I’m already feeling that I am failing freshmen year. I’ve messed up my algebra 2 honors grade by getting 2 D’s on tests, and now it’s too late to drop out of the class. I mean I could make up the grade by re-doing the course online. I never did fine in geometry either, I got C + as my final grade in it. I did fine in Algebra and PreAlgebra, scoring a 98% in both. I want to attend MIT because I love computer science and would like to pursue it in college. I don’t know what to do. I study for algebra tests days before for about an hour making sure I have each section down. I do practice problems. For some reason, I falter on tests and I do not know what to do… Any advice on how to move forward?
My grade currently in alg 2 honors is 74.71% I have 3 tests and 3 quizzes left to make up the grade this semester…
Ask your teacher for advice on how to improve, and don’t set your hopes on a school that currently has a ~92% rejection rate – who knows how few applicants they will be accepting when you apply in three years.
Definitely ask you teacher for help. You will need to work with a teacher or tutor after school. The sooner that you start this the easier it will be to catch up and stay up to speed in math. Definitely start looking for help this week, preferably today (or tomorrow if you don’t read this until after school is over today).
Also, MIT is a very academically demanding university for students who breezed through every high school math class with consistent A or A+ grades in all of them. If you are struggling with freshman math in high school then attending MIT would not be fun. There are a lot of universities with very strong computer science programs and when the time comes you should find one that matches you.
Algebra 2 honors is not supposed to be a freshman year class for someone who struggled in geometry. I know that our school district will not let kids change math tracks for “merely being unhappy with the grades,” but school districts do their students a huge disservice by these policies. You should see if there is another math class you could be in instead.
Otherwise, you are going to need one-on-one attention to catch up at this point. You and your teacher or your tutor should start by going over past mistakes to see if there are consistent errors in basic skills or understanding that could be holding you back, then work on reviewing and preparing for the rest of the course.
Don’t worry about Freshman year as much as 10-12. The only class my Son ever received, a B in was on an essay that he received a D in a class during freshman year, that the teacher was known to be less intelligent than the kids. She refused to be clear on the rubric. He was and still would have been a straight A student if this teacher was a good educator . Study on line and talk to your counselor. Most Universities understand that certain teachers aren’t good and that is why a typical A student has trouble in just one class. Keep trying and realize that your teacher might not be an effective educator. Next year might be better. Stay positive. BTW my kid is now going to Princeton.
My daughter really struggled with Alg 2 Honors in the beginning of her freshman year. She had always been a really strong math student, so we were surprised. She was hesitant to ask her teacher for help, but once she finally did, her grade went up. She went to the teacher almost every day after school for help. She ended the first semester with a B plus. Since she wanted an even higher grade, we got her a tutor, and she finished her second semester with an A. It’s not too late for you. Good luck!
Can you switch to algebra 2 regular?
Algebra2H is for very strong 10th graders not for freshmen, especially not freshmen who got a C+ in geometry. You probably forgot the basics from Algebra1 and never mastered geometry so now there’s too much content you don’t grasp or know.
Regardless of whether you switch to algebra2 regular or nit, you should get a tutor. And talk with your teacher, ask for extra work and advice.
Finally, there are plenty of excellent universities for CS. Don’t fixate on any one university.
I talked to my teacher and they said there is nothing wrong with how I am studying. It’s too late to switch to algebra 2 regular. The thing is since our algebra was a different curriculum we didn’t learn everything people are learning in algebra now. And schools expect us to know all of this content, even though we weren’t taught it in algebra.
So I am also taking AP Computer science as a freshman, because of my interest. I have been learning Java for a few years now, and I feel proficient in it. But on tests, I falter… I don’t know what do because I am not struggling in any classes that are not mathematical. I have studied for the quizzes in AP CS by doing practice problems. I’m stuck.
So I will talk to my AP CS teacher also, on how to move forward. But anyone else has any useful advice for me?
When you figure out what it is you didn’t learn, that’s what you ask the teacher to teach when you go for extra help.
You may also try looking up topics on this website: http://patrickjmt.com/
I’m wondering why you’re in Algebra II & Trig – much less honors-- as a freshman if you scored only a C+ in geometry.
OK, anyway, some ideas I would give my own students:
- Have you seen your teacher for extra help? That’s always the first line of defense.
- If for some reason that doesn't work, go to another teacher in the math department. Sometimes, a different explanation does the trick. And, no, we don't care if you go to another teacher instead of us. we give extra help to other teachers' kids all the time. We want you to succeed-- if going to another teacher will help, we're all for it.
- Have you been conscientious about keeping up with the homework? Algebra II & Trig is NOT a course you can pass by simply paying attention in class. It's all about skills, and you've got to practice each one as it's taught. It's also a course where the skills build-- you need to be able to factor so you can solve quadratic equations so you can solve word problems, and so on. So you'll need to learn the skills that were on those first 2 tests, even though you've already gotten grades for them-- it's about the material at this point and not the grade.
- My all time favorite review site seems to be down at the moment. You can google Oswego Regents Review to see whether it's just a temporary thing. If it's gone, then spend some time on the computer-- google "teacher Algebra II sites" or something similar. Lots of teachers have great notes and review sheets on their sites; you just have to track them down. Algebra II has pretty much the same topics-- though not necessarily in the same order-- from one school/state to another. So hunt down a teacher who has posted materials that will help you. So, for example, does this have anything that will help you? https://mathbitsnotebook.com/Algebra2/Algebra2.html The link in the previous post is also a good one.
- I'm not a huge fan of Khan Academy, but lots of kids find it helpful.
- Consider asking your guidance counselor about getting a NHS kid to tutor you.
The thing is, you’ve got to tackle this right away. Again, this problem won’t go away; it’s only going to build if it’s not addressed.
Thanks! Today I will ask my teacher for websites like these also. Thanks for all the advice.
Your issue is that you are in classes that are too advanced for you.
SO you will have to do extra work to be able to get good grades in them.
Here are suggestions:
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GO TO CLASS, READ THE BOOK, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
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Go to Teacher’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
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If you have problems with the homework, go to Teacher’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
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Form a study group with other kids in your class.
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Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or chemistry whatever. Watch online videos on line about the topic you are studying. Use Khan Academy to do extra problems.
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If things still are not going well, get a tutor. The National Honor Society students will do tutoring or ask your teacher.
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Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
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For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
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How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework.
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If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the guidance counselor and talk to them.
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At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The teacher may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
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Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
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If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
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If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the teacher’s office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
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Take advantage of any “re-do”.\s your teachers let you do…your teacher wants you to learn the material. Future material depends on it so you need to have the foundation. By explaining what went wrong you really understand it. Take advantage of this.
So I’ve been working hard to re-study previous chapters and get a good hang of all the concepts in this chapter. And I have been testing myself at home using online tests, and stuff int he textbook. I feel like I have really practiced well. But for AP CS I’m not doing too well… I need some recommendations on how to study for that cause we don’t have a textbook to guide us…
What does your teacher say? Your teacher is always the first line of defense. Go see him/her tomorrow and ask.
Okay. Any other suggestions?
So you are taking an AP class as a high school freshman? Is there any way to switch from AP to regular, or just drop the class?
Why are you taking AP CS as a freshman?
I’d drop the class to concentrate on the other subjects. Plan to take AP CS next year (ask your GC whether it’s a good idea, but I’m willing to bet they’ll say ok).
You took too much on, with too many classes meant for upper level students…
You may be able to handle each one separately but taking a full schedule means you can’t tackle them all. You have to choose.