Algebra in 7th grade?

[Jane]

In another thread it was mentioned that some PS children are doing algebra in 7th grade. I'm curious, what do those children do in 11th and 12th grade? From a homeschooling perspective, I understand dual enrollment is our best option. Is it the same for PS children? Do they go onto a college campus for math or is there a teacher on site for those students?

 

I ask because I have a 7th grade working her way through Saxon Algebra I. I worked very hard to hold her off until this year. She is simply a strong math student. We may look at PSs for high school. Thanks.

[Moni]

Calculus, Statistics.

 

Sure or college, on-campus or online math class as available

 

I don't know what the PS students do. I don't have any PS students.

Is Calculus 2 years in high school? AB and BC, but at the college it's two semesters?

 

The colleges all require a "math evaluation" (placement test) anyway, so what they take "next" (college) depends on how well they perform on the placement exams.

:seeya:

[Carrie12345]

In another thread it was mentioned that some PS children are doing algebra in 7th grade. I'm curious, what do those children do in 11th and 12th grade? From a homeschooling perspective, I understand dual enrollment is our best option. Is it the same for PS children? Do they go onto a college campus for math or is there a teacher on site for those students?

 

I ask because I have a 7th grade working her way through Saxon Algebra I. I worked very hard to hold her off until this year. She is simply a strong math student. We may look at PSs for high school. Thanks.

 

Our hs offers Alg3/Trig as a separate course as well as Essentials of Calculus, AP Calculus, Statistics, and Topics in Applied Mathematics.

[Laurel]

I took two years of Calculus (taking both AB and BC exams) and then AP Statistics. A good friend took all those, and then his senior year took classes at the local state university. While I was in high school, there was a surge in demand for higher-level math classes in my school system, and second year calculus and statistics were new classes while I was there.

[Sunshine State Sue]

From what I have read on these boards, a number of students who take Algebra in 7th or 8th grade take it again in 9th grade.

[Moni]

From what I have read on these boards, a number of students who take Algebra in 7th or 8th grade take it again in 9th grade.

 

I've noticed the same thing....

[tammi]

I have heard from many a math teachers that children taking algebra before 9th grade struggle a bit. Waiting seems to work because something happens in their brain that makes algebra easier to understand. I also have heard that children don't get credit for anything they take in 7th grade. If they take algebra in 8th grade it will count but not in 7th grade. I also think we are pushing the kids to soon, mathmatically, before they are really ready for it. Wait for 9th grade when they can really understand it.

Tammi

[Jane]

I have heard from many a math teachers that children taking algebra before 9th grade struggle a bit. Waiting seems to work because something happens in their brain that makes algebra easier to understand. I also have heard that children don't get credit for anything they take in 7th grade. If they take algebra in 8th grade it will count but not in 7th grade. I also think we are pushing the kids to soon, mathmatically, before they are really ready for it. Wait for 9th grade when they can really understand it.

Tammi

 

(sigh) Thankfully this is why I homeschool. My dd is doing *very* well in algebra.

[8filltheheart]

(sigh) Thankfully this is why I homeschool. My dd is doing *very* well in algebra.

 

LOL.....I agree. My ds took alg the first time in 5th and again with a more difficult text in 6th. As an 8th grader, he is currently blowing away alg 2 (we have finished 7+ weeks already) with zero difficulties.

 

There are stereotypes and there are kids that don't fit the stereotypes.

 

FWIW.....I haven't had a single child yet wait until 9th grade to take alg. ;)

 

Also, look into the courses offered through the Art of Problem Solving, EPGY, etc for alternative indepth courses.

[Shelly in the Country]

(sigh) Thankfully this is why I homeschool. My dd is doing *very* well in algebra.

 

My dd is on course to begin Algebra early, too. I just wanted to reassure you. I took Algebra in the 7th grade and did just fine in math in high school and college. You don't sound like you need reassurance though :001_smile:. I once knew someone who went through two years of Calc in high school. She went into Calc III freshman year of college.

[FairProspects]

Yup, my high school offered Calculus 2 (although you reached that level if you took Algebra in 8th grade), and if you were beyond that you went to the local university for math classes. I wouldn't worry about it. I spent my 7th grade year twiddling my thumbs in "Math Applications" because I had completed Pre-Alg. in 6th grade and wasn't allowed to move on to Algebra until 8th grade. It was a complete waste of a year!

[MBM]

In another thread it was mentioned that some PS children are doing algebra in 7th grade. I'm curious, what do those children do in 11th and 12th grade? From a homeschooling perspective, I understand dual enrollment is our best option. Is it the same for PS children? Do they go onto a college campus for math or is there a teacher on site for those students?

 

I ask because I have a 7th grade working her way through Saxon Algebra I. I worked very hard to hold her off until this year. She is simply a strong math student. We may look at PSs for high school. Thanks.

 

In our area of Illinois (just north of Chicago), children who start algebra in 7th typically do the following track:

 

7th -- Honors Algebra I

8th -- Honors Geometry

9th -- Honors Algebra 2/Trig

10th -- Honors Precalculus

11th -- AP Calculus BC

12th -- Multivariable Calculus/Linear Algebra

 

They have the option to take other courses in addition, such as AP Statistics and computer programming.

 

High school teachers teach the classes. These are large schools, though. Smaller schools might do something else.

 

At our local high school, about 30 students complete the above track by the end of high school. Most of them do very well. Some who start the track opt to repeat a year -- and that's okay! It's better to bite off and chew well, but for a child who is bored and ready to move ahead, a more challenging track can be a good option.

[EKS]

(sigh) Thankfully this is why I homeschool. My dd is doing *very* well in algebra.

 

My son did algebra in 6th grade and he did great.

[tammi]

I am not saying that all children don't do well doing Algebra early, I am just saying that most children are not mentally ready to think like that. I have homeschooled all my children. The oldest took Algebra in 8th grade, she is in 12th grade now, but my now 10th grader took it last year. I also don't think my 8th grade son is ready to take it this year.

Some are ready for it and if they are, go for it.

[Heather in VA]

I responded in the original post but I figured I'd reply here as well.

 

Our public schools offer up to BC Calculus (which is more advanced than AB Calculus). They also offer things like Discrete Math, special Computer Science courses, and other specialized math courses. BC Calculus would be the target in 12th grade for those starting in 8th. I'm not sure which plan one starting in 7th would typically take. There are a few different options. Some choose to do AB then BC Calculus. Some do BC in 11th then specialize in 12th. It is possible to go to CC for math at that point but there are enough options in the public schools that it isn't commonly needed.

 

 

Heather

[Laurel]

I have heard from many a math teachers that children taking algebra before 9th grade struggle a bit. Waiting seems to work because something happens in their brain that makes algebra easier to understand. I also have heard that children don't get credit for anything they take in 7th grade. If they take algebra in 8th grade it will count but not in 7th grade. I also think we are pushing the kids to soon, mathmatically, before they are really ready for it. Wait for 9th grade when they can really understand it.

Tammi

 

But why would you need credit for Algebra taken in 7th grade unless you planned to stop doing math sometime during high school? There's lots of math after algebra, so no worries about running out of math classes.

 

And while some students may be pushed into studying algebra too early, students who are taking algebra in 7th grade (and earlier) are not being pushed, rather they are the ones doing the pulling. If a child has already figured out basic algebraic concepts on his own, making him wait another 2-3 years to do algebra would be a disaster.

[angela in ohio]

I also have heard that children don't get credit for anything they take in 7th grade. If they take algebra in 8th grade it will count but not in 7th grade.

 

This depends on the university and other factors. Sometimes you can take 1 from 7th and 2 from 8th, sometimes 1 from 8th, sometimes 2 from 8th, and sometimes none at all before 9th.

[Jane]

I responded in the original post but I figured I'd reply here as well.

 

Our public schools offer up to BC Calculus (which is more advanced than AB Calculus). They also offer things like Discrete Math, special Computer Science courses, and other specialized math courses. BC Calculus would be the target in 12th grade for those starting in 8th. I'm not sure which plan one starting in 7th would typically take. There are a few different options. Some choose to do AB then BC Calculus. Some do BC in 11th then specialize in 12th. It is possible to go to CC for math at that point but there are enough options in the public schools that it isn't commonly needed.

 

 

Heather

 

Thank you, Heather. I decided to pull my question out of the other thread out of respect to the original poster.

[lgm]

The course offerings depend heavily on the expertise of the faculty. My particular district does not allow I. Alg. I before Grade 8 - kids that are mathy must afterschool on their own to satisfy their need for challenging work. The district only offers up to I.Alg. II, and has no honors courses. Anything above I. Alg. II is on the student's dime at the college of his choice. The CC does not offer more than Calc III and won't enroll a student younger than 16... Go an hour away, to a similar sized school with a totally different demographic and the offering is similar to this:

 

In our area of Illinois (just north of Chicago), children who start algebra in 7th typically do the following track:

 

7th -- Honors Algebra I

8th -- Honors Geometry

9th -- Honors Algebra 2/Trig

10th -- Honors Precalculus

11th -- AP Calculus BC

12th -- Multivariable Calculus/Linear Algebra

 

They have the option to take other courses in addition, such as AP Statistics and computer programming.

 

High school teachers teach the classes. These are large schools, though. Smaller schools might do something else.

 

At our local high school, about 30 students complete the above track by the end of high school. Most of them do very well. Some who start the track opt to repeat a year -- and that's okay! It's better to bite off and chew well, but for a child who is bored and ready to move ahead, a more challenging track can be a good option.

 

with the addition of Partial Diff. Eq. and independent study. There are kids that are that mathy; the internet and their parents are filling the need that the spiral public school curriculum will not.

 

Even in the dark ages when I was in engineering school, the talented city kids were coming in finished with the Calc I-II-III plus Partial Diff Eq sequence.

 

Personally I don't think dual enrollment is the best option, but then I have a very mathy kid who would benefit from courses where there are peers rather than CC with older students who didn't do well in high school. It all depends on the particulars..including the teacher's expertise.

[Heather in VA]

Thank you, Heather. I decided to pull my question out of the other thread out of respect to the original poster.

 

No problem. That makes sense. I was just hoping I wasn't losing my mind when the post was there... and then it wasn't. (ok I may be losing my mind anyway but at least I wasn't seeing things :-) )

 

Heather

[Krista in LA]

Our ps don't offer algebra until 8th grade here, but they have plenty of options for math to keep one busy throughout high school. They have a block system with 4 classes each semester so one could take 2 math classes each year. Beyond algebra 1 and 2, and geometry, they offer advanced math (algebra 3/trig), precalculus, AP calculus, college algebra as dual credit, and discrete math.

[StephanieZ]

In another thread it was mentioned that some PS children are doing algebra in 7th grade. I'm curious, what do those children do in 11th and 12th grade? From a homeschooling perspective, I understand dual enrollment is our best option. Is it the same for PS children? Do they go onto a college campus for math or is there a teacher on site for those students?

 

I ask because I have a 7th grade working her way through Saxon Algebra I. I worked very hard to hold her off until this year. She is simply a strong math student. We may look at PSs for high school. Thanks.

 

I believe some highschools offer 2 years of calculus (cover 3 college semesters). Some offer a statistics class. My dd will finish her Thinkwell Int Algebra by March (having taken 18 mos) of this, her 7th grade year. I plan to have her do a year of Statistics after completing Calculus, which is what I'd want for her if she went to a regular school.

[Krista in LA]

I have heard from many a math teachers that children taking algebra before 9th grade struggle a bit. Waiting seems to work because something happens in their brain that makes algebra easier to understand. I also have heard that children don't get credit for anything they take in 7th grade. If they take algebra in 8th grade it will count but not in 7th grade. I also think we are pushing the kids to soon, mathmatically, before they are really ready for it. Wait for 9th grade when they can really understand it.

Tammi

 

This definitely depends on the child. My dd did algebra in 7th grade. She started ps high school this year and tested out of algebra - got credit for it, but no grade. She is doing honors geometry this year in 9th grade.