Reply to Algebra in 7th v 8th

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've had a kid do each, it makes no difference in the long run or outcome whatsoever. Where it may make a difference for you is the cohort your child will be in classes with in your high school. It is worth it to aim for the top tier classes, but wither of your two options will be top tier enough. Where the schedule fits for math will dictate the schedule for other high school classes, so you get a lot of the same high achievers.[/quote]

Not in our experience. Our older DD is in the “top” math cohort and by Alg2T, so many kids have dropped down a level the cohort is really small. Being able to eke out Alg1 in 7th is not a predictor of success later on. [/quote]
But isn't this "small cohort" the one you want your child to be in?[/quote]

Not really. At our school its mostly ethnic boys. Its not going to benefit her in anyway vs. just taking Algebra 1 in 8th. That's what we decided to have our second child too, even though she is just as good at math. [/quote]

NP. My 8th grader is in precalc.  She is one of three girls in a class of 28. She’s fine with it, but what the PP saying is unfortunately true.  Sadly, girls are still not encouraged to excel in math in the early years like boys are.  They are very much pushed in reading and writing though.  Those highly accelerated classes at our school are predominantly female. [/quote]

It's not lack of encouragement.  It's lack of desire.  And let's be honest, most boys don't want to either.  You're focused on the other boys in her class but you're not seeing all the other girls and boys who said No thank you.[/quote]

Different localities are obviously different. Where I live our advanced track has Algebra I in 6th, Geom in 7th, and Alg 2 in 8th (DE/Precalc then in 9th).
Every kid I talked to in this track is proud to be in it when they talk to their classmates.  DC was very proud to have aced the IAAT with a 100% raw score. Those kids who didn't make the track (because of too low IAAT, for instance), are admiring and a little bit envious (I'm talking about the academically minded kids here, obviously not everyone). Ah, and then there was this boy who claimed to have intentionally done badly on the IAAT to not get into Algebra... yeah right.
Also, the school drops everyone lower than a B after 9 weeks (no one dropped, btw).  The class that started Alg 1 in 6th (ca. 3% of the school) is complete and well in 7th. And although the SOL are pretty much useless when it comes to gauging mathematical understanding, we know from SOL statistics that 6th graders outperform 7th graders, which outperform 8th graders, which outperform 9th or later in both pass rate and advanced pass rate.

So the idea that kids would be pushed into these classes against their will is not something I have been personally able to observe. Of course, this doesn't mean it doesn't exist. What I have seen is that they increase students' mathematical self-esteem and prowess (some, though not many, will move far beyond school math and do competitions like AMC8/10, MK, and MC). They are all in this group.
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