Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Look, families on here are not shooting for UDC like some kids in DC. They are educated and shooting for competitive colleges. So no it is not fine to compare to those kids.

You should be shooting for and taking rigorous and advanced courses because your kid hs the aptitude for it and because yes your kid will be competing against the kids in the burbs for the top 20 or 50 schools or whatever.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Given the bull market the last 20 years everyone's 529s were fully funded for college by the time a kid was 12 yo. So no, that's not it. It's proving you can learn calculus and test well on it. Personally I'd want it done junior year and do more electives senior year. Plus don't kids want all the weighted 5.0 or 4.75 A-s they can get before Fall semester senior year clocks in for rank?

I would say those considerations go to “what works for you.” What I object to is the hysterical insistence that it’s the literal end of the world if your child does not take calc by junior year. It’s not.

I know, many options! Just get a GED already.

See, this is what I hate about DCUM. You have this idea that the optimal way to do high school involves taking AP Calc junior year. Fine. But then you take this other absurd step where you argue that everyone who doesn’t approach high school exactly as you believe they should, might as well drop out of school and stop their education right there. It’s not so black and white. Tons of kids get into elite schools with calc senior year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Given the bull market the last 20 years everyone's 529s were fully funded for college by the time a kid was 12 yo. So no, that's not it. It's proving you can learn calculus and test well on it. Personally I'd want it done junior year and do more electives senior year. Plus don't kids want all the weighted 5.0 or 4.75 A-s they can get before Fall semester senior year clocks in for rank?

I would say those considerations go to “what works for you.” What I object to is the hysterical insistence that it’s the literal end of the world if your child does not take calc by junior year. It’s not.

I know, many options! Just get a GED already.

Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Of course it matters, way more optionality of senior year classes, stem major steps, or being down with tough math earlier if you are tracking to take Calculus junior year.

An A in AP calculus and a good AP test score when you apply to colleges in Fall senior year looks a heck of lot better than a promise to complete the course well by graduation.... Doesn't even compare.

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Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Given the bull market the last 20 years everyone's 529s were fully funded for college by the time a kid was 12 yo. So no, that's not it. It's proving you can learn calculus and test well on it. Personally I'd want it done junior year and do more electives senior year. Plus don't kids want all the weighted 5.0 or 4.75 A-s they can get before Fall semester senior year clocks in for rank?

I would say those considerations go to “what works for you.” What I object to is the hysterical insistence that it’s the literal end of the world if your child does not take calc by junior year. It’s not.

Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Given the bull market the last 20 years everyone's 529s were fully funded for college by the time a kid was 12 yo. So no, that's not it. It's proving you can learn calculus and test well on it. Personally I'd want it done junior year and do more electives senior year. Plus don't kids want all the weighted 5.0 or 4.75 A-s they can get before Fall semester senior year clocks in for rank?

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Anonymous wrote:SWW has many students doubling up Geo & Algebra 2 in 9th grade, so I'd imagine that large cluster takes Pre-calc next, then their AP Calc junior year.

Really not recommended to take geo and algebra 2 simultaneously. Why not take geo in 8th grade?

Because DCPS middle schools don’t have geometry classes in 8th. The math offerrings are really poor and disappointing.

Deal does

Hardy does too. And any DCPS student can take summer algebra or geometry rather than having two double up during the school year, if they want to get to AP calculus sooner.

https://dcpsstrong.com/summer-hs/summer-learning-original-credit/

The summer school Geometry course route is common for strong K-8 private school students who go to DCPS for high school. or MCPS.

Cramming a math course in the summer is not ideal and will not provide a good foundation. Math is also weak in DCPS overall.

As a result, this can be seen in the poor AP pass rate in DCPS for Cal with somewhere low 30%. Also low bar because pass is defined as 3 and above. You can also see the very low SAT math averages in majority of the schools too.

Doesn't DCPS still fund and pay for anyone to take an AP test or SAT test? So kudos to them for getting the whole bell curve in that number.

The kids who know how to get a 5 on the AP Calc test junior or senior do. and they'll look competitive in the T100 college process.

Anonymous wrote:11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Above is not accurate. If you have a kid who wants to do STEM at a competitive college, the floor is AP cal in 12th. But doing this puts you at a disadvantage because lots of kids take AP Cal AB in 10th or 11th and then go on to take AP Cal BC and/or courses past Cal such as Linear Algebra. The mathy kids skip AP Cal AB altogether and go from pre Cal straight to AP AP Cal BC. These kids either skip Cal 1st year of college and breeze thru Linear Algebra or cruise thru Cal and are at top of the class.

Also note that most DCPS schools, the highest math course offerred is just AP Cal AB which is basically equivalent to just the 1st semester of Calcukus and not even the whole year.

11 or 12, does not matter. Whatever works for your kid.

I gather maybe it matters in the suburbs, where everyone is desperately competing for limited seats at the same flagship at the same discounted in-state price. But in DC proper, kids apply to and attend a much wider range of colleges, so there’s a lot less pressure to conform. Just do what works for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWW has many students doubling up Geo & Algebra 2 in 9th grade, so I'd imagine that large cluster takes Pre-calc next, then their AP Calc junior year.

Really not recommended to take geo and algebra 2 simultaneously. Why not take geo in 8th grade?

Because DCPS middle schools don’t have geometry classes in 8th. The math offerrings are really poor and disappointing.

Deal does

Hardy does too. And any DCPS student can take summer algebra or geometry rather than having two double up during the school year, if they want to get to AP calculus sooner.

https://dcpsstrong.com/summer-hs/summer-learning-original-credit/

The summer school Geometry course route is common for strong K-8 private school students who go to DCPS for high school. or MCPS.

Cramming a math course in the summer is not ideal and will not provide a good foundation. Math is also weak in DCPS overall.

As a result, this can be seen in the poor AP pass rate in DCPS for Cal with somewhere low 30%. Also low bar because pass is defined as 3 and above. You can also see the very low SAT math averages in majority of the schools too.

They need to catch up with half the grade.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWW has many students doubling up Geo & Algebra 2 in 9th grade, so I'd imagine that large cluster takes Pre-calc next, then their AP Calc junior year.

Really not recommended to take geo and algebra 2 simultaneously. Why not take geo in 8th grade?

Because DCPS middle schools don’t have geometry classes in 8th. The math offerrings are really poor and disappointing.

Deal does

Hardy does too. And any DCPS student can take summer algebra or geometry rather than having two double up during the school year, if they want to get to AP calculus sooner.

https://dcpsstrong.com/summer-hs/summer-learning-original-credit/

The summer school Geometry course route is common for strong K-8 private school students who go to DCPS for high school. or MCPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SWW has many students doubling up Geo & Algebra 2 in 9th grade, so I'd imagine that large cluster takes Pre-calc next, then their AP Calc junior year.

Really not recommended to take geo and algebra 2 simultaneously. Why not take geo in 8th grade?

Because DCPS middle schools don’t have geometry classes in 8th. The math offerrings are really poor and disappointing.

Deal does

Hardy does too. And any DCPS student can take summer algebra or geometry rather than having two double up during the school year, if they want to get to AP calculus sooner.

https://dcpsstrong.com/summer-hs/summer-learning-original-credit/

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Anonymous wrote:Geometry by 8th is considered the lower track in math in Moco, Arlington, and Fairfax. Yet it is the highest math track offered at the strongest school in dcps. Pathetic.

No it’s not.

Geometry in 8th was the highest option without cramming a year of math into online summer school (until this year when they pushed algebra to 6th grade.)

Algebra in 8th/calc in 12th is very typical for a reasonably bright math student with a good percentage not taking it until 9th and never getting to calc at all.

—FCPS math teacher

What’s reasonably bright in an overeducated an academic area like this? A median, 50th percentile student?

+1. The families on this site have college bound kids and AP Cal by 12th is the minimum and floor not the ceiling.

Agree.

We see 80% uptake of an AP calc by 12th grade, likely split classes half juniors, half seniors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Geometry by 8th is considered the lower track in math in Moco, Arlington, and Fairfax. Yet it is the highest math track offered at the strongest school in dcps. Pathetic.

No it’s not.

Geometry in 8th was the highest option without cramming a year of math into online summer school (until this year when they pushed algebra to 6th grade.)

Algebra in 8th/calc in 12th is very typical for a reasonably bright math student with a good percentage not taking it until 9th and never getting to calc at all.

—FCPS math teacher

What’s reasonably bright in an overeducated an academic area like this? A median, 50th percentile student?

What a weird comment. Max acceleration in math is not the norm, nor is it required for success in college admissions—even for a STEM kid! Plenty of smart, successful kids take calc in 12th grade. (In DCPS, geometry in 9th—not 8th—gets you to calc in 12th.)

I had two kids go through DCPS. One, a super-strong humanities kid, did geometry in 9th and calc in 12th and ended up at a top liberal arts college. The other kid was a math kid; we passed on the opportunity to double up alg1/geometry in 7th, meaning they took geometry in 8th, Calc BC junior year, and mvc/linear at a university senior year. That kid is majoring in math at a top 20 school.

OP, to your original question: if your kid is math-y, calc in 11th is probably the target. If not, calc in 12th is great.