Dropping a high school class in 8th Grade

Parents Forum
1

Hi everyone

I am looking for advice as to what to do to best help my son who will be going to into high school this coming fall. I am not familiar with how this process really works as I didn’t grow up in the States and I can’t seem to find a straight answer.

My son is currently an 8th grader in a Florida Charter School who has taken advanced classes (aside from 2nd grade) all his school life. Last year he took pre-algebra and did really well. However this year a couple of months into the school year he was struggling and becoming very stressed out. (He has an IEP as he has been diagnosed with ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder and Dyspraxia, together with anxiety.) He has managed well up to this year, there has been a lot of changes at the school, we also moved in the last month not to mention the challenging time we are all experiencing right now, and yet he has seemingly handled all this well. He is doing okay in his other classes but Algebra 1 is not going well. My first request to move him from this class was met with he ‘needs to be challenged’ and ‘if he only app;lied himself’ by his new teacher. My second meeting was after my son was begging me to let him switch schools because of this subject, this time his previous math teacher sat in on the meeting and again I was assured he is where he needs to be. E passed the first semester just scraping by with a C. He is not on track for a C, this semester. I don’t want him going into High School with an F on his transcript. In February I once again asked the school to drop him to pre-algebra but again was met with resistance. What are our options? I was led to understand that if he has an F or D in this subject he will be able to take it again in High School, if he gets a C he will be stuck with that grade. He can not get a C for this semester at this point. We have just been notified he did not get into his high school of choice. I can’t understand why unless it is based on this year’s grades. Ultimately my question is can we just drop from this class? Can he move on with a half credit? How can we not have this bad grade follow him from middle school to high school?

Sorry this is long, thank you for taking the time to read it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. ~ Confused Mom

2

Colleges will not see his middle school grades at all, no matter the subject. Have him take algebra 1 in 9th.

3

That is not necessarily true. Our high school included any high school level math classes taken in middle school on the transcript. Grades were also listed, but did not count for high school GPA.

4

I know it is hard right now with schools not really open. In general you would need to talk to the high school he will be attending to find out how they do things. I don’t think there are set rules other than the rules of his high school/district.

For my oldest the entire 8th grade class did algebra 1 h in 8th grade. Depending on how they do they start 9th grade in some version of algebra 1 or geometry (cp or honors). No matter what though no grade or gpa is used, listed on the transcript etc - it is just implied that if they start above algebra 1 they had it before 9th grade.

For my youngest it was basically the same but they switched to the integrated math 1, 2, 3 curriculum so she started high school in math 2 honors. I think she did algebra 1 h in 8th grade since she was in a transition year but in 9th grade was in integrated math 2 honors. She also will not have any math listed on her high school transcript taken before the start of 9th grade no matter what the grade was.

Here there is just 1 public high school so everyone goes. There is a vocational high school that people need to apply to but I know that now everyone gets in. It isn’t always grades though. It can also be attendance, recommendations, or simply luck of the draw if there are too many qualified applicants so it may just just be what it is. Hopefully down the road your son will come to love it.

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Now that we are in the coronavirus time I would push hard to have him drop down to pre-algebra.