<p>Parents are out of control on this site. 7th grade, I mean come on.</p>
<p>You wouldn't approve then of what we did. After 7th grade, my d took algebra 1 in 3 weeks in the summer and got high school credit because she passed the culminating test. She took geometry in 8th grade and 'caught up' to some of the other students. I do think she had a bit harder time with algebra 2, but that could be because she missed the first week of school, when algebra 1 concepts were reviewed.
Also, in my area it's common for students to double up in 9th grade and take both algebra 1 and geometry the same year.
My son at the end of 8th grade took that same 3 week algebra 1 class. By now, I was a bit more hesitant, and I wasn't expecting that he take the class for credit. I told him I just wanted him to have a background for 9th grade algebra 1. Well, he passed with an 89 and HE demanded that he get the credit and move on to geometry in 9th grade. </p>
<p>I know another mom whose son took both algebra 1 and geometry in that summer school, a year apart. Hmmm, guess he must have taken algebra 2 following the alg 1 class. Anyway, she said she learned her lesson, her son did have some trouble with trig, and she didn't enroll any of the rest of her children in these fast-paced math classes.</p>
<p>My S took algebra in 7th, geometry in 8th, honors alg II and trig in 9th and continues on path to finish BC Calc as junior. He'll do something else senior year. For him it was the right thing to do - he would have been extremely bored had his pace been slowed down any. It is true that he is one of youngest in his math classes, but that has not been a problem. I think math is one of those subjects that lends itself to a wide variety of paths, and individual kids/families need to choose the path that makes the most sense.</p>
<p>At my school, having juniors in AP Calculus BC is actually commonplace. It doesn't hurt at all and it's best if you let the kids go at their pace, whether it be faster or slower than what the school's standard is. Personally, I did BC Calc as a sophomore and it was a great experience. Nothing worng with acceleration.</p>
<p>I don't think there's anything wrong with doing so. In our area, a lot of the students in the G.A.T.E. program usually take accelerated math. I took Algebra in 7th grade, and a few of my other friends took Geometry Honors in 7th grade at my current high school. The one benefit is that you take Pre-Calc (Honors or not) in 10th grade, and the knowledge from the class will be useful for the Math 2C.</p>
<p>it depends on the teacher.
i had algebra in 8th grade from a teacher that should have been fired the first week.
the only thing i learned in there was the theme song to The Incredibles (which we watched at least once a week).
it screwed my math grades for the rest of high school.
...
so check out the teacher, if he's good- go for it. if he sucks- it isn't worth the trouble.</p>
<p>I took algebra in the seventh grade and now I'm entering senior year and they DROPPED statistics! :( There weren't enough people and now I'm stuck with no math class and it's going to look like crap on my application that I didn't take any math senior year.</p>
<p>My son took Geometry in 8th grade. He was then able to go on to Trig in 9th, pre-calc in 10th and AP Calc last year as a junior. Being that he wants to pursue an engineering degree, this has helped with his college path. By passing his AP Calc with a score of 5, he will be able to move into the engineering levels of math. He would have gone nuts had we not gone that path. Some enjoy doing calculus like other enjoy playing video games :)</p>
<p>To be honest, I wish I even knew that when I was a 7th grader, I could even take Algebra 1! Pre-Algebra is such a waste of time - it only works if you had very subpar math teachers in elementary school, and it puts you a year behind. Now I have to worry about taking two AP math classes in senior year >_<, so please, if he's ready for Algebra 1, then he should go for it. </p>
<p>If he can grasp the fundamentals and be able to apply his previous knowledge without much trouble, then it should be fine. You should try asking a current Algebra 1 teacher for a pre-test/diagnostic test, and if the score is pretty good, then shoot for it. Maybe you could borrow a few reputable textbooks/workbooks over the summer also, if he's impatient to start?</p>
<p>College considerations really don't play into this decision. Whether he takes algebra this year or next, he is likely to be able to reach the final course in a high school curriculum. No admissions board will hold a failure to transcend high school mathematics against him. If he is able to move on with one more year of post-HS math (typically either multivariable calculus or linear algebra), it would be a plus, but so would being able to take a difficult non-math course in its place.</p>
<p>The real question is: do you think he is ready for algebra? I think it is likely since I agree with many of the other posters here that we Americans suffer from a kind of cultural acceptance of innumeracy that has us protecting our students from exposure to mathematics.</p>
<p>when i was in 5th grade we all took a test to see what math track we should be in. how exactly do these other parents know THEIR kids are ready for Algebra 1? what im asking is, did your son take something similar, and are you asking if you should ignore it. I took Algebra in 7th grade, leading to Calc BC in my senior year (I do love my math).</p>
<p>also, if you later feel that he SHOULD be bumped up, it is quite easy to take a course such as precalc at the local CC or even summer school, and place him on the fast track.</p>
<p>Anyways, with most students you aren't going to know if you chose right, I think, until they hit maybe Algebra 3-4 in frosh year, and maybe in Calculus. If they are struggling before then, it probably wasn't a good idea to bump them up a level. They can always choose to repeat a course, without failing it! Everything is up to parental consent. My younger sister actually retook geometry even after getting a B in the class, because she felt she wasn't cut out for the higher math class.</p>
<p>In my area, if a child is considered gifted and in a gifted program, then they are required to take Algebra I in 7th grade and Geometry in 8th grade, no questions asked. If you didn't like it, too bad. It was kind of unfair to some kids who didn't like math, especially since a lot of kids ending up getting C's and D's, but that was just the way it went. I didn't mind at all, though, and I will be a junior taking AP Calculus AB in the upcoming year.</p>
<p>I think its great for those kids that are really interested and have the ability. I remember back in the day, I loved math and would work from the back of the book forward (I knew we'd never cover those later chapters) on my own just because I loved math so much. I would have loved to have the opportunity to move faster, but then that was back in the 70's and we didn't have that available to us. I still love to open a new math book and take a deep breath.......such a sweet thing :)</p>
<p>Kids who can speed up in math and want too, should. There can be problems down the road when other schools are unwilling or unable to keep the acceleration going. It can be difficult too, if a child can only keep going by joining classes with much older kids. So , before you start down this path, think i t through a bit.</p>
<p>Mine has raced ahead on math. Will take second year calc in 10th grade, and probably real analysis and diff. eq by graduation (or maybe some topology..) The difficulty is finding schools that will support all the way, but if you can manage that, it's great.</p>
<p>I'm teaching my younger sister (who just started 6th grade) Algebra... o.o'
She dosen't want to but I'm just teaching her so when she gets to it...it'll be easier =]</p>
<p>My youngest son just started Algebra I in the seventh grade. If he continues in the same school district, he will run out of math before his senior year -- just like his brother, who is a senior, did. He had the option of taking an independent study at a local community college but nixed that idea because of travel time to and from the class. He is taking AP physics B as his math/science class this year (already has taken AP BC Calculus, Stat, Bio and Chem). </p>
<p>The main thing that my husband, who teaches math, find is that many of the students taking Algebra I at that age really do not belong in the class. Their folks pushed an administrator to place them in the class. As a result, they struggle all year. These students did not have a solid foundation in mathematics, but their parents were more worried about their child being labeled "gifted in math" than the child's ability to do the math.</p>
<p>I took algebra 1 as a 6th grader, and I was a year young, so basically a 5th grader.</p>
<p>I wouldn't advise doing that, it puts too much pressure on the kid at a young age, they will be less physically and intellectually mature compared to their classmates..it's not a good option.</p>
<p>That being said, I'm a senior now, in AP Stats, and I survived, but take the easier route and stick to the normal path.</p>
<p>My S took AP Calculus BC as a sophomore last year. This year, he is taking AP Physics C and already says he's glad he took caluclus before, as opposed to along with, physics.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: His father is a math professor, so he can assist him as he takes his on line class in linear algebra this year, followed his senior year with multivariable calculus.</p>
<p>S is thinking he may want to major in physics in college. He is aware that many colleges will only give credit for the calculus, but may allow higher placement for his work in the other classes. And he knows he needs to be fine with this since, at this juncture, there's been no discussion about where he might be applying to go to college except for USC (where Dad works, since it would be tuition free.)</p>
<p>I agree--if your kid can take it, totally put them in the hardest math class they can, but not necessarily for college. I took algebra in seventh grade and it was the first time in my math life I was not bored stiff. I got straight A's, too, and I wasn't the only one. And I liked the company of older students, so in all, it was a very good experience for me. If I could do it again, the only thing I'd have done was try to get the math in place to take algebra in sixth grade, because I believe I could have done it, since sixth grade math was really easy when it wasn't review. </p>
<p>But if you don't think that's your kid? Don't make them take a math class they're not prepared for--get them into a good pre-algebra class. That'll pay off in the long run more than forcing an unprepared kid into Algebra, which will only discourage and confuse them. My sister is taking Algebra now, in eighth grade, and I think that was the best plan for her--the extra year did help her (of course, she goes to a better middle school than I did for sixth grade).</p>
<p>I'm a sophomore in high school, and I took Algebra I in 7th grade. It was great because I actually learned something in that class. I almost would have taken it in 6th grade. I'm in pre-calc/trig right now, will take calc next year, then (since i'm in IB) HL math. If I do well enough in the HL math class, I can pass out of college math classes.</p>
<p>It's better to challenge yourself how (if you actually apply yourself to learn it) then to miss out on the opportunity.</p>
<p>Most people at my school take Algebra I as a freshmen, then the rest tend to take it their 8th grade year, so I'm 1-2 years ahead of most of the students my age. Their is maybe 40 sophomore at the same level as me (not even a 10th of the class), so challenging myself really put me ahead.</p>