Hi All, This is my first time posting. (I created the account today), My son is in 10th grade and we would like him to take Algebra 2 over summer. We live in the bay area. One of his friends took a class with silicon valley high school for math but I have heard mixed reviews. Any idea of a good summer algebra 2 summer program. Apologies if this has been mentioned before,. I did search the form but i found answers in the home schooling section that werent really relevant to me. Thank you
Is your son home schooled? If not, does his current high school offer summer school classes?
I’m not a fan of taking a sequential subject such as algebra 2 in a compressed timeframe over the summer. Having a solid background in this subject is important moving forward. YMMV.
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Don’t rush math. Math builds. It’s important to have a great grasp and taking a rushed course could hamper him later.
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Will his school allow it? Our school (also Bay Area) does not permit taking any math other than geometry for advancement over summer, because algebra & pre calc are so foundational. If they do, you may want to look into UC Scout.
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I was a math major, quite a long time ago. Algebra 2 is pretty much the basis for something like half of everything that I have done ever since. This is something that is worth learning very well. This is something that is work taking the time to learn well.
Just as one example, this is something that a student will want to know very well before they take calculus. There are however a huge number of other similar examples.
I would not take it over the summer.
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This implies:
- 9th grade: algebra 1
- 10th grade: geometry
I.e. on the standard +0 math track. Granted, in some high schools, even the +1 math track may appear “behind” when so many students are on the +2 math track.
The standard +0 math track should prepare the student to take calculus at the beginning of college, if necessary for the major. Very few colleges in the US actually require or expect calculus to be taken while in high school (and often only for certain majors).
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Why do you want him to take a math class in the summer? The very vast majority of those applying to colleges have never taken a summer school class.
So…what is the reason?
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My D26 chose to accelerate her math progress between 10th and 11th grade as well by taking pre-calc over the summer. She actually petitioned her school to offer it, which worked out well. The school got some extra revenue, the teachers got some extra pay, and the students got to take an accelerated version of the class that let them accelerate. The program worked out well enough that they offered it again this year and have been expanding the number of courses offered.
And just to add a datapoint of one, but my D26 found pre-calc over the summer to be intense, but manageable. She subsequently did fine in AP Calc that year.
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I can see - where if it’s the only thing you are focused on in the summer and you have discipline, it could work….
Was she strong in math to begin with? How did she find Algebra 2?
She’s a strong math student and found Algebra 2 to be fine as well. It’s why she felt comfortable accelerating over the summer.
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Would be helpful to know from OP why the desire to accelerate and how strong math performance to date is.
When we immigrated to the US, D19 was placed in the normal math track based on prior country schooling (she missed half of 8th grade because of school year calendars) and also wanted to accelerate to the +1 track in high school. The high school as mentioned above has geometry as the only option for that (which she did, between freshman and sophomore year). She was an ok math student, mix of As and Bs, the As took a bit of effort, and I think she would have found alg2 or precalc difficult to do as summer courses. (Younger kid by contrast is very strong at math and would have been fine doing a summer course if desired I think, so I do think it very much dependent on student and reasons.)
I do think your D and her classmates benefitted from taking the summer class at their home school as opposed to an online class or even at another HS. The OP’s HS does not seem to offer the class over the summer.
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I agree. Perhaps the student might advocate for their school to offer it and help their school understand the potential benefits.
Also, OP my D26 is taking two classes this school year through One Schoolhouse, which is an online school that supplements schools that may not offer some courses. If your student is comfortable in online environments, then I think One Schoolhouse also offers summer courses. Those courses could transfer/be used on the transcript of your local high school if your local high school agrees.
I would be hesitant about taking a foundational course such as Algebra 2 online in a compressed summer format but YMMV.
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My daughter is pushing to take precalc as a CCP / DE class this summer - summer between 9th and 10th. Her reasoning mainly is to free up the schedule to take additional courses as a Senior; so higher math classes or doubling up on science classes depending on where she starts to lean for what to study in college. But to also still be able to take a study hall as a Senior; and also somewhat to balance the class load so that Jr years isn’t as stacked, and she also threw out the “summer brain drain” as a reason. Our HS counselors strongly push to have a study hall, especially Jr/Sr years. She will not have a study hall next year as a soph.
I voted no on the idea, but she is really pushing for it so I’ve warned her on the possible negatives, explained the discipline and structure it will take, and decided to allow it. If it doesn’t work out as intended it will be a good lesson for her. And “not working out” I defined as not getting an A in PreCalc and also in AP Calc BC next year. She’s getting an A in Honors Algebra 2 and is a straight A student, so she can handle it, as long as she remains disciplined about it. She works with a weekly math tutor and has for years, and the plan is for her to go twice per week during the summer. the PreCalc is an online class. Hopefully it works out.
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This indicates algebra 2 in 9th grade, or already on the +2 math track, but also needing a tutor to earn an A grade. This suggests that she may already be overaccelerated, since usually those properly placed on the +2 math track find all high school math to be easy A with no need for a tutor.
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“needing a tutor to earn an A grade” is a false assumption. She has a tutor because in 6th the school bumped her +2 levels and seriously considered bumping another level, so the tutor started just to make sure she was on track. But we keep the tutor as it’s a good relationship and if nothing else dedicated homework time.
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Just to put this in the “best laid plans” category, my D26 had a similar set of aspirations. She did double up on science her junior year. Now that she’s a senior and looking at colleges, I just heard her talking about pre-law and philosophy/English as possible fields of study! So much for that science/math acceleration…
Anyway, D26 found that she was driven enough that she pushed for all of her courses (summer and online) despite my protests. At no point did she “need” to do this. She wanted to and led the charge. I was comfortable that it might not work out as planned, but I’m coming to realize that no matter the actual outcome, it’s probably a good learning experience. Whether it’s math or life lessons that are learned is the only question.
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