How does the school know they are ready for algebra? My kid's elementary gave the Orleans Hanna to all the GT kids in 6th grafe to see who was ready for Honors Algebra 1 in 7th. That school taught 7th and 8th grade math to the 6th graders. From there the kids were sorted into different math tracks. Having a good understanding and doing well is more important than taking it early. I agree that you don't want you kid to get to calc and then bomb it.

Anonymous wrote:How about this path for a stem major?

Algebra 1 honors - grade 7
Geometry honors - grade 8
Algebra 2 honors - grade 9
AP pre- calculus BC - grade 10
AP Calculus BC or AP statistics - grade 11
multi variable calculus linear algebra - grade 12

Perfect if they do Calc BC instead of Statistics

Anonymous wrote:How about this path for a stem major?

Algebra 1 honors - grade 7
Geometry honors - grade 8
Algebra 2 honors - grade 9
AP pre- calculus BC - grade 10
AP Calculus BC or AP statistics - grade 11
multi variable calculus linear algebra - grade 12

It works very well. Don't let these lunatics stress you out.

Anonymous wrote:Just get to AP calc bc by soph year and get 5 on exam and A in class. This was relayed to us as getting near top of math band. Junior year, multi or similar, etc.

No. No. No.

You do not need to hyper-accelerate in math. It really isn't necessary. Whoever is telling you this is an idiot.

These schools are doing kids a disservice by pushing them too early. Yes, there are some kids who are super smart and might get bored. But trust me, there are many fewer of them than parents who think this applies to their kid.

Take Calc by senior year. That is all that is necessary.

How about this path for a stem major?

Algebra 1 honors - grade 7
Geometry honors - grade 8
Algebra 2 honors - grade 9
AP pre- calculus BC - grade 10
AP Calculus BC or AP statistics - grade 11
multi variable calculus linear algebra - grade 12

Algebra 1 is not necessarily the "hardest" math path. Look at the other supposedly "less advance" options - your DC may not necessarily do better in it

Just get to AP calc bc by soph year and get 5 on exam and A in class. This was relayed to us as getting near top of math band. Junior year, multi or similar, etc.

Which is better Calculus AB or BC? Both are not needed, correct?

Anonymous wrote:Do the path that gives them the best foundation — better grades and stronger foundation will serve them better than over-accelerating but doing poorly when they get to Algebra 2, trig, and calculus. And holding off on algebra until 7th still puts them at calculus by 11th, which is still advanced. You don’t need post-calc math in HS, much less two years of it.

This. My kid took Calc AB as a senior and got into a T20 as a STEM major. You don’t need post-AP math in high school.

It depends on your child and what they want.

Do the path that gives them the best foundation — better grades and stronger foundation will serve them better than over-accelerating but doing poorly when they get to Algebra 2, trig, and calculus. And holding off on algebra until 7th still puts them at calculus by 11th, which is still advanced. You don’t need post-calc math in HS, much less two years of it.

Anonymous wrote:I would say GPA matters the most…

Nope GPA AND rigor.

Top colleges want both.

Just spoke with the AD at a top 20 school, and he talked about why they went back to test required. In that convo he mentioned kids who take 15 AP classes but then only score 3s on most of them. Grade inflation is rampant.

Make sure your kid actually gets the math. Too many schools push their kids through rote learning, and the kids get to real math in high school and can’t perform.

If you want your kid to really get math, have them do RSM. AOPS is okay but not as rigorous.

I would say GPA matters the most…

no one knows. too many changes to admissions in the years ahead.

FCPS now has an option for Algebra 1 honors in 6th grade for a cohort of students. Better to take this “hardest” math path with possible lower grades, vs stronger grades but will be behind some peers? Which do colleges prefer? Realize this is ridiculous question since only in sixth grade, but have to make a choice.