Algebra I for 8th grade? Seriously, where have I been?

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Melissa in NC]

Not read all the post but...

 

I would have been labeled in the slow group. I took Alg I in 9th grade. I got straight A's in Alg I, Alg II, Geometry, Trig and College Alg (duel enrollemnt) in high school. In college, I got A's in Calc I, Calc II and Calc II (for engineers) and Differential Equations. In DE, I earned the highest score in the final the professor ever had. I went on the earn a Chemical Engineering degree.

 

My point is that I took these course when I was ready and had the firm foundation under me. Math is not a race. For my own family, my 8th grade DD is starting Singapore Discovery Math. If we run into problems, we will go slow.

 

I am also of the school that if you will be studing a math related field in college, i.e. engineering, you should take Calc I at your college. My dh taught at a university level for sophmores in Electrical Engineering and noticed that kids that went right into Calc II were weak in their math skills.

 

JMHO

[gardenmom5]

all of my older children had completed algebra 1 in 7th or 8th grade. (the one who took it in 8th was bored in math until he started algebra.)

 

my kids take after their dad in math.

[gardenmom5]

I am also of the school that if you will be studing a math related field in college, i.e. engineering, you should take Calc I at your college. My dh taught at a university level for sophmores in Electrical Engineering and noticed that kids that went right into Calc II were weak in their math skills.

 

I'll second this, but expand it for any hard science field. It doesn't hurt to take calc in high school as it is a 'gentle' introduction so it's not unfamiliar, just plan on starting over. one semester in college, big whoop. 1dd told 2dd (chem major) to start over with calc. 2dd had breezed through calc in high school, so she didn't retake calc 1, and lived to regret it. (she eventually got it caught up).

 

samething 2dd has learned in her pharm program. there's an org chem based class the 1st year students can test out of - but the teacher teaches a second year class that frequently refers back to that one. Every one past that point has said "take the class!" (iow: your test score is irrelevant. spend the money and take the time)

[regentrude]

I am also of the school that if you will be studing a math related field in college, i.e. engineering, you should take Calc I at your college. My dh taught at a university level for sophmores in Electrical Engineering and noticed that kids that went right into Calc II were weak in their math skills.

 

Absolutely - testing out of calc 1 is not a good idea for many students. This said, it is STILL beneficial to have prior exposure to calculus by taking a high school calculus class. Not with the goal of replacing college calc 1, but in order to make this very difficult five hour class the first semester a bit easier by knowing some basics.

[swimmermom3]

We live in a school district where most students take Algebra I in 9th grade. However, our local middle school offers significantly more hours in math instruction than other middle schools in the area and many of their students head straight to Geometry in 9th grade. Sadly, the excellent job the middle school does in preparing students is often wiped away by the less-than-stellar performance of our local high school.

[creekland]

Absolutely - testing out of calc 1 is not a good idea for many students. This said, it is STILL beneficial to have prior exposure to calculus by taking a high school calculus class. Not with the goal of replacing college calc 1, but in order to make this very difficult five hour class the first semester a bit easier by knowing some basics.

 

 

:iagree: And when I mentioned my "plan" to college profs when looking at colleges with oldest, every single one agreed that it was the best in their opinion too. I based "my" plan based on oodles of high schools students who returned and told me "how it went." Those who did the best had Calc, then repeated it in college.

[Guest Cathmamax7]

That does seem to be the norm and my son did do Algebra 1 in 8th grade. He was previously in public and catholic school and was always advanced in math.

 

However, my current 7th grader will not get to Algebra until high school and neither will my current 5th grader.

 

My current 3rd grader may be ready by 8th grade but that's some years down the road.

 

My son is now taking Algebra 2 in 9th grade as our state just changed the order to algebra 1, algebra 2 then geometry. He is attending public high school. Had he stayed home schooled, we probably would have done geometry.

 

If it helps at all (probably not) DS' Algebra 1 totally kicked my rear end. I swear by all that is holy and not, I did not do the things in Algebra 1 that he did. I took Algebra in 10th grade. I have decided that I am not attempting to teach another child Algebra 1. I will farm them out to someone else, either on the computer with Teaching Textbooks or to a co-op class LOL

 

 

Melanie

married to my love for 18 years, mama to Zach (14), Rebekah (12), Mary (10), Rachel (7), Theresa (5), Laura (3) and #7 due in Nov.

Edited September 5, 2011 by Cathmamax7

[nowimscrappin]

In our public school system, the average student takes Algebra I in 8th grade, the Advanced student takes it in 7th grade. I enrolled my daughter in PS for 7th grade because it was time for her to take Algebra. I had done Saxon 8/7 with her through almost twice, and gone ahead and started TT Algebra at the end of her 6th grade year at home.

 

My son isn't quite as far along as she was at this age - but he's in pre-algebra and will take Algebra as a 7th grader.

[kewb]

In our ps school the 8th graders take algebra. The advanced kids take it in 7th. My homeschooled 8th grader will be doing pre-algebra this year. When I was in school back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth I tool algebra in 9th grade.

[littlebug42]

I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade and for me, it was a huge mistake. I did not belong in that class and it left me behind in all of my high school math courses. I will not be pushing my children into it if they are not ready. My older daughter I suspect will not be ready for it until 9th grade and I am fine with that.

[happypamama]

When I was in school, it was algebra I in 8th or 9th grade, then geometry, algebra II, trig/pre-calculus/algebra III, and if you started algebra in 8th grade, calculus as a 12th grader. That meant you could take the AP calculus exam as a senior, and/or you'd have had a year of calculus to make the transition to college calculus gentler.

[angela in ohio]

Absolutely - testing out of calc 1 is not a good idea for many students. This said, it is STILL beneficial to have prior exposure to calculus by taking a high school calculus class. Not with the goal of replacing college calc 1, but in order to make this very difficult five hour class the first semester a bit easier by knowing some basics.

 

This was so beneficial for me. I had a very full load my first semester of college, and already knowing some calculus was a lifesaver.

 

FWIW, I had Algebra in 8th grade in the 80s. Back then, they were trainsitioning to it in our (rural, small) school district. We were one of the first transition groups, so we did Math 7 and Math 8 combined in one year, then Algebra in 8th. By 1990, it was the norm.

[deacongirl]

A student should take algebra when he is READY for it. Which means, proficient at arithmetic with positive and negative integers and fractions. He needs to have thoroughly mastered prealgebra.

Some students are at this point in 8th grade. Many in 9th. And a few in 6th.

 

:iagree::iagree:

[Melinda S in TX]

It is normal here. A bit over 25 years ago, I was in the first class of eighth grade algebra I students in our school district. It was a failure for me and ruined the rest of my math career. This was not due to me or the program, but the teacher. They seem to have become better at it over the years.

 

Blessings,

Melinda

[Lisa in Jax]

It is normal here. A bit over 25 years ago, I was in the first class of eighth grade algebra I students in our school district. It was a failure for me and ruined the rest of my math career. This was not due to me or the program, but the teacher. They seem to have become better at it over the years.

 

Blessings,

Melinda

 

I took it in 8th grade (more than 30 years ago!), and it ruined me for math. I was a very good math student prior to that course (I was in the 70s version of "gifted" math, which is why they put me in Algebra in 8th grade), but I wasn't developmentally ready for the abstract concepts during the first half of the year. By the end of the year I was more able to do the work, but by then, I had decided that I hated math. :(

 

Our local schools don't believe in the bell curve anymore. They push *everyone* to excel, whether they're ready/able or not.

 

Because of this, my son, who has a nonverbal learning disability, was placed in advanced academic classes b/c he had an **average score** on the Florida standardized tests. (Only kids who were below average were slated for the standard (a/k/a average!) courses.) They looked at me like I'd grown two heads when I insisted that they put him in *standard* classes, where he will be able to learn, not advanced classes, where he'll feel like a failure.

 

This push toward advancing almost everyone is getting out of hand. A typical college-bound kid now has taken at least 3-5 AP courses when she graduates high school, because (in our district at least) there's a huge push to put anyone and everyone in AP coursework. The pass rates are abysmal, but that doesn't seem to deter them from pushing the kids to be "advanced..."

 

Lisa

[Kirch]

I took algebra I in 8th grade in '89-'90. That was our school's advanced track. I really struggled, but I'm not sure how much of that was a less-than-stellar teacher and how much of it was that I wasn't really quite ready for it. Algebra II wasn't so hot either (again, a less-than-stellar teacher, and I'd struggled so much in algebra I), but geometry was a breeze. Then when I took pre-calc in 11th, all the algebra suddenly clicked (which is why I think it was partly that I wasn't developmentally ready for it). I had skipped 1st grade, so I was also a year younger than my peers.

[MBM]

Back in the late 70s, I took Algebra 1 in 8th grade. I didn't find it all that difficult.

 

It makes no sense to hold back a student who has mastered concepts. It also makes no sense to progress a student has not mastered those concepts. I would like to see math taught in a way similar to Montessori. Just let the kids progress at the speed that is right for the individual, making sure they've mastered certain concepts before moving on.

 

In an ideal world, I'd also provide mathematical tangents for kids to explore.