Our school system has Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra II, Precalc, and then Calc. For the advanced MAth students, in 8th grade they take accelerated Algebra 1 , and start Geometry, and then in 9th grade its accelerated Geometry/Algebra II. Precalc is an entire year, and then for 11th grade, you can take Calc AB/BC. Some of the kids are even more advanced and do start in 7th grade, but just a handful. Those who do, by junior Year take advanced Math at the State STEM flagship. My D, who was weak in Math, just did the regular classes starting in 9th grade, up to Precalc, but my S, who is very advanced in Math is a Junior now, taking Calc AB . Will take AP stats as a Senior, instead of Dual enrollment.
Our district suggested accelerated math for one of our kids. We called and asked for their criteria. They were…class grades, state assessment, and some other standardized achievement test they gave…and teacher recommendation.
We said “are any of these compelling reasons for OUR kid to accelerate in math?”
The department chair hemmed and hawed. So…we graciously declined the offer. We were the first ever parents to decline accelerated math.
It meant that our kid would be in honors math, but not a year ahead. She took math all four years of HS, and got an excellent and strong foundation. Her last HS course was pre-calculus. She took calculus in college.
Oh…and she was an engineering major.
My husband is an engineer. He said that getting a really strong foundation in math is far more important than accelerating ahead in HS.
This not accepting the accelerated route never impacted anything our kid wanted to do.
Of course, YMMV depending on your kiddo and the school.
Some kids very much need and benefit from acceleration. But really…this has taken on a life of its own…and in some places…it’s the expectation that kids will accelerate…which is not right for all kids recommended.
They are already at an advanced pace if they are scheduled to take algebra in 8th grade. I would keep them in the proper sequence. Why disrupt things or risk having your kids at a disadvantage when they are doing extremely well in an honors/advanced track? And FWIW taking one additional AP class will have zero impact on college admissions.
@thumper1 Thank you! I really appreciate the example of a student who did not take an accelerated path who succeeded in engineering school. Foundation is so critical! I truly wish I had pulled my son from the accelerated math path. My DD is in the mid-path and is excelling in math, while my son gave up after our pre-calc. He took AP Physics as a compromise to no math his senior year (he already had 4 HS math credits). He loves AP Physics - I think it might be because he had pre-calc and physics before taking the class. Foundation is so key.
Read this through-My D took Algebra 1 in 7th grade. She was ready for it. In fact in her program almost all the kids took it in 7th grade and a few in 6th grade. The only caveats…she had to do some prep for PSAT and SAT in math because she was rusty on concepts even though she is an excellent math student. Because she had knocked so many HS classes out in middle school by the time she was a senior (currently) the only courses she could take were APs. She has 5 now and does not make for a fun senior year. I remember Halloween in 7th grade…she was doing homework until 8pm. It’s great to have smart motivated kids with access to advanced curriculum. But kids do pay a price. Its called loss of childhood. Looking back I wish we had made different choices. Don’t get caught up in the race to nowhere. You will regret it someday.
@thumper1 I think it would be good to take Alg1 in 8th grade and then Calc senior year…and then Calc again in college! That is what I did.
Why take calculus twice, if you did well the first time and know the material? (Not referring to honors calculus or proof-based calculus like at HMC or Caltech.)
These days, students should be able to try the college’s old calculus final exams to make a more informed decision about whether to skip the entry calculus course with AP credit.
For students who are capable, I agree.
On that I disagree. No reason, IMO, to retake basic calc 1 and 2 in college, particularly if the college gives credit for AP/IB or offers a challenge exam or as @ucbalumnus states, the college/major requires proof-based calculus.
Depending on the major, some schools might possibly require the student to take a Calc class, though they would (depending on the AP test score) give the student the credit hours for the AP course.
First, as I think I already stated, each child is an individual. Maybe the OP’s child is in that very small group that NEEDS to accelerate, maybe while still gifted by various definitions, should not take 7th grade algebra.
Next- not all college calculus courses are the same. AP represents an average college, not a top tier one for content expected to be mastered. Very common for UW (Madison) freshmen to start with first semester calculus despite “passing” the AP exam because they will be unprepared to do well with second semester as taught by UW ( a top tier school for grad math). Post #47 key word is “basic”. The versions offered at top tier schools are not basic (just as honors is not regular as well). Likewise for many other fields.
Wisconsin does not give advanced placement for a “passing” score of 3 on AP calculus; a score of 4 is required to get advanced placement, according to https://www.admissions.wisc.edu/apply/freshman/apib.php . Here is the Wisconsin math placement algorithm: https://www.math.wisc.edu/undergraduate/math-placement-tech-algorithm-uw-madison .
Students with sufficient AP calculus scores to be allowed to take advanced placement at Wisconsin can try the old final exams of Math 221 and 222 to check their knowledge when deciding whether to take advanced placement: https://www.library.wisc.edu/math/services/course-reserves/ .
As someone who skipped what my school called “6th grade math” and went straight to prealgebra and has continued along that path up to doubling up on calculus BC and Statistics in senior year (BC is a one semester course offered to seniors who got an A in AB as a junior at my school), I’d like to add that I really shouldn’t have taken the advanced course. I have a weak foundation in basic math now because I spent most of middle school playing catchup and my math ACT is noticeably lower than my other subscores (28 vs. 35-36). Acceleration in order to take more APs could potentially backfire. Anyways, on the track your kids are on they can still complete Calc AB, as well as Stats if they like math and want to double up.
^ The problem is that the “standard” math curriculum skips a large portion of mathematics, and doesn’t teach what is covered in very much depth (and teaches it in an extremely boring way that tends to kill interest in real mathematics, which is beautiful and intriguing and fun). Kids who find the curriculum too easy and who are bored most often choose to “accelerate”, which just means moving ahead to do portions of the curriculum at an earlier age and skipping other portions, which results in more math missed, and does not provide more depth. AoPS founder Richard Ruszcyk refers to this as the “Calculus Trap”:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/calculus-trap
See also:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/articles/discrete-math
The urge to get to the AP level only compounds this. The trick is to find ways to deepen understanding and enjoyment of math, not to skip over fundamentals in order to get to a more “advanced” portion of the curriculum taught at a superficial level sooner. There are useful programs and resources to do this; a few school systems provide support for these kind of things, but for the most part it’s something that motivated and talented kids have to pursue on their own.