Anonymous wrote:

If kids are able to enroll in Honors Precal and then drop down to regular Precal and still take AP Calc the next year I am unaware of that. As far as I know, Honors Precal is really the only Precal that our school offers. If you don't do well in Honors Precal, I believe you're stuck with a less than stellar grade and you simply don't qualify to take AP Cal.

I think that there is some more flexibility in other school systems like FCPS with regards to being able to take regular Alg 1/Alg 2/Precal followed by AP Cal.

I'm the PP, and my kid is in FCPS. As far as I can tell, kids who do well in regular pre-calc (as juniors) are able to take Calc AB, while some take applied/regular calculus and some just take AP Stats. Kids who do well in honors pre-calc generally take Calc BC, but some take Calc AB. My DC does report that the kids who took regular pre-calc are finding Calc AB more challenging.

Yeah, many of the kids will choose to retake Calc at college for lots of reasons. When they do retake it, I'm sure that they will be happy that they had some exposure to it in HS.

If kids are able to enroll in Honors Precal and then drop down to regular Precal and still take AP Calc the next year I am unaware of that. As far as I know, Honors Precal is really the only Precal that our school offers. If you don't do well in Honors Precal, I believe you're stuck with a less than stellar grade and you simply don't qualify to take AP Cal.

I think that there is some more flexibility in other school systems like FCPS with regards to being able to take regular Alg 1/Alg 2/Precal followed by AP Cal.

I'm the PP, and my kid is in FCPS. As far as I can tell, kids who do well in regular pre-calc (as juniors) are able to take Calc AB, while some take applied/regular calculus and some just take AP Stats. Kids who do well in honors pre-calc generally take Calc BC, but some take Calc AB. My DC does report that the kids who took regular pre-calc are finding Calc AB more challenging.

Anonymous wrote:My senior is in AP Calc AB and his class is a mix of kids who took "regular" math starting with Algebra 1 in 8th grade, kids who dropped down from honors to regular during PreCalc last year, and kids like him (B+ in honors pre-calc because he never studied, will probably never take math again). It may seem like "everyone" takes all honors/AP everything all the time and that's the only track, but it simply isn't true.

Taking regular math will not prevent a kid from taking an AP Calculus class. Taking some non-honors classes does not ruin a college application (especially if the non-honors class is the right fit for the student). My kid has ADHD, has taken a mix of regular, honors and APs, and is applying to college with a 3.7/4.0 (weighted) and a high ACT score. He's not going to get into an Ivy league school, obviously, but the situation is not dire for him.

We are out of state and the kids in our area need to take and do well in Honors Precalc before they can take AP Calc. They also have to test into college level math in order to take it at the community college.

If kids are able to enroll in Honors Precal and then drop down to regular Precal and still take AP Calc the next year I am unaware of that. As far as I know, Honors Precal is really the only Precal that our school offers. If you don't do well in Honors Precal, I believe you're stuck with a less than stellar grade and you simply don't qualify to take AP Cal.

I think that there is some more flexibility in other school systems like FCPS with regards to being able to take regular Alg 1/Alg 2/Precal followed by AP Cal.

My senior is in AP Calc AB and his class is a mix of kids who took "regular" math starting with Algebra 1 in 8th grade, kids who dropped down from honors to regular during PreCalc last year, and kids like him (B+ in honors pre-calc because he never studied, will probably never take math again). It may seem like "everyone" takes all honors/AP everything all the time and that's the only track, but it simply isn't true.

Taking regular math will not prevent a kid from taking an AP Calculus class. Taking some non-honors classes does not ruin a college application (especially if the non-honors class is the right fit for the student). My kid has ADHD, has taken a mix of regular, honors and APs, and is applying to college with a 3.7/4.0 (weighted) and a high ACT score. He's not going to get into an Ivy league school, obviously, but the situation is not dire for him.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP don't let these people make you feel guilty for asking a valid question. My guess is that it wouldn't make a difference to colleges as long as taking regular Algebra II doesn't affect what type of classes your child can take later on. I would ask the counselor if taking regular Algebra II still allows a kid to take Calculus AB or BC later on.

Yes she will be able to take AP Calculus AB then Calculus BC .

The reality is that regular Algebra 1 (at least in theory) is a less intense version of Algebra 1 honors. Algebra 1 honors is also weighted a half point higher than regular Algebra 1 so that a kid getting an A in the honors course will have a .5 bump to their GPA that a kid in the regular class doesn't get.

So much of it boils down to a numbers game with the colleges. Does a half point extra in their GPA matter? Yes, and those .5 points really add up over the span of a HS career. Would success in subsequent classes be as good after a watered down regular course? No. If the regular class is truly watered down you could expect that there would be a fairly significant gap between what an A student in regular Algebra 1 has learned compared to what a an A student in Algebra 1 honors has learned.

That said, my own kid took the regular math courses. He got a great foundation in math and was able to close the gap between the regular courses and honors courses by taking some college level math courses in his junior and senior years. Not easy but it worked for him because he is a good math student. He has said that if he could do it over again he would have just bitten the bullet and taken the honors math courses - they are a less circuitous route to getting to where he is now (a STEM major in college). But the reality was he was not ready or motivated to deal with honors level math when he was in 8th/9th grade. He didn't really find his motivation until 10th grade....and that is when he decided to kick it into high gear and do some catch up. Luckily, he had a really great foundation going into his catch up work.

I would encourage you to take your kid as she/he is and listen to their math teachers. Talk to their guidance counselor and see what is the best strategy for your kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges will say - best to get an A in the highest level class offered but better to get an A in Alg 2 than a C in Alg 2 honors. So if your DC is doing fine in alg 2 honors keep it up, if not the GPA will be more important.

I thought it was the opposite.

GPA is important. If you’ve got a crappy GPA, even in the most challenging classes, you won’t pass the first cut.

Anonymous wrote:OP don't let these people make you feel guilty for asking a valid question. My guess is that it wouldn't make a difference to colleges as long as taking regular Algebra II doesn't affect what type of classes your child can take later on. I would ask the counselor if taking regular Algebra II still allows a kid to take Calculus AB or BC later on.

Yes she will be able to take AP Calculus AB then Calculus BC .

Anonymous wrote:Colleges will say - best to get an A in the highest level class offered but better to get an A in Alg 2 than a C in Alg 2 honors. So if your DC is doing fine in alg 2 honors keep it up, if not the GPA will be more important.

I thought it was the opposite.

Colleges will say - best to get an A in the highest level class offered but better to get an A in Alg 2 than a C in Alg 2 honors. So if your DC is doing fine in alg 2 honors keep it up, if not the GPA will be more important.

It matters. Things are different these days.

OP don't let these people make you feel guilty for asking a valid question. My guess is that it wouldn't make a difference to colleges as long as taking regular Algebra II doesn't affect what type of classes your child can take later on. I would ask the counselor if taking regular Algebra II still allows a kid to take Calculus AB or BC later on.

Yes, really. Why would a college care about Alg2hons vs Alg2 reg when there are higher level courses in math that can show the applicant's abilities better? Kids who take Alg2 can still take AP calc. Btw, OP did not limit the question to engineering kids. But even if s/he had, the same would apply.

There are plenty of engineering majors at non-top tier schools who get jobs and are very successful.

Anonymous wrote:Be serious, OP. Do you think all the kids who go to college TOOK Alg. 2 Hons? I hope you are not that far into the bubble that you think your child's future depends on Alg. 2 Hons.

News flash.... even kids who want to be engineers can get into college with regular Alg. 2! And then there are the many others who aren't trying to be engineers who also get into college with regular Alg. 2.

I hate to think what type of 4th tier engineering school is taking kids who can’t manage A2 honors. A humanities, art, music kid maybe. But engineering? Come on.

Be serious, OP. Do you think all the kids who go to college TOOK Alg. 2 Hons? I hope you are not that far into the bubble that you think your child's future depends on Alg. 2 Hons.

News flash.... even kids who want to be engineers can get into college with regular Alg. 2! And then there are the many others who aren't trying to be engineers who also get into college with regular Alg. 2.

How will college applications be affected with one does the regular class instead of the honors?