FWIW my student scored a 3 on AB test

Must be school dependent. My 610 SAT math student found Honors Algebra 2 to be significantly harder than Honors Pre- Cal and AB Cal. Interestingly I found that was true when I was in HS too. If you could survive Honors Algebra 2 you could survive anything.

Is the difficulty of the class true consistently across moco high schools. What about the Ws?

Honors precalc is notoriously the hardest math class outside multivariable.

I wish our school offered AP Precalc. Probably a better fit for my kid than honors.

QO got rid of honors pre-calc and now only has AP.

There is an important difference between pre-calc and the other MCPS math classes. People should only answer if they know specifically about pre-calc (and not assume it's the same as, say, Honors Alg II).

I have a kid studying applied math at an Ivy. She tells me that honors pre-calc was the hardest math class she took in HS (harder than AP calc).

Lots of kids who took 'honors' all the way through decide to move down for pre-calc.

Honors pre-calc sets you up so you can go straight into BC calc (skipping AB calc). (At least at our HS.)

Regular pre-calc has a bit less content, so you go into AB calc first, and then go to BC. (Again, at least at our HS.)

For most advanced classes, I agree with a PP's advice to try the advanced one first and then move down if necessarily. I'm not sure I'd say the same for this, but it's not a terrible strategy. Just make sure you move down if the kid is struggling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but my weak math kid who scores a B in Honors Algebra 2 was a straight A student in Honors Pre-Cal.

FWIW-Not a strong math student at all as only scored a 610 in math SAT.

That is VERY unusual as the honors pre-calc is known as the make-it-or-break-it class.

OP- have your child start in honors. You have a full month to drop down to the regular level. If after a couple of weeks your child continues to feel overwhelmed, agree to switching- there is no need to add the extra pressure.

Agree with the PP. Honors pre-calc was challenging for both kids who did well in Honors Algebra 2. In fact, I've seen a lot of kids moving down to regular pre-calc after a few weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but my weak math kid who scores a B in Honors Algebra 2 was a straight A student in Honors Pre-Cal.

FWIW-Not a strong math student at all as only scored a 610 in math SAT.

That is VERY unusual as the honors pre-calc is known as the make-it-or-break-it class.

OP- have your child start in honors. You have a full month to drop down to the regular level. If after a couple of weeks your child continues to feel overwhelmed, agree to switching- there is no need to add the extra pressure.

Really maybe my kid matured then. Definitely felt Algebra 2 was “harder”.

Go play on Khan Academy for a preview.

“Help at time” is ambiguous.

If your child understands algebra and geometry (can explain a randomly chosen topic studied a while back, not just regurgitate last week’s lesson) and is on a track to make a credible applies to a STEM program or a top tier academic college, then honors Precalc is fine.

Anonymous wrote:I don’t know but my weak math kid who scores a B in Honors Algebra 2 was a straight A student in Honors Pre-Cal.

FWIW-Not a strong math student at all as only scored a 610 in math SAT.

That is VERY unusual as the honors pre-calc is known as the make-it-or-break-it class.

OP- have your child start in honors. You have a full month to drop down to the regular level. If after a couple of weeks your child continues to feel overwhelmed, agree to switching- there is no need to add the extra pressure.

Anonymous wrote:How much of a difference is there between honors and regular pre-calculus? My kid is very intimidated by honors pre-calculus. They have been in honors math classes since middle school and have always had As, but have needed help at times.
Thanks for any input.

Pace mainly. Also depth in some units. I would say let them try Honors, but if it feels overwhelming they can switch to regular precalculus after 1st quarter. A lot of kids do that.

I don’t know but my weak math kid who scores a B in Honors Algebra 2 was a straight A student in Honors Pre-Cal.

FWIW-Not a strong math student at all as only scored a 610 in math SAT.

How much of a difference is there between honors and regular pre-calculus? My kid is very intimidated by honors pre-calculus. They have been in honors math classes since middle school and have always had As, but have needed help at times.
Thanks for any input.