<p>Somewhat similar to massmomm’s situation–my younger daughter’s private HS has ALL freshmen enrolled in Physics. The progression is then Chem for sophomores and Bio for juniors. It’s the complete reverse of most public schools.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s been a very effective science track, at least for this particular population. A lot of ninth graders don’t have the math skills or problem-solving ability required to really grasp all the concepts and do well–the few who love Physics return to it for the AP course in their senior year, with Calculus AB already mastered. The weaker math students just look back and shudder that they ever had to go through it. </p>
<p>Honestly, GPA/transcript-wise, I get the impression that the school looked at it very strategically: they figured that a bad grade in a Freshman course is far less damaging than one earned junior or senior year. </p>