Math on Transcript

[Debate Mom]

My son is a junior this year and is interested in studying engineering in college.   He took Algebra 1 in 8th grade, Geometry in 9th and Algebra 2 in 10th. Starting this year he will do a 3 math course sequence (pre-calc/algebra, pre-calc/trig and calculus) at the community college.  Since a 1 semester CC class counts as 1 high school credit, should I give him 6 math credits for high school or leave out the Algebra 1 since it was taken before high school?  For admission to NC schools they are required to have Alg. 1 and 2, Geometry and 1 higher math.  Will it just be assumed that he took Algebra 1?

[kiana]

I'd just give him credit for HS pre-calc and HS calc since he spent a year studying each and covered the same material. I'd include the Algebra 1 in a 'taken before 9th grade' section but not factor it into the GPA, so that they can ignore it (if they only want the last 4 years) or include it (if they want everything). 

[EKS]

I gave my son half a credit each for precalculus/trig, calc 1, and calc 2. I figured that that is how much credit he would get if he were to take the same courses at the local high school.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I gave my son half a credit each for precalculus/trig, calc 1, and calc 2. I figured that that is how much credit he would get if he were to take the same courses at the local high school.

 

This is similar to my intentions.

 

I think the issue of how much credit for a one semester class depends a lot on the class, both how many credits and the course content.

[Kareni]

Amongst the first classes my daughter took at the local community college were College Algebra (a five hour class) and Trigonometry (a four hour class). She did these two classes in consecutive quarters as our community college is on the quarter rather than semester system. Had she taken a year long class in Precalculus at home or at the local high school, she would have earned one high school credit. Since the combination of College Algebra and Trigonometry is considered Precalculus (and in fact the text used in both of these classes was Sullivan's Precalculus), I assigned each of these classes one half high school credit. To me, it would have seemed too generous to give two credits for this combination of classes. On her transcript, I included a note that each community college class of three hours or more was assigned a value of one half high school credit.

 

That said, the local state university would have given one high school credit for each course (which seemed way too generous to me!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[angela in ohio]

I didn't include pre-high school math classes. My oldest applied to many engineering programs, and we never had a question about the missing Algebra 1. Students applying to engineering commonly have taken Algebra 1 and often Geometry before high school, and they are expected to have continued taking math throughout high school, so they have the credits without needing earlier courses.

 

We didn't automatically count a CC course as a full credit. My rule of thumb was one credit for 4 or more credit hours, and a half credit for less. It also depended on the difficulty level. Sophomore level (200) courses are more likely to get a full credit from me than a 100-level intro course. In your situation I would give a half credit for the first two CC courses and a full credit for the Calculus. You would end up with four math credits for a student who had reached Calculus in high school, which seems appropriate.

[Julie in MN]

I didn't include pre-high school math classes. My oldest applied to many engineering programs, and we never had a question about the missing Algebra 1. Students applying to engineering commonly have taken Algebra 1 and often Geometry before high school, and they are expected to have continued taking math throughout high school, so they have the credits without needing earlier courses.

I agree.  I almost think an engineering college would think it strange to have Algebra I on a high school transcript, not sure.

 

 

I'm not sure I agree with some of the other posts about credits, though.

I gave my son half a credit each for precalculus/trig, calc 1, and calc 2. I figured that that is how much credit he would get if he were to take the same courses at the local high school.

 

On her transcript, I included a note that each community college class of three hours or more was assigned a value of one half high school credit.

 

That said, the local state university would have given one high school credit for each course (which seemed way too generous to me!)

A 4- credit, 1-semester college course to me seems fairly equivalent to a 1-credit, 1-year high school course, not just because of the content but also because college students normally only take 3-4 courses per semester (which like high school ends up as 6-8 courses per year).  Therefore, even though a college course is typically credited as a semester, it ends up as 1/6 or so of the year's credit, just like one high school course.

 

Julie

[EKS]

I'm not sure I agree with some of the other posts about credits, though.

 

A 4- credit, 1-semester college course to me seems fairly equivalent to a 1-credit, 1-year high school course, not just because of the content but also because college students normally only take 3-4 courses per semester (which like high school ends up as 6-8 courses per year).  Therefore, even though a college course is typically credited as a semester, it ends up as 1/6 or so of the year's credit, just like one high school course.

 

Julie

 

I was looking at what was covered and how much work he had to do for the course in comparison to my requirements for a 1 credit course.  One quarter of his college courses (all of them, not just math) seemed to roughly correspond to a semester of one of my courses.  I decided to be conservative.

[Julie in MN]

I was looking at what was covered and how much work he had to do for the course in comparison to my requirements for a 1 credit course.  One quarter of his college courses (all of them, not just math) seemed to roughly correspond to a semester of one of my courses.  I decided to be conservative.

 

Yes, 1/4 college would equal 1/2 high school for me.

 

The content issue is always difficult for me, though.  On the one hand, I want to have high standards, but on the other I don't want my students to be at a disadvantage simply because I take education more seriously than some teachers that other students may have had at the local public schools.  I always felt like I was on a see-saw when committing credits to transcripts :(

[kiana]

Yes, 1/4 college would equal 1/2 high school for me.

 

The content issue is always difficult for me, though.  On the one hand, I want to have high standards, but on the other I don't want my students to be at a disadvantage simply because I take education more seriously than some teachers that other students may have had at the local public schools.  I always felt like I was on a see-saw when committing credits to transcripts :(

 

This is something where there are legitimate arguments both ways.

 

If you have a very bright young student who's carrying 12 credits at the CC and also doing 4 courses at home, I'd give them 1/2 credit per semester simply because having 10+ credits/year + any summer classes or extracurriculars would raise eyebrows. For them I'd look at it more like an honors course, where I would expect an extra workload but still one credit.

 

On the other hand, if you have an average young student who's carrying 12 credits at the CC but doing nothing more at home, I'd have no compunction awarding 1 credit per semester and simply consider it more as an average high school class. 

[EndOfOrdinary]

What kiana said above. Write it up both ways and then look at it. You do not want your kid looking like Superman or it is going to appear you are padding the transcript and put everything into question. I do not think you need to worry too much about counting your kid out - they are taking courses at the local community college. That shows above and beyond to a degree. Just make sure it looks reasonable. I think the only way I could decide that would be to see both side by side. It will either be obnoxious or it won't.

[EKS]

Yes, 1/4 college would equal 1/2 high school for me.

 

These were 5 unit courses--so not the same as half of a semester.  I've heard that they're supposed to be equivalent to a whole semester, but I don't know for sure.