Math course selection for a junior - Page 2

historymom · 03-09-2008, 11:23 AM

I have twin Ds one is taking precalc this, her Junior year, the other a class called Math Analysis which is a midway step between AlgII and precalc. Both are thriving in math this year. This has NEVER happened before. I don't think historygirl in math analysis would be doing as well or getting half as much out of precalc as she is out of her current placement where she actually likes math for the first time.

My point is that your son, like my d, has not been recommended for pre calc for a reason. I would advise you to take the class that is more at his level right now so that he can take precalc as a Sr. and thrive.

Math is one of those things that people "get" at different rates and in either course he is still taking a higher level math. If all of your son's other classes show that he is challenging himself and he doesn't take calc in high school it's not a big deal. His ability to not feel out of his depth and frustrated for a year by coursework he's not quite fully understanding is a big deal.

In many high schools Jr. year brings a lot of frustrations as students adapt to a far more rigorous courseload and higher teacher expectations. I was so happy to not have math be a source of angst for either of my girls and they both will still get the check in the "most rigorous" box. We still had tears, nights up till 3:00 a.m. and one bout of stress realted stomach trouble, but it was not related to math.

massmom2 · 03-09-2008, 12:49 PM

Prism: Here is school's description for Advanced Math: "This college prep level course is designed to further develop a student’s geometric, algebraic, and problem-solving skills. Students will first study the functions of trigonometry and their applications. In addition, students will enhance their algebraic skills through an exploration of functions, graph and recursion theories, and elements of discrete math.
HistoryMom: How could both the math classes count as "most rigorous"?
I share your view about reducing anxiety and stress.

historymom · 03-09-2008, 01:24 PM

I didn't mean that the classes were equally rigorous they aren't. I meant that according to my understanding, at our HS it is the overall rigor that is assessed and if a student has taken the highest level of classes in every other respect, the fact that he/she ran out of time to take APcalc because of taking a "bridge" class like Math Analysis jr. year to strengthen skills prior to taking precalc Sr. year would not count against them as far as rigor is concerned. The student still took a step up the mathematical ladder and the "most rigorous" box could still be checked.

It may be worth a conversation with your GC. But what I think is the most important thing for kids to do as far as college admissions is concerned is to continue to challenge themselves all four years by taking increasingly difficult coursework.

ClassicRockerDad · 03-09-2008, 01:39 PM

The class sounds ok and isn't dumbed down math. It has some precalculus in it. Also, some of the discrete math topics (graphs and recursion) are not in the normal precalculus curriculum, so these are above and beyond what the honors kids see. What is the description for the class that follows this class? Does it complete precalculus (does it look a lot like the topics in honors precalculus)? I suspect it does, and if that's the case, I think this may well be the best way to go.

In a sense, instead of a precalculus-calculus track, they would be slowing precalculus down to maybe 1.5 years. However, there is not enough precalculus content to spread over two years, so they've added the discrete math component. It could be very good.

As I said, I wouldn't worry about the "most rigorous" box. Your son needs to learn math at a pace he's comfortable with. As someone else said, math is cumulative, so it's really important to learn it well. He would also get to calculus this way too, and probably be better prepared for it.

massmom2 · 03-10-2008, 05:33 PM

Thanks again, all. I think we will stick with the Advanced Math. I noticed in the school catalog that in two years, they will change its name to Precalculus, College Prep level. Figures!

Pohsmom · 03-10-2008, 06:07 PM

I have always been told to go with the most challenging class that you can still get atleast a B in. If taking this class would make getting a B difficult, I wouldn't chance it.