Hello, this question is concerning my younger sister. Before she started high school, I helped her by telling her what is the best way to do well in high school because many of my peers and I didn’t know what to do until it was too late. What classes to take. How and when to study for the ACT and SAT. How important our GPA and class rank is, and the importance of taking AP/DC classes. In order for her to advance well in high school, I recommended that she take Geometry, and Biology in middle school so she could open up more possibilities in the future for classes such as Calculus III, Differential Equations, and Organic Chemistry (she wants to major in a STEM field). Our school has a unique program where we can advance to the next course if we have completed the previous course (for the regular high school classes only). The problem is that by the end of this year, she will have 14 high school credits meaning she will go into next year considered to be a junior (she is barely completing her freshmen year). It’s common at our school for students to graduate early since many students advance quickly but the problem is, she doesn’t want to graduate early. She wants more time to participate in ECs, study for the ACT and SATs, and not have such a heavy load trying to take all the classes she wants in 3 years. The reason the counselor stated is because since she will be considered a junior next year, and since we are required to take a minimum of 6 credits per year, she will be considered a senior (at 19 credits) by the start of her third year. They can’t “justify” marking her as a senior for two years in a row since the school doesn’t allow that so she HAS to graduate early which completely ruined the plans she had. I already talked to the counselor (as stated above) but I feel like there should be something that could be done. Although they don’t see it as such, it’s a punishment for all the achievements she has made so far by advancing and already taking classes no other freshmen has. This also means that her class rank will be those one grade above hers and since they have had an entire year to take dual credit classes improving their weighted GPA and thus their class rank, it will literally be impossible to compete with the top students of her now graduating class.
I reiterate, there should be something that could be done. It’s a public charter school so maybe the rules are different. We go to school in Houston, Texas, a school under Responsiveed.