<p>100,000 is about 3% of the total number of high school graduates every year, and probably about 10% of the number heading to four year colleges and universities every year.</p>
<p>Sure, if a middle school placement decision and the high school’s math curriculum puts the student in a position to complete BC before high school graduation, the student aiming for a highly selective college should certainly do so. But is it really worth doing schedule contortions if the student will “only” complete AB or precalculus on his/her current track? (Note that the OP’s student will complete an unspecified calculus course on the current track.)</p>
<p>Even Harvard offers a slow-paced calculus 1 course (Math Ma-Mb) for students who enter with weak math backgrounds (though an entering frosh at Harvard with just precalculus would normally take Math 1a-1b, where 1a = Ma-Mb).</p>
<p>The kids with the more advanced math are likely to be disproportionately headed into math-intensive majors, so it may be more like the top 20% of kids headed into those areas. And you have to consider that many schools don’t offer BC, but this kid is competing in a pool of kids from a school that does. Maybe we’re looking at 40% now?</p>
<p>@SlackerMomMD, [I would rather err on the side of taking a slightly slower math sequence and having a solid base than rushing through the math sequence for the sake of getting through all the math offerings n high school].</p>
<p>Well said! Math acceleration is really not suitable for every student. Our school district is famous in pushing kids in math; and better middle schools in the county have this soft measurement that all 8th graders will finish Algebra 1 before graduating middle school. I am seeing lots of problems with the kids. Acceleration for a selective group of kids is the right thing to do; but for every student, it’s just wrong.</p>
<p>We aren’t talking about about every student here. We’re talking about a kid aiming for a math-heavy major, presumably at a somewhat selective 4-year college. The question of whether it’s appropriate to push the lowest-performing students through algebra in 8th grade–it isn’t-- is irrelevant. </p>
<p>I do think it’s worth looking at why the school placed the OP’s child in what seems to be the second-highest math track. Those decisions are made near the start of middle school and I’m sure sometimes mistakes are made, or immature kids mature and then do better than expected. The OP’s child should be finding math fairly easy and be near the top of the class without excessive effort or stress. If not, then trying to accelerate is probably a bad idea. I would especially consider how comfortable he is with algebra, since the math which follows is based more on algebra than geometry.</p>
<p>Many econ programs at research universities offer low math and high math options.</p>
<p>You can get an Econ degree at Northwestern taking Calc 1, Intro Econometrics, and a stats class. I know lots of students that did that. But you also can go the more quant heavy route.</p>
<p>U MN does the same thing. A BA in Econ only requires Calc 1 but the BS is very quant heavy.</p>
<p>My son is in an econ program at a state flagship that requires Calc 1, Applied Math for Economics (or Calc 2), 2 stats courses, and econometrics. </p>