My 14 yr old son just started high school 2 weeks ago…the first week was a review of graphing, and now he is 2 sections into the book for algebra 2 honors… i feel it is taking him a lot of time to do the homework…last night it took him 1.5 hours to do roughly 15 problems.
When I asked him “Did you understand the lecture while she was introducing the topic and doing sample problems?”, he replied “Not fully”. I then asked “Did you raise your hand to ask questions?” , he replied “Yes, but then i got lost elsewhere in the problem or got lost during another sample problem…I couldn’t keep raising my hand to ask questions. It would look like i’m dumb”
I feel he had a similar pattern in geometry honors last year ( he earned a B+ for his end of year grade). He would be doing homework seemingly endlessly, in a somewhat puzzled state.
I only have my own experiences in math to compare his performance. I took Alg 2 regular in 12th grade, and always understood every section 10-15 minutes into the lecture. In fact I never took notes. I would finish the problem sets while in class, and never had homework. I would study for 10 minutes the night before and get an A on the test.
So all this leads me to the question “How long should it take a 14 year old boy to do 15-20 algebra 2 problems?” Thanks for your help.
DD can spend up to 1.5 hours on her Algebra 2 homework too, and she is on her school’s math team. It can vary, though, depending on the assignments. For freshmen honors or AP students, especially, it isn’t like junior high where they could get straight A’s with an hour or less of homework each night. Rest assured he will get used to the pace and rigor, but it can be a bit of an adjustment for the incoming freshmen. If he is ramping up his extra curricular activities, he might be exhausted by the time he gets around to his homework, which will also make it take longer than it should. “This too shall pass.” It can be a big change for them.
If he isn’t understanding the lectures, that’s a different issue. Find out what resources your school offers. Is there an office he can go to for tutoring or additional help? Does the teacher offer review sessions before tests? Has he spoken to her about what he doesn’t understand? Can he find a study buddy to work through the problems with him after school?
The best things you can do are to encourage him to seek out those resources, make sure he is getting enough nutrition and sufficient sleep. These can make a big difference. Good luck!
If he is a ninth grader taking algebra 2 honors, it sounds like he was accelerated in math. Is that correct?
yes that is correct, he is in an accelerated program.
Could be that he was accelerated beyond his math readiness. Algebra 2 in 9th grade (having completed geometry in 8th grade) is two grade levels ahead of the normal sequence, appropriate for top-end students in math. Good but not (yet?) great students in math are more appropriately one grade level ahead.
ucbalumnus you could be right…he got A’s in pre algebra (6th grade) and A’s in Alg 1 in 7th grade…i’ve only seen a little slow down/confusion in geometry and 2 weeks into alg 2…
do you have any suggestions going forward?
Remember your son is not you. You may have found math very easy while your son does not even if he is far above most students in ability. Agree with his perhaps not having fully mastered the material preceding this class. My son’s district had some students who took 8th grade algebra repeating it as HS freshmen. Better that than struggling forever because of not having mastered the material. You may want to take time to figure out concepts your son is weak in and have him learn them more thoroughly. Otherwise he will just get further and further behind.
Lots and lots of kids find out their foundation in Algebra wasn’t as strong as they thought when they hit Algebra 2. If it’s 2 weeks in and he’s not understanding the lecture, I’d put money on him having gaps.
wis25…are you suggesting that he retake geometry???
darcy123…he did earn an A in Algebra 1 honors…also, what do you suggest we do going forward?
My concern with your post is not the time he’s taking to do his homework but that he says he isn’t understanding fully and doesn’t want “to look dumb.” Asking for help and clarification isn’t dumb, it’s smart! If he isn’t comfortable asking in class, he needs to see if the teacher will meet with him before or after school or maybe look into tutoring. There are also free online resources as well. My D used Kahn Academy when she needed extra help/problems to practice.
While it’s good that he received an A in Algebra 1 honors, the actual quality of the class can vary dramatically (particularly in a middle school setting). It can also be as simple as he’s forgotten a fair amount since his 7th grade year. The key thing is he’s not understanding the lecture 2 weeks in, that is what I would concentrate on. I would look to see if teacher offers office hours or arrange a tutor now. Don’t wait until he’s dug himself a hole with first few tests. If they’re not confident about the material, it just turns into a downward spiral. Does your school offer Algebra 2 without honors? Sometimes that pace can be more beneficial for some students.
I would not have him retake Geometry - it’s probably his Algebra skills that are holding him back in Algebra 2.
No. Repeating a class where most of the material is learned would be a waste of time. Geometry and algebra are very different. Posts #11 and 12 are good. Perhaps the regular version will give him more explanations and give him time to learn the material he forgot/wasn’t taught in algebra 1.
Always better to concentrate on the learning rather than the “honors”, “AP” designations. Your son needs to learn this material. It won’t matter if he gets the honors designation but hasn’t mastered the material. Math builds on past knowledge- give him the good foundation he deserves.
There are just so many resources online to help with math. Is he using those? The reality is stuff starts getting hard and the kids that cruised early on have a harder time with that than the kids that just worked. I expect his teacher has options for help (like office hours, pre or post school, peer tutors) but none that will work if he isn’t going to ask or try to help himself. 1.5 hours does not sound bad at all though.
I see two options here. One is trying out regular Algebra 2, the pace in honors may just be too fast him. Alternatively he needs to be willing to go to whatever extra help sessions the teacher offers and/or have tutoring. It’s possible he’s just forgotten more of Algebra 1 than other students, and a targeted review will get him back on track. My non-math kid ended up in regular math for Algebra 2 (well it was really the third year of integrated math, but similar), he was able to take honors pre-Calc the next year, though he was definitely behind those who had had honors.
Thanks for the great suggestions…i recall the teacher saying during open house that she offers before school help…so i will have him go to those sessions.
my feelings about putting him in regular algebra 2 is that a student must still have to learn the same lesson within a chapter …shouldn’t he, or any other student in either class, have a firm step-by-step understanding of the processes used to solve the lesson’s problems??? we’re on sections 1.1 and sections 1.2, and somehow seems like it’s only70% clear to him, as well as seemingly taking a lot of time for each problem.
i even told him (not sure this is the best strategy) to STOP taking notes in class, and try to hyper focus on the lecture/lesson/sample problems that the teacher does…do the parents think this is a good idea??? i’ve never seen him look through math notes before a test, so why even write them down in the first place.
i read one parent on this forum say that 1.5 hours is not bad for nightly math homework…is that the consensus among posters here??
The problem is the class is going to get harder, not easier. And his other classes will begin to gear up as well, so he may not be able to always focus most of his homework time on math if 5 other subjects need 45 minutes each, or whatever.
If things don’t improve quickly, I would also drop him to regular Alg II where the pace will be slower.
My D typically had an hour/day of HW in math all through HS.
Every school is going to be different, but typically the pace is different for honors and how quickly the teacher is trying to cover those steps which may be what is impacting him. At our school Algebra 2 Honors covers a bit more material which allows PreCalc Honors to cover enough to lead straight to AP Calc BC. Whereas the pace of non-honors makes the typical placement to Calc AB, and then Calc BC. As a freshman in Algebra 2, he has plenty of time to finish the Calc curriculum without honors pacing at many schools.
My kids did not have 1.5 of homework a night in Algebra 2. But, they were both very strong math students in a different school. I’d say it’s more appropriate to ask the teacher as it might be right in line with the average expectation in the class.