My HS junior is now taking Pre-Calculus. Math is difficult for her and she will likely earn a C. She does not want to major in a STEM field and selective colleges will probably be a reach for her, we will apply to some. We care most about fit. She has a weighted 3.8 GPA, and is doing well in 3 APs this year. No ACT scores yet. If she does not take Math Senior year, but chooses another challenging course, will that be viewed negatively?
It depends on what you mean by “medium selective.” Precalc is a common final level (4th year) of math in high school, so I doubt that stopping at precalc is an issue for non-selective schools. But, look carefully at the recommendations for the schools in question to discern whether they’d like to see a fourth year of math during high school (that is not calc), such as AP stats.
As an aside, it sounds like she was inappropriately advanced one math level in middle school. Is it possible that a poor-quality teacher/course in the early years (say, prealgebra or algebra) led to a shaky foundation? That might be possible to fix.
Agree with #1.
But note that some non-STEM college majors require calculus and/or statistics (in college, not necessarily in high school).
At the high school that my kids attended, students who struggle with Algebra II and Pre-Calculus do Statistics and/or College Algebra. I think this is better than dropping math altogether as even non-STEM majors need quantitative literacy.
She’s had private tutors for Algebra II and PreCalc, I have always suspected she has dyscalculia, don’t think it’s a shaky foundation problem. Unfortunately, Statistics is only offered as an AP course, which will just be too challenging, I fear. I just wonder if its worth another year of time and effort detracting from her other courses when she’ll only get a ‘C’.
Many colleges list the required/recommended coursework on their website so look at schools she is considering applying to and see if they want 4 years of math.
In addition I’d talk to her guidance counselor and have her talk to her current math teacher about the options and what senior year math classes they think she could succeed in.
Think about what she wants to study in college and if any math would be needed for that (ex. in business schools most students are required to take a semester of business calculus).
Can you ask to have her tested for dyscalculia in her high school? It may provide helpful information going forward (ex. if math is required at the college she attends).
In addition to majors that want calculus or statistics, many colleges have a quantitative reasoning general education requirement.
AP statistics may not be a bad idea, since it takes a year to cover what is ordinarily a one semester non-calculus-based introductory statistics course that may be accepted for a college quantitative reasoning requirement or a statistics requirement for some social studies majors (psychology, sociology, etc.). I.e. depending on what college or major she chooses, she may have to take statistics anyway, and it may be gentler to take it as AP statistics in high school than in college.
Most schools that don’t require 4 years of math still recommend it. What non-AP & non-honors options does your school have?
Plenty of respectable colleges will be fine with 3 years of math ending with Pre Calc. As a completely random sample, I looked at Kenyon, Denison, Skidmore, and Dickinson. Only Kenyon requires 4 yrs of math.
My D did 4 yrs of math but still ending with Pre Calc. She is good at math but hates it. She is currently taking Stats at college to meet the quantification course requirement and she will most likely never take math again.
If your D was mine, I would let her be done with math but make sure she has an otherwise rigorous senior schedule and particularly fall semester.
I think it would be a crime to force her to continue in math, and an AP course for someone who is getting C’s would be a terrible mistake. Lots of people avoid math in their lives and careers and are highly successful. Forcing her to continue with math now is only likely to increase future hatred or avoidance.
If your D has an area of special interest or ability, and plans to apply to some highly selective colleges, I would look into an AP course, special project, advanced independent study, etc. in that area for fall term.
But look ahead to whether her intended major(s) in college may require a math or statistics course, or if she is willing to limit her choice of college major to those which do not. Note that some college majors may require a major-specific quantitative methods course (e.g. a political science course of that nature may involve techniques of analyzing elections and polls – example syllabus at https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~gailmard/syl.ps3.pdf ).
Also, when selecting colleges to apply to, consider whether their graduation requirements for students in all majors include a math or quantitative reasoning requirement that would require a course that she is likely to have difficulty in.
Look at what other math courses the school offers if you don’t think AP stats will work, though it may be worth finding out what types of calculating are involved in the stats course.
It’s interesting that she was advanced enough in middle school math to take algebra 1 in 8th grade. How was her performance in algebra 1? Besides discalculia, also consider something simpler like developmental vision issues (convergence, tracking, etc.), which may be fixable/improvable.
What is she currently interested in?
Indeed, if she’s interested in Humanities or arts, she’ll be able to take a special math class in college (like “math for citizenship” or “art and geometry”) that grows her appreciation for data or mathematical shapes/patterns around her without requiring much in terms of math background beside HS Algebra and Geometry. If there’s no need for statistics for her major at the colleges she’s interested in (especially her matches), no need to keep pushing. She should however have a strong schedule - what is she currently taking and what is she thinking of taking next year?
If she’s interested in social sciences, she’ll be better off taking AP Stats (including with a tutor) since it is a semester class spread over a full year, ie., much slower paced, so in the worst case scenario she’d be well-prepared for her college class and in the best case scenario she’d get the college stats requirement waived.
Note that AP Stats is designed for students who are strong academically, just not in math. She could ask her current teacher to see if there’d be a non AP stats class offered and if not whether she may be able to take AP Stats, perhaps with extra support.
Note that math is 50% of the SAT and 25% of the ACT, so her scores may not reflect her overall ability. In that case she should start looking at test optional colleges, running the NPC on them.