5knights3maidens Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Is it ok to be in pre-algebra in 9th grade? all my older kids were in Algebra 1. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I don't think "is it OK" is a useful question, because a student who is not ready for algebra will need to take pre-algebra first, whether that is considered "OK" or not. It makes no sense to rush math and enter algebra 1 unprepared. Now, if you have still time and can manage to finish prealgebra before 9th, that would put your student on the standard sequence and allow him to get in the four years of math "algebra 1 or higher" that is sometimes required. But if that is not possible, he'll just have to do prealgebra in 9th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I don't think "is it OK" is a useful question, because a student who is not ready for algebra will need to take pre-algebra first, whether that is considered "OK" or not. It makes no sense to rush math and enter algebra 1 unprepared. Now, if you have still time and can manage to finish prealgebra before 9th, that would put your student on the standard sequence and allow him to get in the four years of math "algebra 1 or higher" that is sometimes required. But if that is not possible, he'll just have to do prealgebra in 9th. :iagree: I will also rephrase it as -- it is far better to have Pre-algebra in 9th and algebra in 10th with passing grades in both than an F in 9th grade algebra and a pass in 10th. If he's not ready, he's not ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Comparisons are mostly useless, but many public school students here take pre-algebra in 9th grade and Algebra 1 in 10th. If the student is not ready for Algebra, they are just not ready for Algebra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 I've had students anywhere from age 10 to age 17 in my Pre-Algebra classes. Like a previous poster said-- if they are not ready for Algebra they are not ready for Algebra. The bummer is that Pre-Algebra does not count as a high school math credit... but that is not really as important as it seems. I've had SEVERAL students go to college with FULL scholarships who only completed Algebra 2 in high school-- I've even had one who only completed Algebra 1! Granted, these were highly skilled music/English majors.... The 'goal' should be completing Algebra 2 in high school... Not every student needs or CAN work Pre-Calc (a COLLEGE level math class) and not every college degree requires Pre-Calc or higher... a good percentage do NOT! Many of my peers graduated high school in the 1970's and early 1980s without taking Algebra at all! They have turned out to be very productive citizens... I DO see the need to be competitive--but students today are NOT any smarter (more intelligent) than they were back then-- they are just PUSHED more... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5knights3maidens Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 Thank you. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristin in Hawaii Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 As others have already said better than I can, if that is where the student is then don't try to skip. I found my son actually needed to repeat Pre-Algebra -- We are over halfway thru MathUSee PreAlgebra -- and it is absolutely sticking now. We had even used Math Relief Algebra 1 last year -- I thought we were okay, but he got stuck in lesson 70 or so and BLAH! So -- tried Lial's, which suited my learning style perfectly well, and bombed again this year. Now we are several months into Math U See and he is doing very well -- though struggles to complete at least 1 to 2 honors questions without much help. Yes, I got the DVDs as well. So, whatever materials suit your child -- take a deep breath, plug away at it every day (I actually had to write the dates on the worksheets to keep us on track) and you (and the student!) should be fine. My son is very ready now. He wasn't before. YMMV -- best wishes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in CO Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Just repeating what others have said, but my dd had to repeat pre-alg also. She took it in 8th with Abeka, tried algebra in 9th. 2 months in she had a solid F. We dropped back and repeated pre-alg with another program for the remainder of the year. And she was able to get through algebra in 10th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne1456 Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 My daughter finished prealgebra the first half of 9th grade and then took 1 1/2 years to do algebra. So she only got through algebra 2 in high school, and was accepted everywhere she applied. She was going for a biology major too, not a hard science, but still a science, and she was accepted everywhere. Last semester she took precalc. in college and got a B+, which was huge for her. The important thing is that your child understand the math, and whatever pace works is what you are stuck with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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