<p>So I found out today from the district appeals people that a geometry course I took in seventh grade won't receive honors credit. So, because I spent (wasted) a summer studying, I end up behind my peers for class rank. Is that not unfair?</p>
<p>What did you waste a summer studying for? What does the geometry course not transferring have to do with anything?</p>
<p>Also, I don’t see how studying is ever a waste…I’ve never regretted time I spent studying instead of procrastinating, even if the studying didn’t have any immediate practical benefits.</p>
<p>I took the geometry course over the summer (actually it was a credit by assessment/test-out kind of thing, but details are insignificant).
I would’ve rather spent that time doing something else academically, like working on a better science fair project or preparing for math competitions. The extra work I put in is hurting my class rank…</p>
<p>So you studied geometry the summer you were in seventh grade, and now your class rank is lower than it would be otherwise because you’re in a lower math class than you would be in if your school had let you test out of geometry?</p>
<p>No… I passed geometry and got to skip it, but they didn’t give me honors credit, which means that I end up having a lower class rank than my peers who are behind me.</p>
<p>“I wanted class rank, and all I got was this stupid knowledge!”</p>
<p>This sounds awfully petty. You wanted to test out so you could jump up a year. You did that. You’ve taken harder courses as a result that are weighted. So you get course rigor for the harder classes and the weighting they offer. You are burned because you also didn’t get weighting for a course you tested out of? Move on!</p>
<p>My son got bumped from honors math in 6th grade because he was one question shy on a standardized exam. He had teacher recommendation and an A. Seventh grade perfect score on the exam, A, teacher recommendation, math student of the year. Can he move to hon math/algebra? No. Eighth grade, perfect score on standardized exam, A, math, civics, and science student of the year. Can he take Alg over the summer to move on to Geo in hs? No summer is only remedial. His ninth grade alg teacher had him less then two weeks and realized he was misplaced and called to get the facts. With his help my son got a waiver to take geometry online during the second semester (double time). He got in A in both math classes and teacher recommendation for Alg2/trig soph year to finally be back on track. He did not get the weighed course for geometry his peers did in 9th grade. I guess his rank was harmed an iota .Oh well, stuff happens. You deal and move on. The same teacher had him Sr year for Calc and wrote one bang up LOR about S3s self determination to succeed, doubling up on math classes, taking 8 academic courses his freshman spring, even when the system had clearly failed him. The blip in rank, which he never even thought of, was nothing compared to the relationship he’s had with this instructor. </p>
<p>Take away: look for the good and don’t harp on tiny things.</p>
<p>You’re in middle school. So are we talking class rank in middle school?? That means essentially nothing to your life beyond middle school. Being able to move ahead in math seems like it should be much more valuable.</p>
<p>nano - I think DK is high school. They’re now grubbing for grade points as Gpa’s are calculated and class rank assessed. Kids can get very petty over .5 out of a possible say 130 total points (7 academic classes/year, foreign language and alg in middle school gives 30 academic classes. Max pts is 4/A=120. Add 7 for 1pt per AP, 3 for .5/ honors assuming 7APs 6hon). This is a perfect transcript, 130pts. Start deducting for a B+ (gasp) and one fewer honors taken (-.5) and kids get jumpy. You see how small that .5 really is when it’s properly averaged into the gpa (assuming 7APs/6hon for argument). That .5 comes to a difference of a whopping .0038 If the OP can convince me they were significantly harmed (not in the top 5 or 10%) because of .0038 then I will most definitely consider asking admissions reps how they view the difference of .0038 in GPA.</p>
<p>You took a summer class. The class you took wasn’t an honors class. These summer classes are usually aimed at kids who are struggling to graduate from high school. Did you complete the same honors-level assignments as your honors geometry peers to earn this credit? I don’t know what you expected. You didn’t do the honors level work that your peers did. And yet you still got into the more advanced classes you wanted. This seems like a very odd complaint.</p>
<p>Math - if you read carefully I don’t think he took the class. He studied and then was given credit by examination. He tries to gloss over this in post #3 saying ‘details are insignificant’. Well details usually are significant when assessing advanced credit. Did you take the class and do the same work your peers did? No. Since this was an appeal it appears the school, or higher, thought credit by exam doesn’t warrant additional credit/weighting.</p>
<p>Okay I’m going to clear up some confusion:
I am in high school.
I studied over the summer of seventh with the assumption that passing the test was going to be given honors credit because we had been told “all middle schoolers taking accelerated math will receive honors credit”
I apparently took the wrong form of the test (the non-honors version)
I asked them last week if they’d let me retake the honors version of the test. They said no.
It is very likely that my class rank will fall to below the top 10. I do not know where this will fall in terms of percentage. I’m more angry because my class rank would have either been 1 or 2 without this mistake (there is one other guy who has the same amount of honors credits as me coming into HS).
If I knew this would be the outcome, I would’ve spent my summer doing something more productive than harming my class rank. I had a science fair project idea I needed significant amounts of time for, most of which was sucked up by studying for this pointless exam.
I know if I took the honors-level class, I would’ve had a high A. The same teacher taught Algebra 1 HONORS (which I had a 99.84 at the end of the year) and my friends in Geometry HONORS said it was extremely easy.
According to my math (which is right), rectifying this mistake will require 5.5 extra year-credits (11 semester credits) of honors credits. So essentially, I cannot work my way back up to the WGPA I would’ve had without this mistake.
I’m sorry if I came off as being too conceited or aggressive. I’m just disappointed that my “productive” summer puts me behind my peers that sat on the couch playing video games.</p>
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<p>But you’ll ultimately get to take more advanced math classes than them, no?</p>
<p>@halycon Yes, I do get to be one year ahead of my peers who are double-accelerated. However, they will have a higher class rank. So it’s kind of bittersweet thing.
In eighth grade I had to travel back and forth from the high school to the middle school for math. For all that inconvenience, time spent, and knowing what I know now, I believe skipping Geometry wasn’t the right choice. But I guess I can’t do anything about it. Being in PreCalc as a freshman is pretty fun though. People keep acting like I’m some sort of math god. It’s pretty funny :)</p>
<p>What math classes will you take in the next three years?
IMO going above Calculus BC would make up for not being in the top 10. The School Report will tell about how your school ranks and it’s likely that colleges will understand. This is just a bureaucratic thing and I doubt it will be a big deal.</p>
<p>You are investing petty distinctions in class rank with a lot more importance than they deserve. And also way more importance than college admissions officers will. </p>
<p>Are you one of the top students in your grade? If yes, then you’re a good candidate for admission anywhere, and your precise rank isn’t important. If no, then you’re maybe not a viable candidate for the very most selective colleges, no matter what you’re precise rank is. </p>
<p>Class rank is not the only way colleges have to figure out who’s a top student.</p>
<p>@halycoln BC in 10th, multivariable in 11th and ap stats and/or discrete math (if it remains an option) in 12th. Plus I’m good at math competitions, so I think that should help make up for the “missing” rigor.
@sikorsky Yes I am in the top few in my class.</p>
<p>Pretty good is a relative term.</p>
<p>@wcao9311 Yes, yes it is.</p>
<p>DK - here’s an honest to goodness tip, and I sincerely mean it. You don’t want to be the top 1-2. You’ve got a target in your back, you’re waiting for someone else to blink, knowing they want you to fail. Parents even get ugly. It’s not fun or worth what you think it is. Aim for the top 5% and then put your energies into the things that set you apart. Course rigor is one, math competitions, internships/summer job. Invest your energies in you, not competing with others. If you are very early in hs, this seems like a much bigger issue then it is. You have less grades to average so the weight it takes on is greater. Over 4yrs it will dilute considerably. Others will make a B (gasp!), they’ll choose 1-2 less APs to manage the load better. Everyone is bumping at the top early on but get to Jr/Sr year and there have been lots of grades and choices in courses to thin out the top ranks. </p>
<p>I still think you’re missing the bigger picture where your peers have the weighting on that class, you essentially skipped it, getting weighting on classes with more course rigor. I don’t see how you are still not on top here. </p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>