Come back and let me know how the 5th grader's reasoning skills and numerical flexibility is in 3-4 years. Racing to Algebra is silly. It's not all about Prealgebra and Algebra.

This is no race. Thanks for your expertise but I doubt the 5th grader would even put a DC urban mom in her orbit. I'll ask her.

Some kids are slow on the track now and will remain slow runners for life. What is a jog around the track for some may seem like a race to you and other urban moms.

I'm sure you're experienced the phenomenona. That's why some choose to be urban moms while others have abundant other options.

One hs guidance counselor said that one college once required a student to RETAKE algebra over the summer before her freshman year at college because algebra was a prerequisite to entering that college and algebra wasn't on her hs school transcript (although Geometry, Algebra 2, Calc, etc were on her hs transcript). I have no reason to doubt this crazy story, but that's the only explanation I've ever heard of requiring the MS grades to go on the HS transcript. Seems to me like there's a dozen ways to do this better. This topic came up a few weeks ago here. It's too late for my kids, but I really think some of you with some future interests (kid in elementary and MS) should look into this and try to give parents/kids better options.

This was not a real College (perhaps, Podunk U or a community college) or you were fooled. On top of Calculus and Algebra 2 on the transcript what if the student brought SAT of 2250, SAT Math 2 of 750 and a 5 on the Calculas AP exam what sane student would follow the advise of any College advisor and take Algebra 1 over the summer for a passing grade just to put on the high school transcript? You do not need a high school diploma to attend great colleges in this country. Although, if you as a parent want your kid to go to Podunk U you might advise him or her to go ahead and take Algebra 1 over the summer even though he or she has an A in Algebra 2 on the high school transcript!

Come back and let me know how the 5th grader's reasoning skills and numerical flexibility is in 3-4 years. Racing to Algebra is silly. It's not all about Prealgebra and Algebra.

Algebra in 5th grade is not a great idea IMHO. Lots of abstract problem solving and patterns that kids never learn how to see when you start working with variables at 10.

Funny, that's exactly what all the parents of the 7th and 8th graders said when the 5th grader had the highest scores on AMC 8, 10 and Raven tests last year. So much for 3 more wasted years of prealgebra.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One hs guidance counselor said that one college once required a student to RETAKE algebra over the summer before her freshman year at college because algebra was a prerequisite to entering that college and algebra wasn't on her hs school transcript (although Geometry, Algebra 2, Calc, etc were on her hs transcript). I have no reason to doubt this crazy story, but that's the only explanation I've ever heard of requiring the MS grades to go on the HS transcript. Seems to me like there's a dozen ways to do this better. This topic came up a few weeks ago here. It's too late for my kids, but I really think some of you with some future interests (kid in elementary and MS) should look into this and try to give parents/kids better options.

I find this hard to believe. Most kids in private school take algebra 1 in MS and it does not appear on the transcript. No one in my DDs HS class had to take alg 1 again and none of them had taken it in HS.

It was one hs counselor who said that in ten years it mattered one time. Everyone agrees that it's a crazy anomaly. Also, I think MD and VA publics put the MS algebra on the HS transcript-- at least that's what I thought a lot of the fuss was about.

I've got a kid in MCPS who took alg 1 in private middle school so it won't be on her transcript. And she doesn't have to take the HSA either. So there is a chance she'd have to retake alg 1? No one has mentioned this to us and we discussed the topic of alg 1 outside of MCPS quite specifically. And this is at a school that sends a lot of kids to top colleges.

I wouldn't worry about it. I think if this story is true (more than likely it's probably a tale told to parents to keep them from asking guidance counselors policy questions) it was a total outlier. Top colleges expect kids to have had Algebra before HS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One hs guidance counselor said that one college once required a student to RETAKE algebra over the summer before her freshman year at college because algebra was a prerequisite to entering that college and algebra wasn't on her hs school transcript (although Geometry, Algebra 2, Calc, etc were on her hs transcript). I have no reason to doubt this crazy story, but that's the only explanation I've ever heard of requiring the MS grades to go on the HS transcript. Seems to me like there's a dozen ways to do this better. This topic came up a few weeks ago here. It's too late for my kids, but I really think some of you with some future interests (kid in elementary and MS) should look into this and try to give parents/kids better options.

I find this hard to believe. Most kids in private school take algebra 1 in MS and it does not appear on the transcript. No one in my DDs HS class had to take alg 1 again and none of them had taken it in HS.

It was one hs counselor who said that in ten years it mattered one time. Everyone agrees that it's a crazy anomaly. Also, I think MD and VA publics put the MS algebra on the HS transcript-- at least that's what I thought a lot of the fuss was about.

I've got a kid in MCPS who took alg 1 in private middle school so it won't be on her transcript. And she doesn't have to take the HSA either. So there is a chance she'd have to retake alg 1? No one has mentioned this to us and we discussed the topic of alg 1 outside of MCPS quite specifically. And this is at a school that sends a lot of kids to top colleges.

Algebra in 5th grade is not a great idea IMHO. Lots of abstract problem solving and patterns that kids never learn how to see when you start working with variables at 10.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One hs guidance counselor said that one college once required a student to RETAKE algebra over the summer before her freshman year at college because algebra was a prerequisite to entering that college and algebra wasn't on her hs school transcript (although Geometry, Algebra 2, Calc, etc were on her hs transcript). I have no reason to doubt this crazy story, but that's the only explanation I've ever heard of requiring the MS grades to go on the HS transcript. Seems to me like there's a dozen ways to do this better. This topic came up a few weeks ago here. It's too late for my kids, but I really think some of you with some future interests (kid in elementary and MS) should look into this and try to give parents/kids better options.

I find this hard to believe. Most kids in private school take algebra 1 in MS and it does not appear on the transcript. No one in my DDs HS class had to take alg 1 again and none of them had taken it in HS.

It was one hs counselor who said that in ten years it mattered one time. Everyone agrees that it's a crazy anomaly. Also, I think MD and VA publics put the MS algebra on the HS transcript-- at least that's what I thought a lot of the fuss was about.

Anonymous wrote:One hs guidance counselor said that one college once required a student to RETAKE algebra over the summer before her freshman year at college because algebra was a prerequisite to entering that college and algebra wasn't on her hs school transcript (although Geometry, Algebra 2, Calc, etc were on her hs transcript). I have no reason to doubt this crazy story, but that's the only explanation I've ever heard of requiring the MS grades to go on the HS transcript. Seems to me like there's a dozen ways to do this better. This topic came up a few weeks ago here. It's too late for my kids, but I really think some of you with some future interests (kid in elementary and MS) should look into this and try to give parents/kids better options.

I find this hard to believe. Most kids in private school take algebra 1 in MS and it does not appear on the transcript. No one in my DDs HS class had to take alg 1 again and none of them had taken it in HS.

Most college admissions people will tell you that regardless of the level of the course, colleges like to see 4 years of English, history, math, science and foreign language taken during the 4 years the kid is at high school. If you believe this, your kid is not freeing up time to take electives in hs (by taking hs credit classes in ms), instead, he's putting himself on track to take advanced (by 1 or 2 or 3 years) english, history, math, science and foreign language. Some kids/parents want this. Most probably do not (at least not in every subject area).

One hs guidance counselor said that one college once required a student to RETAKE algebra over the summer before her freshman year at college because algebra was a prerequisite to entering that college and algebra wasn't on her hs school transcript (although Geometry, Algebra 2, Calc, etc were on her hs transcript). I have no reason to doubt this crazy story, but that's the only explanation I've ever heard of requiring the MS grades to go on the HS transcript. Seems to me like there's a dozen ways to do this better. This topic came up a few weeks ago here. It's too late for my kids, but I really think some of you with some future interests (kid in elementary and MS) should look into this and try to give parents/kids better options.

Do elementary school grades appear on the middle school transcript? If not, why should middle school grades appear on the high school transcript? Sounds even crazier for course taken in elementary school to appear on a high school transcript 8 years later when the child is applying to College?

OP makes a very good point. Why should any middle school course weigh in on a high school transcript? In fact, why should a course taken in elementary school be on the high school transcript? My elementary school 5th grader is taking Algebra 1 including the Algebra 1 HSA. Both will appear on the HS transcript 5 years from now! Absolutely ludicrous even though he carries an A average. Worthy universities (LAC, Ivy, Stanford, MIT to name a few) really only care about your grades in high school (what have you done for me lately). In fact, worthy colleges accept homeschoolers and other kids without a high school diploma. A high school diploma is not required to enter these institutions and high schools do not have a monopoly on academic accomplishment and intellectual horsepower.