Reply to Struggling in Hon Precalculus

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP this is spot on.  Why it’s such a shame that parents push their kids on this super advanced track without thinking ahead.  Unfortunately many parents overestimate their kid, maybe because they don’t understand how there are kids out there that can truly handle this work, sometimes with no teaching and certainly no help.[/quote]

My kid choose this track.  We didn't push and tried to discourage it.  They just need a bit of support from a parent or tutor.  What is the big deal?  Just because you will not help your kids in any way but clearly have the time, doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't.  This kid can handle it.  They just need a bit more support.[/quote]

To each their own but I've had one kid go through MCPS and another still in HS. You are potentially setting your kid up for issues down the road.  I don't generally help my kids in HS because I want them to be on a track that is appropriate for their strengths and not in ending up in college struggling.

As for acceleration, IMO schools are allowing too many kids these tracks now without advising parents of further downstream problems.   Taking Pre-Calc in 9th grade should be exceedingly rare.  Also, more than half the grade should not be on a track to take Calc in 11th grade.  It's nice what they do at Blair and Poolesville where they adjust the kids math tracks based on testing once they arrive in 9th grade.  [/quote]

No one is asking your opinion.  Blair and Poolesville only let in 100 kids each so what do the rest of the smart kids do?  And, if they were already on this track they wouldn't make a child repeat a class.  Maybe your ego is an issue.  You can always slow down later on in Calc.  Not a big deal.[/quote]
Actually at Blair and Poolesville they put the kid that already took Alg2 and the ones that did not but test high in the same class.  Well aware of the space issues and it's a shame this kind of setup is not offered elsewhere.

There is actually no slow down other than going to Calc AB which then what was the point of getting so far ahead?    IMO better for kids to get a solid math foundation early.    Just offering an opinion as someone in STEM myself and an MCPS parent.  Chill out.[/quote]

There is slowing down.  Many DCUM parents are in STEM so saying you are in STEM means nothing.  The point of going to Calc AB is to meet their needs but if they were ready and doing well in Algebra in 6th or 7th, why would you stop it?  The issue is how Algebra and Geometry are being taught and not all teachers are strong teachers, especially in higher level math.  It's very hard to learn without textbooks or adequate practice with homework and classwork as well as teachers reviewing assignments.  We used the free tutoring the past few years.  If it was free, why wouldn't you.  I really wish they'd bring it back for kids like OP who need a bit more support.

Personally I don't care about Blair or Poolesville as we couldn't make it work with our after school schedule and we didn't like the curriculum as it didn't have the right focus for our child.  I don't get the big deal about going to them.[/quote]

You sound like you’re the OP, pretending not to be the OP. Also you seem to have made up your mind, which is fine considering it’s your child and you know him better.

I think you got reasonable advice from disinterested people with the right background, not jealous parents hating on your kid’s accomplishments. You should at least consider that point of view.

Precalculus, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, AP statistics sequence is probably the worst choice even if getting all A’s which is quite doubtful at this point, tutoring included.

You could do Algebra 2, H Precalculus, Calculus BC, Statistics and still end at the same point but he’ll have a better foundation.

If still possible, I’d have him do AP statistics, H Precalculus, Calculus BC, and Multivariable which has no ‘slow down’.

If you want to assess how appropriate H Precalculus is, have him take these tests and get back to us.

Khan Academy Algebra 2 course challenge.

AOPS, Precalculus, Are you ready:
https://data.artofproblemsolving.com/course-docs/diagnostics/precalc-pretest.pdf

AOPS, Algebra 2, Do you need it? This will certainly be difficult.
https://data.artofproblemsolving.com/course-docs/diagnostics/intermediate-algebra-posttest.pdf

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