My child is at a non-W and started Algebra in 6th but it is rare. You can take a class in summer school either though MCPS or privately to bump up a level too but its very hard to fit everything in 6 weeks. Kids either do Algebra 2 at the school, if offered, go to the high school or virtually.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

But you have gone to one of those wealthy W feeders that accelerate math to get to Alg 2 in 8th.

It's mostly kids from the Takoma Magnet Middle that take it.

No, most TPMS take Geometry in 8th. The TP schools (at least several years ago, may have changed) did not accelerate students beyond this level. A few came into TPMS from other schools that did. Seems to be a per school basis.

But, there is a small group entering Blair (many former TPMS kids) tgat take a class which essentially combines Alg 2/Trig and Pre Calc into one year. Those students finish Calc BC as sophomores.

The majority finish up Calc BC as 1st sem juniors. Some students in Blair magnet take Geom in 9th and go from there. So, there are several math tracks in the magnet.

Then, after Calc BC, as a PP said, they often take Multivar, Linear Alg, Complex, Discrete, Ligic, etc. There's plenty of math to go around!

My kid graduated in 2020. There was 1 Functions class (mostly from TPMS). 2 Pre-Calcs and 1 Geometry (that had non magnet kids too). The Functions class was the smallest and a chunk usually drop it in the first quarter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

But you have gone to one of those wealthy W feeders that accelerate math to get to Alg 2 in 8th.

It's mostly kids from the Takoma Magnet Middle that take it.

No, most TPMS take Geometry in 8th. The TP schools (at least several years ago, may have changed) did not accelerate students beyond this level. A few came into TPMS from other schools that did. Seems to be a per school basis.

But, there is a small group entering Blair (many former TPMS kids) tgat take a class which essentially combines Alg 2/Trig and Pre Calc into one year. Those students finish Calc BC as sophomores.

The majority finish up Calc BC as 1st sem juniors. Some students in Blair magnet take Geom in 9th and go from there. So, there are several math tracks in the magnet.

Then, after Calc BC, as a PP said, they often take Multivar, Linear Alg, Complex, Discrete, Ligic, etc. There's plenty of math to go around!

Anonymous wrote:In my child's 9th grade magnet pre-cal class there are kids who took Alg. II, Geometry and Alg. I.

Never heard of skipping Geometry. Maybe they will take it over the summer.

In my child's 9th grade magnet pre-cal class there are kids who took Alg. II, Geometry and Alg. I.

Nearly all the kids come in taking Geometry in 8th. There are a really small number in the past 2 years that have come in having completed Alg. II or Algebra I.

They all wind up in the same classes. There are two tracks Functions or Pre-Cal. Most go to the Pre-Cal track.

Blair has many math electives so your child would not run out of math. There's multivariable calc, linear algebra, discrete. I don't know what you mean by "lateral" classes. You need to start thinking about math more like science and not like foreign language where you typically progress in a sequence.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

But you have gone to one of those wealthy W feeders that accelerate math to get to Alg 2 in 8th.

First rule of Ws is you do not talk about Ws!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

But you have gone to one of those wealthy W feeders that accelerate math to get to Alg 2 in 8th.

Ugh, don’t start that again. https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1078504.page

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

But you have gone to one of those wealthy W feeders that accelerate math to get to Alg 2 in 8th.

It's mostly kids from the Takoma Magnet Middle that take it.

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

But you have gone to one of those wealthy W feeders that accelerate math to get to Alg 2 in 8th.

Anonymous wrote:Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

Similar to Blair. Functions kids finsh Calc BC at the end of sophomore year. Pre-calc (3 semesters including Algebra II and pre-calc..this is where most kids start) finish Calc BC mid Junior year. They take 1 semester AP Stats after that and them MV calc senior year (typically). Some kids start the magnet with Geometry...they run 1 year behind.

Can't speak to Blair but I assume Poolesville similar and most enter having taken Geometry in 8th grade. There are a handful of kids that took Algebra 2 in 8th (not sure how, this was never an option for my kid). They do a placement test for the "Functions" class. Anyone scoring high enough on that ends up in the same class, regardless of whether they took Alg 2 or not.

Anonymous wrote:For 9th graders entering Blair’s magnet program, what level of math are they coming in at? What happens with students in 11th and 12th grade who are finished with, say, AP Caculus classes? Do they just go lateral with other math-related classes, do they take more advanced math classes elsewhere, or what? And what happens when they get to college? Do they place out of math or wind up having to retake things like Calculus? If you’ve had a student with experience relating to any part of these questions, can you please talk about their experiences?

Most kids in the magnet finish Calc BC as early as the end of their sophomore year or mid-junior year. There are many courses to take after this from AP Stats, Linear Algebra, Discrete Math, Complex Analysis, or Multivariate Calculus.

https://mbhs.edu/departments/magnet/courses_math.php

After AP BC Calculus, there is Multi-variable Calculus and Linear Algebra. (At schools with and IB program, the top HL math class explores a variety of topics.)

In college, it will depend on the college what level students are placed in for math. UMD accepts AP BC Calculus credit with a 4 or 5 score. There is also a process (at least there was in 2019) where students in MVC can take the UMD MVC final in order to earn credit for MVC if they attend UMD. At other colleges, I would just retake whatever the last level you were in as a freshman. It should be an easy A, might fill in any gaps, and have the student better prepared for the next math course at that college.

https://www.transfercredit.umd.edu/plc/APGenEd.pdf
(non-STEM majors take note - AP AB or BC Calculus credit will satisfy your gen ed math requirements, so it is worth taking the test!)

For 9th graders entering Blair’s magnet program, what level of math are they coming in at? What happens with students in 11th and 12th grade who are finished with, say, AP Caculus classes? Do they just go lateral with other math-related classes, do they take more advanced math classes elsewhere, or what? And what happens when they get to college? Do they place out of math or wind up having to retake things like Calculus? If you’ve had a student with experience relating to any part of these questions, can you please talk about their experiences?