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Geometry in 8th Grade Question..


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My ds is in 7th and doing well with Foersters Alg 1-

 

I am in MI and the state requires PS students 4 years of math.

I know that this requirement is for PS students. I see no problem getting in 4 years. We could do stats and Calc dual enrollment after the normal alg 2, pre-calc sequence.

 

My concern is colleges- Jann has mentioned several times that many colleges do not require a geometry as a pre-req. Have others of you found this to be true?

 

He will not be going to an ivy league school- Either a state or private Christian. He is young and has no idea about his future. I know to look at college sites and thie individual reqs, but I have no idea where he would be going.

 

What have you run into?

 

Thanks!

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I don't quite understand the question. Even if colleges do not specifically require geometry, a study of geometry is a necessary prerequisite to understanding trigonometry, and many things from geometry (particularly analytical geometry) are needed for calculus.

So, what exactly are you asking?

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Dd is planning to major in math or biochem. What I've found when I've contacted universities/colleges is that they want x number of math classes/credits, not that they want Geometry. Algebra 1 & Geometry are very different as far as the amount of abstract thinking required to finish them. In our case, I had do Algebra 1 again to get the theory better and then do Geometry in her freshman year.

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I am wondering if we should do another Algebra and wait for geometry till 9th.

Pros and Cons....

 

My DD is doing geometry in 8th, concurrently with algebra 2 and now 3, and will probably take 8th and 9th to finish both. That's only because she loves algebra and dislikes geometry, so we "dilute" geo ;-)

 

I see no problem doing geometry in 8th and algebra2 in 9th.

OTOH, if your son is not ready for the abstraction of the geometric proofs, there is no problem with doing algebra 2 FIRST and THEN geometry.

FWIW, in other countries (Germany for example) geometry is not taught all by itself in a single year, but the topics are mixed in with the algebra and spread over several years.

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Geometry is NOT a pre-requisite for College Maths--

 

Colleges DO expect high school students to have taken Geometry...

 

Geometry DOES help with the understanding of Trig and above--but I've known many Math majors who did NOT take Geometry and still had/have wonderful careers.

 

I would HESITATE to put an 8th grader into Geometry-- I suggest that younger students either re-take Algebra 1 with a more advanced text-- or work on deepening their Math exposure (pre-Geometry, pre-stats...). Geometry requires a MATURITY that most 8th graders just do not have--even if they are good at Algebra... with that said one of the students who scored the highest in my online Geometry classes last year was only 11!

 

It is not impossible--but it may be pushing things a bit later on to keep up the same pace...

 

I have SEVERAL young Algebra 2 students who are experiencing their first B's and even Cs because they are just not MATURE enough (logically) to handle the abstract concepts...problems that require many different steps/directions to solve... They were all A students in Algebra 1 in either 6th or 7th grade.

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My 7th grader is working through Foerster Alg I, but I am also assigning chapters from NEM 1. If I didn't have NEM I might look into Art of Problem Solving(I think that is the name of the program) I am also assigning every word problem and he is not fast at them yet. So my plan is to take our time and do ALg 1 for 7th and at least much of 8th. I may start Geometry near the end of 8th and continue through 9th so that we can do a really thorough and rigorous job of it as well and have time for regular Algebra review. Then on the transcript I will put Geometry on the 9th grade year, Alg II 10th, PRecalc/Trig 11th and I am undecided about 12th. Either Calc I and II at a CC, or some other math for 1st semester and then Calc 1 at CC, or Calc some at home 1st semester and Calc 1 at CC for 2nd semester. I think getting through Calc 1 in high school is plenty far enough. At this pace you could easily do calc 1 and 2 if you really wanted to. I would rather my son be really solid and deep in his math understanding than farther along.

 

I'm not sure that addresses what you are asking about but I thought I would throw it out there.

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I think it would really depend on the student. I had my older dd take a second year of Alg I, because she needed more review to cement the concepts, and she wasn't really ready to move on. This year, she is doing well with Alg II (we do Alg I, II, then Geom.) My second dd is mathematically inclined. She reads math books for fun, and she know Trig concepts that she's never been taught. I didn't make her do another year of Alg I. She is starting Alg II now at 12. I think a second year of Alg I is a pretty good idea, though, for most dc.

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Thank you, ladies.

 

Sharing your examples and experiences have helped to make my decision.

 

I think we will do a fun year of LOF Alg and some intro Geometry next year-

 

We will tackle Geometry in 9th grade.

My ds17 (who is not advanced) did TT Algebra 1 in 8th, then did LOF Beginning AND advanced Algebra in 9th. That 2nd year of Algebra really helped him cement the facts and he was happy he did that! He did Geometry in 10th and is doing Algebra II in 11th, and doing well.

 

You may want to have your ds go through both of the LOF Algebras as well. If he has a grasp of the concepts, it's almost TOO easy to just do the first book.

 

But that's just what worked with my ds, so thought I'd throw it out there. Best wishes! :001_smile:

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Geometry really depends on the student. My youngest, who is math challenged in many ways, is excelling and loving geometry (9th grade). It is simply coming very easily to him compared to Alg or Pre-Alg. His logical reasoning skills are off the chart high, and, as he told me, "this math makes sense."

 

In my many years of teaching I've seen students do well in Alg that flounder in Geom and vice versa. Then there are some that grasp it all well. Then there are some who find it all challenging. I'd make any decision based on the student involved.

 

With regards to colleges, if high math courses are on the transcript, colleges will know prior classes were taken earlier. Most of us put notes on the transcript noting high school courses taken in 7th or 8th grade. Middle son did Geometry in 8th grade (Alg 1 in 7th) and is one that grasps it all easily. His transcript will have those notes. He's 99th percentile on college entrance exams and won't have any problems getting into colleges with his math timing. He will still have 4 math credits in high school (Alg 2, Pre-Calc, Stats, Calc - in that order).

 

Pick your courses and their timing based on your student.

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