Sorry for the confusion @MurphyBrown
She had algebra in 8th but her high school gave a placement test and she didn’t do well on it. The school stressed that the placement test matters more than whatever class you took in 8th grade. So she probably will retake Algebra. Other kids will go into Geometry and many will be place in an honors sequence. So there are three tracks. I expect her to be taking the lowest.
Slow/remedial -1 track:
9th: algebra 1 (first half)
10th: algebra 1 (second half)
11th: geometry
12th: algebra 2
Normal +0 track:
9th: algebra 1
10th: geometry
11th: algebra 2
12th: precalculus
Accelerated +1 track:
8th: algebra 1
9th: geometry
10th: algebra 2
11th: precalculus
12th: calculus
Accelerated +2 track:
7th: algebra 1
8th: geometry
9th: algebra 2
10th: precalculus
11th: calculus (should be BC for students this good at math)
12th: more advanced college math
Only the -1 track is considered “behind”, although in a selective high school, the +0 track may seem “behind” compared to the many students who are “ahead” on the +1 and +2 tracks.
@ucbalumnus interesting! So she would be normal. Although many will be advanced in her school. It only matters if it means colleges will rank her behind her advanced classmates. I guess they will. But she’ll have other strengths. Although she hasn’t started yet so who knows. I’m sure she’ll be happy to go to a college that’s not super elite. But right now, she has always had high grades and she does have a few real strengths that could end up being a hook. She could change though, she’s only 14. I just wish that math wasn’t a concern.
These are selective admission high schools, so the students are the stronger ones to being with. Math being the students’ strong subject is no surprise, given the science emphasis of the schools (the students tend to self-select in applying to these schools versus other selective admission high schools).
The analogy at the college level would be to find that students at MIT are amazingly better at math than those at Bunker Hill Community College.
@MurphyBrown YES! Its crazy. She already has her regents test grade. I don’t get how they can make her do it again. And I assume colleges will know she repeated. Her regents score will follow her. I think. There are a lot of questions. Her school is responsive. I’ll email the math department tomorrow. I just didn’t know what my questions were until now. I’m getting so much help!
In the past the school had all Algebra kids (whether taking for the first or second time) take Geometry too. It was automatic. But the rule was changed. So I can’t even talk to past parents! This is all new. Many kids at Stuy come from very advanced middle schools. There ACT math scores are high because of that too. They start Alg in 7th grade.
My D is actually very good at math. She just doesn’t care as much about it.
@MurphyBrown I will ask for that data, although the rules have changed, but I’ll get answers. Thank you!
Good questions @MurphyBrown
Since the policy was always to double up freshman year, parents won’t have had same experience I’m about to have. I have heard from some that taking algebra and geometry together was awful for many kids. Not helpful to many. That’s why they changed it.
She only started to be motivated in math late in 8th grade. Her attitude changed drastically. She is good at, she scored super high on SHSAT. She had to have gotten much of the math correct on that. Now that I say all this I believe she belongs in Geometry. Although repeating Algebra mighy make her even stronger. Maybe she did better on the placement test than she said. She told me she bombed the SHSAT after.
Math at Stuy is different from 'regular ’ high school math - very intense, fast paced, competitive, with kids in circles for math Olympiads or ‘club math’. Weigh all options carefully because she may end up in a class where it is a blood sport (sorta). Think that all the most competitive kids in the city have been put together - she is excellent at math city-wide (no one got in who isn’t), but probably not at Stuy. Either she messed up on the test and didn’t score at her right level, or really needs that stuy-algebra1 to get used to the pace, depth, and style of math there.
Is there a way for you to look at the algebra1 syllabus at stuy so you can compare it to her middle school 's?
If she ends with pre-calculus at stuy, my guess is that she will not get the ‘most rigorous’ check from the guidance counselor BUT any college will know it’s Stuy, one of the most rigorous schools in the country, so it won’t matter. (ask: if she starts in algebra 1 and ends with pre-calculus but offsets this with humanities classes, will she get the most rigorous check on her gc report to colleges, or is that foreclosed right off the bat? If they say it’s possible, have them put it in writing in her file for her gc to find in 4 years.)
Another way to offset that if she’s a humanities kid is for her to study two foreign languages and take a philosophy class (through a cc perhaps) - to play to her strengths.
If she has math up to pre-calculus from stuy she’ll be able to get really high scores on the act/sat + with each of regular/honors bio, chemistry, physics and apes (or replacing regular /honors physics with AP physics 1 and not taking apes but taking two foreign languages at AP level) she’ll be fine.
What’s her schedule like as of now?
@MurphyBrown @MYOS1634
Although she had an anxiety attack when taking the placement test, they took her to an office to work alone and gave her more than enough time to finish so it’s probably accurate. The test was extremely hard because it places kids in math club, honors sequence, honors geometry - not just regular Geometry. So maybe she didn’t do so bad considering that.
But knowing that it could mean not getting most rigorous checked for college concerns me. I have many questions to ask the math dept (I’m writing them Monday) and her counselor after school starts.
I looked at the algebra curriculum and it is harder than what she had. She took integrated algebra (and common core algebra regents test so it was a shock she got a 90) because her school hadn’t switched over to common core. So it was easier and Stuy looks harder to me.
Her schedule
French 1
English comp
Hopefully advanced topics global studies class - they offer AP human geography but the global studies looked so interesting she chose that. There are also two lower level global courses to choose from.
Chorus
Whatever math
Bio
PE
See if they offer honors/accelerated English, Honors French, and insist on advanced global studies. If she’s a humanities kid, she needs to be in the most advanced humanities/social science track right off the bat.
Ask if taking advanced global studies rather than ap human geography will limit her choices in social science for 10th grade, and thereon.
(as I said, not getting the 'most rigorous ’ check won’t really matter much because Stuy students get a pass, adcoms know that no matter what is checked it’d qualify as most rigorous anywhere. You can’t attend stuy and take mostly remedial/general and basket weaving classes - BTW, I think one literal basketweaving class would be terrific but I hope you see what type of schedule I mean.)
Ask guidance what type of schedule the kids who got into Kenyon from stuy had.
@MYOS1634
Thank you. So many good questions and it’s getting clearer to me.
There are no honors in English or French
There is honors bio for kids who had bio in 8th grade only
I’ll talk to them about AP human geo. There was a writing excercise to qualify for it or for adv topics and she likely did well. But she decided on Advnced topics.
There is a chance to switch to honors bio in the spring. She’d probably love to do that.
@MurphyBrown Yes, she learned common core in three weeks of cramming leading up to the exam. Only a few kids scored higher and most did poorly. So she’s fast with math. She may have to be tutored before ACT Or SAT if she is on this predicted track. I never would have thought of that now so I’m really grateful for all the info I’m getting. I like knowing where we are now. I’m looking forward to getting answers from the school.
Just an FYI my daughter who is a senior and went to a magnet school in California did AP Human Geography as a freshman. She found it very challenging but also found that it really prepared her well for her later Social Studies classes.
@VickiSoCal thank you. I’m going to take a second look. I have only just found out that the amount of AP classes is meaningful. My daughter thought it looked to much like earth science which she had two years of already. But it’s good to know it helps with later social studies. So much more to consider than I knew!
Oh goodness, no. It has very little in common with Earth Science. It’s about how geography influences society. You cover immigration, economics, (trade, agriculture, how products and people move from one market to another), how geography affected the spread of religion, the difference between the “built landscape” and the natural landscape, and so on. If taught well it is an introduction to how to think like a social scientist.
To be fair- at my kids’ high school it is taught by a PhD social scientist and I have heard it is considered a “lite” AP at other schools. But it is in no way lite at their school.
@VickiSoCal
Thank you for the info. That sounds like something my daughter would be interested in and it’s going to be taught (it’s new at her school) by a teacher who I hear is amazing. So I’m going to see if we can still get her in. Thanks!
Still, if AP human geography is normally offered to 9th grade students (other than highly advanced prodigies), then it is probably more “lite” than other AP courses or actual college frosh level courses.
I’m not sure who takes it at most schools at our school it is only offered to the pre IB kids.
Even the stronger normal (non-prodigy) students (e.g. typical students on the pre-IB/AP or honors tracks) are not normally assumed to be as academically capable in 9th grade as a typical college frosh student is.
I agree. And I think the AP label is thrown around far too much and schools are not policing who does or does not take AP classes. However I will say the human geography class that my daughter took was presented in a way that I felt was as challenging as any social studies class I took in college. But national percentage receiving a 5 was around 10 percent and her class was well over 50 percent. So either her school is screening more rigorously or her teacher did a better job.