Credit by exam acceleration in Math.

[Purrtastic_mom]

I am looking for advice and some support mainly.

In our current school district CBE's and grade skipping seems to be the popular trend but we as a family are new to the concept. My DD ( rising 6th grader) is skilled at math and has always been ahead of her grade so naturally she asked to take the exam this year as did majority of her class. She however missed the qualifying mark by 2 points. Most of her class passed. She is feeling quite defeated. She wants to try to skip the grade again next year but I am not so sure. I feel that she is just trying to keep up with her class mates who moved ahead and if she does not qualify a second time it will do more harm to her morale. My DH however feels that a grade skip, if she is indeed ready for one will be beneficial in the long run. Is it really that advantageous to skip ahead in math ? 

[kirstenhill]

I'm sure this varies district to district, but at least here, credit-by-exam and acceleration are two different things.  There's a lot of review in late elementary and early middle school math and probably some overlap with Pre-Algebra.  So when students "grade skip" in math at least in the districts I've been familiar with, it's to essentially skip over some of that review in late elementary (not a lot new is necessarily covered in 6th grade, so many strong students are ready for Pre-Alg) or to enter a program that is more accelerated in going through those late-elementary/early middle school/Pre-Algebra topics.  

Unless you have a student who is truly bored in math, there's not a ton of advantage in starting Pre-Algebra in 6th (if that's what the grade skip means).  A student can start Pre-Algebra in 7th, Algebra in 8th, and still get a year of Calculus in during their 12th grade year.   A student doing high school calculus in 11th can maybe take a 2nd year of high school calculus in 12th if their school offers it, can take a DE math class, or can take AP Stats w/o doubling up on math.   So, the benefit seems small to the typical student. 

Now, if the only way to get to Algebra in 8th in your district is to take the test-out or grade in skip in either 6th or 7th, that might be more worthwhile since if a student can't take Algebra until 9th, that means it is a lot more challenging to take Calc while still in high school (though even this may not matter if your student isn't aiming for a competitive STEM major at a more selective university).  

At least where I am, Credit by Examination is a totally different thing.  Here this is for high school level classes, and is usually intended for strong students who study material outside of the normal school day or are taking outside-of-school classes that prepare them to test out of the material.  My DS14 is entering public school full time for the first time this fall.  He took Geometry at the public school (as his only public school class) in 8th grade, while finishing up studying Algebra 2 at home.  He had completed about half of the typical Alg 2 curriculum at home in 7th grade, so he only had to continue studying the other "half" of what was expected over the course of the year.  He then took an exam for credit last week and we are waiting at the edge of our seats to find out if he passed or not! He only needs 80% for credit, but he finished a 107 question multiple choice test in just over 2 hrs, so I am nervous he rushed.  😳 He'll be so bored if he has to take Alg 2 again, so I really hope he passed.  (Due to how our state laws are worded he MUST have Alg 2 on his official high school transcript, and the only way to have that happen is to either take it at school, take it from a state-approved online school, or pass this test, which he can only take once...which is why he'll have to take it "again" officially if he doesn't pass).

Edited August 13, 2021 by kirstenhill

[Purrtastic_mom]

Thanks for the reply Kirstenhill ! Our CBE required a 90 score (they moved it up from 80 to 90 this year) to qualify and she was 87 😞. All the best for ur DS's result. My DD is already taking 7th grade math as a 6th grader and is doing AoPS intro to algebra at home as an out of school thing so skipping 7th grade math made all the sense but the score and near miss bumped her out. She will now try to skip 8th grade math next year. If she does not skip she will go on to algebra 1 as an 8th grader, with a skip she can do geometry in 8th grade.

Edited August 13, 2021 by Purrtastic_mom

[daijobu]

4 hours ago, Purrtastic_mom said:

In our current school district CBE's and grade skipping seems to be the popular trend but we as a family are new to the concept. My DD ( rising 6th grader) is skilled at math and has always been ahead of her grade so naturally she asked to take the exam this year as did majority of her class. She however missed the qualifying mark by 2 points. Most of her class passed. She is feeling quite defeated. She wants to try to skip the grade again next year but I am not so sure. I feel that she is just trying to keep up with her class mates who moved ahead and if she does not qualify a second time it will do more harm to her morale. My DH however feels that a grade skip, if she is indeed ready for one will be beneficial in the long run. Is it really that advantageous to skip ahead in math ? 

I'm not familiar with CBE, so grain of salt.  

It sounds like she was really close.  Does she know which problems she missed and why?  Was it a silly mistake?  Or does her low score reflect a lack of mastery of the material?  

Is it possible the other students have access to a practice test that maybe your student did not?  

Since she was close to passing (and it seemed like she would have qualified in previous years) I would have her take it again next year.  

I can't speak to advantages or disadvantages, though keeping up with high achieving kids is a big one, but only if she has mastered the material.  But I agree with @kirstenhill that if calculus in high school is on your radar, that usually means algebra in 8th grade.