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If your kid takes DE courses do you have minimal grade expectations of him/her?


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Just a different perspective, having a son in DE.  Easy classes can be hard.  Since he's just taking it as a pre-req, he probably knows the stuff.  So he's bored.  It's harder to stay focused on boring stuff, so little errors creep in.  The class has to be basic, since the average is in the 70s.  The prof can't ramp it up.

 

Also, that age can make focus harder.  The adjustment to the social environment of college can be distracting on a background level.  Ds got A's his first semester, but I would have been OK with a B.  There is so much going on in their brains and with their emotions.  I would rather him get the adjustment out in DE.  (Some kids are not phased at all by being around so many people, but extreme introverts don't always learn or perform best that way.)

 

Some people are OK with a 91 average.  I think that dh (who went on to a PhD and career) had that in most of his A classes.  There are other things to do with life.  Your ds may be one of those people.  I think that's OK and I'm betting those people have fewer health problems than you and I ;-)

 

Yeah we did cover a lot of the material already.  Although there are topics we didn't cover as in depth so there is some new stuff.  He did well enough on the placement test to choose something higher, but it seemed less risky to me to start with something not too high. 

 

But yes when I ask him about it he basically does say that he is OK with the grade he has.  Like mom why are you flipping about this, this is a good grade.  My thinking was always hey here is my chance to get a high grade easily.  But he isn't me.

 

I did think about the brain/age thing.  He's really a middle schooler.  Geesh at that age I struggled like crazy in school.  It was the one time I struggled that much.  I don't know what it was, but maybe yeah the brain/age thing.  He hasn't gotten caught up in the social environment of college though. 

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Several possibilities (He is DE-ing at a CC right?)

 

  1. You have what we call imposter syndrome (and thanks to dmmetler, I now have a new one, imposter syndrome homeschool parent edition). You think that it really should be much harder than it is, that it cannot be true that he is getting an A so easily.
  2. CCs have different goals. It helps a lot to think of it that way. Their goals usually (please note I said usually) are to help the weakest students succeed. or to drive transfer rates higher. Or both.
  3. CC profs do several things to help students succeed (again usually). They might make things idiot/ absent minded professor types proof in a syllabus. They might offer extra credit to give students more chances. They might say go see the tutor for this course in the student learning center of this CC and if the tutor signs off that you understand this mistake, I will add 2-3 points to your score (that 2-3 points can push student up from a D or C to a C or B).
  4. OR it really is too easy for him. So what do you do? Math can get harder. It really can. If it really is a prerequisite he needs just because he is dying to get to a higher level, then I might not worry too much. You know he knows this stuff. You just need it to be official. But if you think it is setting him up to fail when he reaches a 4-year uni, then you have to do something about it. What that is exactly will depend on kid, you and your goals.

 

Too many blanket statements about CCs. Most have multiple goals.

Our local CC has some University level Math for the Engineering Transfer program (starts at Calc 1).

Why do folks here think that remedial level CC courses such as "Intermediate Algebra" would be very challenging? The students in these classes just aren't "Mathy". The instructor has to deal with that.

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Too many blanket statements about CCs. Most have multiple goals.

Our local CC has some University level Math for the Engineering Transfer program (starts at Calc 1).

Why do folks here think that remedial level CC courses such as "Intermediate Algebra" would be very challenging? The students in these classes just aren't "Mathy". The instructor has to deal with that.

 

Yeah ours has transfer programs too.  The school he is going to goes up to Calc 3 (and one number above that is a Linear Algebra course). 

 

The course he is taking is not considered remedial though.  I suppose it wouldn't be counted towards certain programs, but his "program" is just getting through high school.  They have many levels of math below that particular course.

 

I try not to take these comments personally (I don't mean what you have said), but not all CCs are cra* like people make them sound. 

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:grouphug:  I know the feeling.  CC quality must vary dramatically across the country.  Our CCs here in CA are excellent, and they all have clear transfer agreement with the CSU and UC system, so it's very obvious which courses are remedial, which get CC credit, and which can transfer to 4-year Uni credit. I sometimes freak out a little bit when people dis CCs, but I have to remind myself that their experience may, legitimately, be totally different than ours.  Comparing the quality of education at our local CC vs. our local high school, I know the CC is a good choice for dd.  And I second guess myself all the time, but really, it's also a much better option for us than paying hundreds of dollars for AP classes and hassling with test dates and locations.  

 

It's all scary and new, isn't it?   :grouphug:

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:grouphug:  I know the feeling.  CC quality must vary dramatically across the country.  Our CCs here in CA are excellent, and they all have clear transfer agreement with the CSU and UC system, so it's very obvious which courses are remedial, which get CC credit, and which can transfer to 4-year Uni credit. I sometimes freak out a little bit when people dis CCs, but I have to remind myself that their experience may, legitimately, be totally different than ours.  Comparing the quality of education at our local CC vs. our local high school, I know the CC is a good choice for dd.  And I second guess myself all the time, but really, it's also a much better option for us than paying hundreds of dollars for AP classes and hassling with test dates and locations.  

 

It's all scary and new, isn't it?   :grouphug:

 

I remember when I was freaked out that I didn't pick out the right science book in kindergarten.  LOL

 

They have very clear transfer agreements here too.  In fact in the syllabus of the course it even says what grade you must get to transfer the course to the state Uni. 

 

My CCs where I lived at the time were not like that at all.  They really were mostly a dead end. 

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Too many blanket statements about CCs. Most have multiple goals.

Our local CC has some University level Math for the Engineering Transfer program (starts at Calc 1).

Why do folks here think that remedial level CC courses such as "Intermediate Algebra" would be very challenging? The students in these classes just aren't "Mathy". The instructor has to deal with that.

 

And why I said "usually" multiple times.

 

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Thats why I replied! I too thought a 91 was a decent grade till I learned how the game is played in this state. That suny sheet with high school grade distributions was an eye opener for me. One has to step up ones game if one desires admission to SUNY Bing or Geneseo, and one needs one's study skills mastered by the time college credits are on the transcript for admission to comoetitive majors. Kids are very aware they need that college 4.0 for med school, and they know the university grading scale isnt rewarding a 91 with a 4.0 and an admissions offer.

 

Well I have tried to explain to him the importance of trying for the best grade he can get, but I'm torn with how important I think it is.  He isn't interested in going to medical school. 

 

I think at his age it might be in part hard to understand what all of this stuff is good for. 

 

But I am proud of him in general because I could not have done this at his age.  I'm trying to bring myself down back to earth.  Even though I know that in some cases these super perfect grades are important, if we get real, plenty of people have managed fine on far less than that.  Sure it would make my life and his life easier if he could get some awesome scholarship or something, but I'm not going to put so much pressure on him that he has a nervous breakdown by the time he is 15.  KWIM?  That doesn't seem right either.  There are far more important things than that.  And really if a college can't see that an A minus is a relatively impressive grade for a middle schooler to achieve in a college level math course, then they might be a stupid and narrow place anyway. 

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Its just that the math is not abstract enough...DE Calc here is Larsen, 4 year eng college math is Stewart or harder. Big difference and the kid will be working hard in college if he doesnt retake, as he is missing skills.

 

But see I see the current DE courses as a replacement for high school.  Not that he is done with the requirements when he is actually in college. 

 

That and we also do math outside of that class. 

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Yes, but DE is for college credit as well as high school. And the expectation is that ome has the ability to master the course, so the grade is a fair comparison of students....no bonus for age.

 

I don't know.  I think it would depend on where he ends up.  I imagine some colleges would not take those credits or not take them as equivalent to get out of taking certain requirements.  And I think that is ok.

 

Of course this now makes me wonder what the benefit of DE actually is for our situation. 

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So what do you suggest HH?  That I tell him he's washed up at 14 because he got an A - in Algebra in a CC?  That seems a bit ridiculous quite frankly.  Sure he is aiming high, but he's not aiming to sell his soul.  If he isn't a genius he isn't a genius.  Most people are not and many manage to go to college. 

 

 

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Honestly, CCs are all so different. I can only speak for CA. We have personal experience with 2 but we know friends who have experienced others. Even within CA, their quality really depends on where you are, who the faculty is, what kind of goals they have generally (but individual instructors might have different ones for their students and then even further divide those goals depending on a specific student if the instructor cared enough to do so), it's all just so hard to put your finger on (and I guess that might be true with any school). But I think there definitely is that clear benefit of your student figuring things out for himself. The time management component itself is a valuable lesson for my DS. And then came study skills, leadership skills, project management skills (tying together different moving parts, some of which were human), and just small little executive function things like turning your phone to silent in class and remembering to turn it back up to make sure you don't miss mom's call that she will be late picking you up.

 

Of course this now makes me wonder what the benefit of DE actually is for our situation. 

 

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Its just that the math is not abstract enough...DE Calc here is Larsen, 4 year eng college math is Stewart or harder. Big difference and the kid will be working hard in college if he doesnt retake, as he is missing skills.

Eta I agree about not pressuring too much, but its good to be realistic about grade distributions and where your student is if desiring competitive admissions and scholarships. At some point he may want to get the study skills before doors close.

first time I have seen this Larson versus Stewart textbook comparison  - are there other Calc texts considered to be for "Business majors" versus "Engineering/Physics majors" (my terminology but makes it easier)

 

Are the AP HS Calc text books considered weaker?

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I am sure, but I dont have enough college info to know. The business calc I have seen uses financial examples but was just as rigorous as the eng. I just wanted my kid to know how to read an abstract math text before college as I felt the jump from Larson and learning solely from lecture and working problem sets in DE Calc 1 and 2 to Stewart and learning from both lecture and text plus the presence of more challenging problem sets was too much.

 

So who is the target audience of the DE Calculus course which used the Larson text?  Or is this just two different colleges?

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So what do you suggest HH? That I tell him he's washed up at 14 because he got an A - in Algebra in a CC? That seems a bit ridiculous quite frankly. Sure he is aiming high, but he's not aiming to sell his soul. If he isn't a genius he isn't a genius. Most people are not and many manage to go to college. [/quote

]

Its up to you. He can get into college no prob. The only door you close is to a very selective college, since he is being ranked against others who took DE courses and put the work in to get the 100.Like I said above, ds' s classmate with a 90ish average couldnt get in to suny bing. A low 90 in gen ed math courses arent what they are looking for. These courses are for showing effort and study skills...there isnt enough challengimg content to show above avg ability amongst the 4 yr college prep crowd.you might want to ask him at what point does he see himself learning the study skills needed to do well in college?

 

Ok.  I really am from a different world than you so I'll probably not ever understand this.  You figure I was the first person in my family to manage going to college at all (and overall there weren't many so far who have gone at all).  So the whole cut throat sell your soul mentality with getting into college isn't on the radar.

 

I'd say the goal is probably for him to find what works for him.  If that doesn't include selective college, I don't care.  In the area he is interested in, I've read many places that there is not overall a bigger advantage to going to a selective school verses other schools. 

 

Here is an article for example:

 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/do-elite-colleges-lead-to-higher-salaries-only-for-some-professions-1454295674

 

 

Specifically, for business and other liberal-arts majors, the prestige of the school has a major impact on future earnings expectations. But for fields like science, technology, engineering and math, it largely doesn’t matter whether students go to a prestigious, expensive school or a low-priced one—expected earnings turn out the same.

 

Now granted the only criteria for feeling/being successful is not money, but it's definitely a huge part of it. 

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When my kid looked at me like I had three heads, I sat him down and explained grade inflation. Guidance counselor had explained an 89 high school average is the min needed for a suny 4 year. The chart she handed out showed most have much higher -- his friends in the top 25% with a 90 average couldnt get in to SUNY Bing for ex. The top ten percent is more like a 98 average, unweighted and including DE. The high school grading scale is more 98+=A+, 95-97=A, 93-95=A-, 88-92=B+.  

 

So students in New York get a number on their transcript, not just a grade? 

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I am the first gen to go to college in my fam too. The high school game here wa.s confusing, because I was being told that 'best in your cohort', 'taking the most challenging classes the high school offered' was the goal to get into a school of the same caliber as the one I went to. Then I noticed how watered down the math classes were compared to my day and how many students were earning 98 to 100s. In my day, science was watered down, and it took me a lot of effort to gap fill my freshman year of college. If I had not had high quality math, I most likely wouldnt have been able to keep my scholarship, as catchup in 2 or 3 foundation courses is a lot of work. I learned how to study from a friend who was a teacher's kid...and from that I learned that a mindset of mastery really was necessary as it teaches how to evaluate whats to be learned and ask the proper questions to get the learning accomplished.its not a cut throat sell your soul, but a gaining of how to study an unfamiliar subject efficiently. You can imagine my shock when I sat in on my sons fourth grade class and the teacher was teaching the kids these study skills. My 4th grade was more about memorize what you read, not understamd and ask questions to improve your understanding.

 

I lived in a different state.  My math scores were crappy.  My grades were overall very good.  My SAT scores were lousy (I didn't prepare and had no idea what it was about).  Nobody told me anything about college planning.  It seemed the expectation of everyone around me was that I was not going to go or they didn't care or who knows what because nobody really talked to me about it. 

I went to a state school.  I had no trouble being accepted. I graduated with honors and on time.  

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DE calc here is a suny 2 year college. Anyone that needs that level of calc would take it, or someone who is transferring and wants an intro course before they attempt a more challenging calc course. What transfers and counts towards a major at a 4 yr is college specific. I do know Cornell wont take it.

If you live in the NYS capital district for example:

Hudson Valley Community College (large CC) Engineering Science program

http://www.hvcc.edu/catalog/programs/las/ens.html

 

transfers to these schools

http://www.hvcc.edu/las/ens/transfer.html

RPI isn't "chopped liver".

============================

DE appears to offer MATH 180

http://www.hvcc.edu/highschool/offerings-fall.html

MATH 180 CALCULUS I which is what the Engineer transfer students take

 

where

MATH 165 BASIC CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY could be for the "other majors"

Edited by MarkT
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If you live in the NYS capital district for example:

Hudson Valley Community College (large CC) Engineering Science program

http://www.hvcc.edu/catalog/programs/las/ens.html

 

transfers to these schools

http://www.hvcc.edu/las/ens/transfer.html

RPI isn't "chopped liver".

============================

DE appears to offer MATH 180

http://www.hvcc.edu/highschool/offerings-fall.html

MATH 180 CALCULUS I which is what the Engineer transfer students take

 

where

MATH 165 BASIC CALCULUS WITH ANALYTIC GEOMETRY could be for the "other majors"

 

Yes...this is the area where I live.  And no RPI is not chopped liver. 

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LOL...wait.  I think this area is also called upstate.  I think anything above NYC is upstate?!

 

I'm not originally from here though so I don't quite get this terminology.  I am pretty sure I've heard people here refer to this area as upstate though.  Granted it goes a lot further up!

If a county borders NYC then sometimes they include them as down-state.

 

Yes most of NYS is "upstate" geographically.

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No.  They do not put a number.

 

Then I'm confused as to how a low A versus a high A would impact college admissions? I looked at the link HH posted, and it's definitely on there, I'm just trying to figure out how they get and/or use that information for admissions. 

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My sister lives there. I am from upstate NY.

Are you doing DE at HVCC?

 

Right now DS is taking the course at another school that is not too far from there.  Just don't want to give out too much info.  But he will likely take some of his courses at HVCC as well.  The current school is closer and less expensive.  So for the current purposes that makes more sense to me.  I think HVCC has more of what interests him in general though.

 

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Another option I offered him is he could take the TASC when he is 16 and then go to HVCC full time.  He wouldn't have to deal with the stupid regs.  He could still get into the program he is interested in no problem and transfer later on.  And he could get financial aid.  Which is something that would be helpful to us.  I'd pay for more classes at this point, but it would be a stretch and I hesitate because I'm not sure how valuable it is to pay for courses I have no idea will count towards anything in the future. 

 

My one hesitation is that some people seem to have a negative view of the TASC/GED.  Given what he eventually wants to do, I can't imagine thing causing huge problems though. 

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Versus a home-school diploma - I don't think it would matter much

 

What about:

http://www.hvcc.edu/catalog/admissions/24hrprogram.html

 

Uh yeah and the TASC would be a heck of a lot cheaper.

 

Not considering fees and only current prices that option would be over $4000 (but well above that once you add fees and books). 

 

I could manage that amount spread out ok.  But I have 2 kids.  I'm still paying back my loans.  And I've considered going back to school myself.  So if I can find a less expensive option that would be good.

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Its not the area where I live, so kids here are sol. Kinda funny since so many are from techie or wall street fams,, but the powers that be wont offer them courses that would be helpful should they want to go that route.there is no engineering version of any math course at the CC that is the de provider here.

 

Note the Capitol Area has high schools that offer honors math thru calc 3, as regular courses, not DE for a fee. That would be less costly than DE on the CC campus.

 

The high school here does not. 

 

There is a tech high school, but you get in via a lottery.  And as a homeschooler I'm not sure it is an option because you need a letter from a guidance counselor to even try for the lottery. 

 

He really does not want to go to high school though.  I offered that.  He's used to being homeschooled.  He got a taste of what college is like (which isn't really like high school) and likes that.  I think he'd be unhappy with that.  And here the high school is very rough.  Every other day I read about some crazy crap there.  He's a bit of an odd duck (I mean that in a good way) so I think that would not be good for him.  So far at the CC nobody has given him a hard time at all.  And they know he is young because he does not look older. 

 

Where I lived as a kid we did not have those options around either. And no public transportation. 

 

Last night I told my kid more about the HVCC stuff and the articulation/transfer stuff they offer.  And I mentioned that he could take the TASC at 16 and then go to HVCC full time and matriculate.  So we have a couple of years until then.  I'd still have him take math at the closer CC (they too offer many of the same math courses).  We'd focus on those things that will help most with college.  This would make life so much easier for so many reasons.  He really really liked that idea. 

 

He did mention wanting to go to a particular selective school.  I said even if you had perfect grades and perfect test scores the likelihood of getting in there is very small.  And I said if they don't offer much aid or not enough then that is off the table anyway because it's just way too expensive.  I said if you really have your heart set on going there at some point, go there for a master's degree.  I still don't think that's the best idea given a wide variety of factors including money, but at that point it'll be all on him to work that out if he wants to. 

 

So this was helpful.  Except now this changes the plan considerably.  LOL 

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How funny that this just came up--dd just limped up the stairs (she's in a cast) to tell me that she pulled her precalc grade up to a 95! She's confused about a concept (vectors), so needs to hie herself to the math lab tomorrow. 

 

Yeah his average so far is a 93 (and some decimal).  There may be time to bring it up a bit, but either way I'm not worried about it.

 

The final is worth 30%.  I think she mentioned there will be one or two more quizzes.  She gives quizzes and tests.  I think the quizzes are worth less, but they also get to take them home.

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What do I expect in a DE course? I expect A's. And I am not happy that dd will probably pull a B in precalc this semester and it's going to trash her gpa, being a 4 credit class. She blew her 4.0 last semester with an  A- in a Java class. I keep having to remind myself that half the class failed--it's the weed-out class for comp sci majors at our university. Her senior year will only get tougher. 

 

My husband took Java in his master's degree program.  He hated it so much he changed his major so he didn't have to take it. LOL 

 

A - is nothing to scoff at I don't think.

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