<p>My 7th grade kid is currently taking Algebra 2 via online. He said he might only get B or B+ so he does not want it credited when he is in high school. He wants to retake it in the class so he can get an A. I say B or B+ is good enough and will not hurt his chances to get into Stanford or UCs. What do you all think?</p>
<p>A seventh grader who is taking Algebra 2 online is so far ahead of the average HS kid in math that a B or a B+ is nothing to be concerned about. At this rate, he will run out of HS math before he even gets there, and all of his earned-in-HS math credits will be college-level materials.</p>
<p>No one has any “chance” of getting into Stanford. So he should take the grade and move on.</p>
<p>@sylvan…that tough, huh? How did the others get in then?
Well, I personally know somebody got in and graduated there. </p>
<p>The primary UC admissions GPA is calculated without grades from before 10th grade.</p>
<p>Stanford used to say that it did not consider 9th grade grades, but does not appear to say so any more. Nevertheless, the most important grades for college admission purposes are 11th grade, with earlier years assuming less importance the more years one goes back.</p>
<p>I think it may be time to reorder cart and horse here. You’ve got your kid tiger-tracked to hit calculus as a HS freshman and then, presumably, to try to accomplish three years of college-level math before college. Whose idea was that? And how confident are you that with a B in Algebra II that he has actually mastered the <em>concepts</em> that underlie higher-level algebra and will be necessary to succeed on his current math track? </p>
<p>If you have doubts about either of those questions, I think you should consider having him retake the course with a real, live human being as a teacher. It is not necessary to take half a college math curriculum to get into Stanford (or anywhere else), and if your kid gets over-accelerated and hits the wall at, say, BC calc, his transcript isn’t going to look good enough to stay in the running for any of these hyper-selective schools. The point of accelerating your child in math should be to set up an appropriate level of challenge and foster learning – not to strategize over a seventh-grader’s chances of getting into a school with a single-digit admissions rate. </p>
<p>For me, it would depend on why he’s getting a B, because my primary concern would be whether he had a solid understanding of the material. </p>
<p>I’d be more inclined to retake a B caused by a steady string of B’s on assignments and tests, despite desiring and having made an effort to do better. Trig and Calc are harder when your algebra background is shaky.</p>
<p>I’d be less inclined to retake a B caused by 100s on every completed assignment and and every test, and zeros on a bunch of undone assignments. I’d be less inclined to retake a B caused by high As on most assignments and tests and Fs in everything related to a couple of topics. Boredom and immaturity aren’t really improved by piling on the boredom, and a couple of obvious gaps in an otherwise solid kid can be fixed with a tutoring session over the summer.</p>
<p>That said, I would be very disinclined to encourage the kind of perfectionism where a B needs to be retaken for transcript-enhancing purposes. “I want to retake this class because I don’t think I really learned the material” is not the same as “I want to retake this class because I can’t stand the thought of having a B.”</p>
<p>Just chill, SomeOldGuy. I don’t tiger-tracked my kid to do college courses before college. Actually, he is the one who wants to study Algebra 2 just because he loves to be challenge esp in Math. Just because a kid genuinely loves learning does not always mean a parent is behind him or her pushing them to do it. </p>
<p>I actually suggested he do other things except academics. But he insisted on doing anything Math related.</p>
<p>As a parent, i am there to support him. Not held him back.</p>
<p>
<a href=“Class of 2018 admit rates lowest in University history”>http://www.stanforddaily.com/2014/03/28/class-of-2018-admit-rates-lowest-in-university-history/</a>
I wouldn’t put all my eggs in that basket if I were you. You’re better off taking a realistic view, even though that’s hard when you are in 7th grade and think you’re all that.</p>
<p>@allyphoe He got As in all assignments, got B/B+ because of careless mistakes to beat the time he set himself. The test itself is untimed. But he likes to time himself and see how fast he can do it. And yes, I repeatedly told him to just relax.</p>
<p>So true, “I want to retake this class because I don’t think I really learned the material” is not the same as “I want to retake this class because I can’t stand the thought of having a B.” I think he is learning it but for him, it is more of the latter. He’s been an A student all these years and he just couldn’t stand getting a B.</p>
<p>@sylvan8798 Thank you for the informative link. He likes MIT, being that’s so far away from home. I suggested Stanford or UCs which are closer to us. But of course, college is still far in the future. That’s just “dreams” for now.</p>
<p>@blastoff - I wouldn’t worry about the B’s. However when taking a Math in a classroom setting there is going to be a time limit for the tests. So what you need to find out is 1.) Is the time he sets for himself way too short or is it in line with how much time he would have in a classroom setting? 2.) In a classroom setting will he rush through the problems too? </p>
<p>Does your HS in the district include HS level classes from middle school on the transcript? On our HS transcript, it will only show the list of HS level classes taken (and passed) in middle school but not for GPA calculation.</p>
<p>If it were my kid, and the decision were up to me, I wouldn’t agree to the retake under those circumstances. Lower-than-desired grade is the natural consequence of the poor choice to rush through. </p>
<p>If it’s mathematically possible at this point to bring the grade up, you might point that out, at least in an “I’m pretty sure it’s mathematically possible to get an A-; why don’t you figure out what you’d need to do” way. But if it’s not, 7th grade is an excellent time to learn how to move on and do better next time.</p>
<p>@MichiganGeorgia 1.) He finished a 27- Qs test in 30 sec. and got B+ 2.) He almost always finishes very early in class, but he still gets an A. He did tell me he likes paper test more than doing it online because he said he gets the questions better.</p>
<p>@billsho Honestly, I don’t know. I still have to find out about that. I’ll update you once I get the info.</p>
<p>Ah, that kid! I’d tell him no retakes and not drop any hints. He’s clearly smart enough to figure out his options.</p>
<p>It’s a great lesson for him to learn that he can get what he really wants if he just do things a bit slower.</p>
<p>@billsho - so I checked his HS district website, they have Alg 1, Geometry, Alg 2 , Trigo with Precalc, etc. My kid when he will be in high school in 2015-16. He would have already done the first 3. I wouldn’t know if it gets calculated in GPA in this hi school. For that I have to call the school and ask. I’ll let you know by then.
Oftentimes, I do think it will be easier if he just follow whatever school curriculum has for him. But then, I feel it’s a disservice for him. </p>
<p>It is common that many students take HS curriculum in middle school. In my school district, many students take 1 or 2 HS math and foreign language in middle school. Nevertheless, they are not counted in GPA calculation in HS. You should not worry about it. Many schools would recalculate the GPA and they only consider 9th-11th grades or even 10th-11th grades.</p>