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[quote=Anonymous]I would start by understanding why taking algebra is so important to her. Is it that she really loves math and is disappointed to not take the harder class? Is it her friends are taking algebra and she wants to be in class with them? Is it that she feels like she is not doing well if she is not in the highest class available to her?

The last two are ones that you need to walk through with her. She is not going to be in the same classes, physically or level, as her friends at all times. Kids learn at different rates and have different strengths and weaknesses. It is ok to be in a class that moves at a different pace then a friend.

My main worry with the algebra 1 decision in 6th is that there are some kids who will see themselves as failing if they don't take the class and their friends do. There is a type of peer pressure to take the class that is unhealthy. I saw it in my own kids class. He has friends who tested in and probably should have chosen to take M7H. The stress level associated with algebra this year has been huge. The kids did well but they were stressed. I heard their comments to their friends about how hard the class was and how they thought they were not doing well, they have Bs. The kids who were able to say that they didn't care what other kids were doing and took M7H had a better year, but they could say that they were not interested in math and were only taking the class because they had to.

I would not enroll a kid in algebra 1 H in 7th grade without a high IAAT score, 95th percentile, and a pass advanced on the SOL. I know that there are kids who have done fine in the class without one of the two but I also know kids drop back to M7H or expunge the algebra grade and retake the class in 8th grade.

Explore why she is worried about this and unpack that. Then talk to her teacher and find out what the teacher thinks. Then make an informed choice but discuss the possibility of changing classes if algebra is not going well or causing too much stress next year.[/quote]

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