Reply to Are there advantages to 7th grade Algebra and 8th grade Geometry?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does anyone take Algebra as a freshman in high school or is Geometry the entry class?  Is Algebra 1 considered a middle school class now? [/quote]

At my kids' middle school the goal is for kids to take Algebra in 8th grade.[b] Kids in "Math 8" in 8th grade are at the remedial leve[/b]l.  The advanced kids are in Geometry, but it's a pretty big group.

I wasn't thrilled with the push to get to algebra in 7th (I don't see the benefit of pushing it down) but math is my son's main strength in school.  I was concerned that holding him to math 6 in 6th grade rather than math 7 would be 1) boring and 2) make him feel like he isn't as good at math as he really is.  It's worked out fine, he's done well throughout middle school and I'm sure will do fine in Algebra II/Trig in 9th grade.  He'll have a variety of options for an additional math class in senior year, after calculus. 
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But the kids who are taking Algebra I in 9th grade will still get to Calculus by senior year.  How is that "remedial"?[/quote]

No.  At least at my kids' HS, if you are in Algebra 1 in 9th you will only get to pre-Calculus.  That's how it was at my HS in the 80s too -- only the kids who were in algebra 1 in 8th grade made it to calculus sr. year, unless you took summer school to catch up.  But, back then it actually was accelerated to take Algebra 1 in 8th (I recall there being only one class section for it at my MS).  And, most HS students never took calculus.

I don't think this race to get to more math fastest is great for the majority of students, but the reality is that if only 10% of 8th graders are in Math 8, and the 'average' students are all in Algebra 1, then those in Math 8 are falling behind the district's expectation.[/quote]

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