Reply to Applying to Walls from private middle school

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You will have to wait and see if the kids who passed on math acceleration get in.  I suspect kids who did advanced math will on average do slightly better on recommendations, interviews, and ultimately admissions.  Skipping the more advanced middle math path is likely to long-term hold most students back (no Algebra in 8th means no calculus before college).[/quote]

It’s going to kill your SAT math score. I mean you’ll spend thousands just trying to teach your kid enough calculus for a so so score. [/quote]

The SAT only goes up to Geometry and coordinate Geometry, so has algebra, arithmetic, probability, too. No calculus or trigonometry, unless it's drastically changed since I was a SAT (and GRE) tutor.

Accelerating too fast actually results in kids being too far out from Geometry and Algebra when they take the SAT (like a kid who take calc in 10th or even 11th), so they need to relearn that stuff before the SAT. [/quote]

You’re right. It was recommended to me by multiple college counselors to ensure my kids were taking precalc by sophomore year.

But pushing my kid into a regular Math class at a mediocre school like Stuart Hobson - you won’t have been taught all of the concepts in time for the SAT. you’ll be taking algebra 2 as a senior.  [/quote]

It's absolutely essential for a college bound kid to take Algebra by 8th grade so they can take geometry and algebra 2 before their PSAT and SAT. I'm not sure if the specifics of the SH kids, but I would absolutely not recommend taking the "regular" math sequence if that doesn't result in algebra by 8th, even if that means they are getting As.[/quote]

This is not true at all. The PSAT is designed to be taken by a student just starting Algebra 2. [/quote]

But taking the weak track will make you take algebra 2 as a senior [/quote]

No, it won’t. At every school I know of, the standard track takes Algebra I no later than 9th grade. In DCPS specifically, you cannot become a 10th grader without passing Algebra I: you will repeat 9th grade until you pass. 10th graders take Geometry and 11th graders take Algebra II. [/quote]

This is correct. The alternative to the accelerated track isn't the "weak" track; it's the standard track, which culminates with Algebra II in 11th. But also, it's easy to catch up over the 7th or 8th grade summer even if you want to accelerate for 9th.[/quote]

Alg I in 9th grade used to be standard track.  It really isn’t anymore.  Especially not if you want to go to a competitive college.[/quote]

No college is looking at your middle school classes, so if you catch up before 9th grade, it's entirely irrelevant.[/quote]

How does this even relate to the previous post? No one said colleges look at middle school transcripts.  But they do look at HS ones.  And competitive colleges do not want to see Algebra 1 in 9th grade.  That is a slower track, not standard anymore.[/quote]

The parents in question plan to have their kids catch up post-7th grade, because it no longer counts for Walls admission.[/quote]

That is not really possible. You’d have to somehow double up on geometry and Algebra 2 which will kill your gpa unless you’re really good at math (which is still hard and if you’re good at math why would you do this to yourself?). It’s really a bad idea. I speak from experience. [/quote]

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