Reply to Advice Needed - 1st Grader in MCPS

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I have two kids that took Algebra 1 in 6th, Geometry in 7th, Algebra 2 in 8th. Kids are unable to do that now. It totally sucks. [/quote]

Yes, cruel dumbing-down MCPS now forces children to delay -- DELAY, I TELL YOU! -- to Algebra I in 7th, Geometry in 8th, Algebra II in 9th, and Calculus A/B in 11th. Which is still a full year ahead of the advanced track when I was in high school.

There surely are some kids who are ready for multivariable calculus in 12th grade. But I don't think that there are very many. [/quote]
+1   And if you talk to upper grade math teachers, they will tell you that too many kids were skipped too quickly pre 2.0.  There are some older threads on here where parents were complaining about the same thing.  What a parent thinks about their kids' math ability is not always the same as what a teacher thinks about it.[/quote]
There is also acceleration possible if they enter the magnet.  The test doesn't require anything beyond knowledge of Algebra and students will be accelerated into a Math Analysis/Pre Calc or higher when they enter in 9th.  So for those few who are truly ahead in understanding there will be options.  Being ahead in course count is not being ahead in understanding.  Ages ago, I failed Algebra I in eighth grade after always being very good at math.  That worked out wonderfully for me, I re-took it in summer school solidified my knowledge but ended up on a track that emphasized trig, and never made it Calc in HS.  But every placement test from there on required a solid understanding of algebra and trig which I had.  I placed into honors calc in college and majored in math/physics without issue.  These days there are no shortage of opportunities to take advanced classes in HS but most really are taught better in college.  AP is great for avoiding a large survey class outside ones major, but for something the student truly cares about it's better to go a little slower and learn it college where instruction is more nuanced.  [/quote]

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