calc and honors as BC. 75% of the class is the same, but that extra 25% really increases the pace for honors.

If you are at an IB school, a successful gen ed algebra 2 student will struggle with the rigor expected in IB analysis, but should be fine with IB applications. If analysis is desired, I would make the jump to honors.[/quote]

This is so helpful, thank you for taking the time to write this out.  I have a child who is currently in Geometry HN and is doing fine but not great (solid B average).  They are not planning to pursue a college degree that is super math heavy (ie no engineering or hard sciences).  Based on teacher feedback (teacher said my child could go either way - may have a tough time in HN Alg 2, but may not feel challenged in Reg) -- we suggested our kid drop down to regular Algebra 2 and build a solid foundation instead of possibly being overwhelmed in HN.  Since they don't really NEED to get to BC Calc for future plans, this seemed like the smarter move.  Especially since my child will take HN or AP in all other major subject areas and will likely have more time to focus on those with a less rigorous math course.  Anything we're not thinking of?  [/quote]

Do they have a B with a strong understanding of the basics?  That is, are they getting nearly 100% of the simplistic "factor this polynomial" or "Graph this function" or "solve for x" problems on assessments, but missing some of the stretch questions on tests?  Then cool, they are getting something out of honors.  If, however, they are working so hard to grasp the honors pieces and keep up with the pace that they are not mastering the basics and are unable to factor or graph or solve straight forward things consistently, they will be better off dropping down (or adding outside tutoring for support).

If the child had an A in A1H, I would recommend keeping them in honors. It's easier to try the first unit and drop down to regular than to be bored and want to move up.[/quote]

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