I want my son to take Algebra 1 on-line course this coming summer. He is in 6th grade but going 7th grade GT match classes. The school let him skip a grade for math.
I am comparing between Duketip Algebra 1 course and CTY Honors Algebra I (AL1) course. CTY costs lot more than Duketip but don’t mind spending the money, if CTY is worth the extra cost. Did anybody compare these two before. Are there any other options out there. I would appreciate your valuable input.
I can’t speak specifically to those courses, but from the way you described this situation I have to ask, does your son want to take Algebra1 this summer or do you want him to? Do his teachers think he is ready? Is prealgebra very easy for him? Is he asking for more challenge? Does he want to spend his summer learning math?
There are plenty of gifted kids who can do this but there are also plenty of kids whose parents or schools push them into algebra too soon and once they start the sequence of high school math classes the difficulty ramps up every year and they start to flounder in the later classes. It’s a shame to push a bright kid too hard and leave them with a shaky math foundation and mediocre grades. So I would make sure he is ready before embarking on this.
I would call both places and ask which curriculum they use. There are only a few of these on line curriculums available and most of the places are using one or the other. From what I know, it does not matter if you pay JHU or Duke - Honors Algebra1 will be the same course.
My children are students of another online school - Laurel Springs. They are in Laurel Springs Gifted Academy. The Honors Algebra 1 courses offered through Gifted Laurel Springs is exactly the same Honors Algebra1 they offer in regular Laurel Springs School. Student can choose the textbook based course or the on-line course. I think this is the only main difference between the courses.
I would disregard questions like: “does your son want to take Algebra1 this summer or do you want him to?”
You are the parent. You decide what is best.
Most gifted kids are perfectly capable to take Honors Algebra1 in 6th or 7th grade - it is not that hard. Public schools are extremely boring for these kids! I am glad your school is letting your child go ahead, some schools just would not. You can send me a private email and I can forward to you the details of the Honors Algebra 1 course we took , if you like.
P.S. As far as the question about the difference between Regular Algebra 1 and Honors Algebra 1 - take the Honors, for sure. Doesn’t have to be at JHU, if cost is the issue. It could be elsewhere , but Honors Class will quilify your child for future AP classes. As I said, most online courses are exactly the same. Ask the school if they approve of it before enrolling…
Have you consider Chalk Dust Company Algebra 1? It is not online but a set of video lectures on DVD. If you buy a new copy or pay a small fee if using a used copy then you get email support from the instructor. We didn’t used it but we did do the Pre-calculus course and thought it was well done.
You might post on the home schooled board for more ideas.
@noname I believe these classes must be from an accredited institution or accredited home study program, otherwise the school can’t give credit for it.
@Lanaana, “I would disregard questions like: “does your son want to take Algebra1 this summer or do you want him to?”
You are the parent. You decide what is best.”
If the boy is not ready or if he really doesn’t want to do this it may cause more harm than good. Our school system routinely puts 7th graders into algebra 1 and there is a significant problem with these students floundering in high school math. I’m all for assisting kids who want to learn and for appropriate placement, but he will have to work harder if he’s pushed ahead, he will not be with his grade-level friends, he most likely will have to make academic and social compromises to accommodate scheduling classes with higher grade levels. If he doesn’t want any of this it could easily create problems. How will the OP feel if the boy spends his time thinking about his friends having fun at the pool and ends up with a C in algebra1? Sure, you the parent can force him to enroll but if he isn’t both capable and motivated, it’s a mistake.
@ mathyone OP never asked you or me for our opinion about the boy’s readiness. OP only asked about courses and the difference in Duke Algebra 1 course and CTY Honors Algebra I. There was nothing else asked. If the OP was conserned about the boy spending “his time thinking about his friends having fun at the pool”, the OP would ask you that particular question…
As far as getting a “C”, I can garantee that if the school letting this boy skip a grade - he is more than capable doing it.
I don’t know how much the Duke and CTY classes cost, but Florida Virtual School offers their classes to out-of-staters. I believe the fee is somewhere around $800.
Fwiw, my kids do ALEKS.COM for high school algebra I. It’s not accredited but beginning college algebra is accredited through ACE. (which most colleges accept) This was our cheapest option and college credit to boot:-) My kids do both high school Algebra and beginning college algebra. If your kiddo is good at math they can get through both in a summer.
ALEK is flat monthly fee $19.00? And it was another small fee for the transcript $20 or $30? For the official credit. Our high school had no problem accepting beginning College Algebra for honors high school Algebra I.
@mkneni I am including here a link for Laurel Springs online school below. They have a virtual open house for summer school tomorrow. You can register and ask them all the questions you need to ask, without any obligations. You can find out about the course itself, the load of everyday work, what is included and such. At least, it will give you some perspective on what to expect from a similar online program. In fact, some of the courses LS school offers are the courses created by Florida Virtual School, recommended to you by 3boystogo above. I know that most of such online schools, probably including both JHU and Duke high school use FVS courses in their curriculum, but you have to find out :http://laurelsprings.com/high-school/part-time-summer/
Does your state/district offer an on-line homeschool program? Many of these are free and would offer credit in your state. But is credit really a concern for a middle-schooler? Could he not complete a course at home and take a placement test or show his work to the school?
The Saxon Math series is well-respected and used by many homeschoolers and schools. Their Algebra I course is very thorough, and I would recommend it. (I am a former homeschooler/math tutor and have also taught this Algebra I course in the classroom.) One of my sons was advanced in math and was doing Algebra II in 8th grade. He entered a public high school where he then took Geometry (he hadn’t taken a year of Geometry), Pre-calc, then AP Calc BC, and Stats. He never received credit for Algebra I and II although he had all his work to show. It didn’t matter.
I agree with @mathyone that it is important to know whether the kid is asking for more challenge. If the kid is the one who wants this, I would suggest algebra through AoPS (Art of Problem Solving). There is no way I would suggest that for a kid who wasn’t asking for it.
CTY or TIP or ALEKS could be fine for a kid who is not the instigator.
Also, if your kid will be one or two years ahead of any/most other kids in the school, you really should have a plan in mind for what to do in math the last couple years of high school.
Thanks to all of you for valuable inputs and concerns. He is a straight A student and has been 2 to 3 years ahead of s grade level in math. He is perfectly okay with spending an hour or two each day during summer break. I am looking this from an accredited institution which can be useful when he goes to high school. Looks like duketip costs around $150 and gives you an year to complete. CTY will cost around $700 to $800 and gives only 3 months to finish but this is an honors course. This is our fist child and we didn’t do our education in US. So the kids education has been a learning process for us too.
My daughter did a couple years of math through CTY. They use an excellent package called Thinkwell. You can buy it directly from Thinkwell.comhttp://www.thinkwellhomeschool.com/products/algebra-1. I did not feel like the CTY-supplied tutors added any value for the several hundred dollar markup–especially with math at such a low level that parents can help if needed.
You need to ask your school about credit. Policies vary. Our school would give placement but not credit for the courses you are considering, but honor students in our school typically graduate with far more credits than they need anyhow. (Although not having an honors class on the transcript would bring down class rank a bit.) You need to find out whether your child needs those credits in terms of total number of credits to graduate and also any specific requirements for algebra1 or X years of math (keeping in mind that X years may be difficult to fulfill if your child exhausts the offerings and does not receive credit for math taken elsewhere). You also need to check requirements for standardized testing in algebra1 (which could probably be arranged separately). If it’s not an honors course you also want to consider whether that’s appropriate for a gifted kid and you should also be aware this could bring down class rank a bit depending on the school.
I’ve parented two kids through accelerated math in middle school and whether or not they can do algebra1 is the least of the problems. There are social issues, personal organization issues, and significant scheduling conflicts to consider. These can be difficult for a 12 year old and if the kid is not committed to the idea it could be quite overwhelming.
FWIW, mom of Texas public school 6th grader. In our school district Algebra I is counted in the high school GPA. Our district would only accept credit by exam by either Texas Tech or UT-Austin. If one did the CBE for Algebra I they only got non weighted credit. So it is better in our district to advance while they are in middle school. So my 6th grade took the CBE to advance one math grade up to take preAP Alg 1 in 7th grade, there by getting the weighted grade and this applies to her high school GPA and transcript.
Now, to help lay out a solid foundation in Algebra, she is working her way through the Paul Foerster Algebra I text. She does this after school each day. There is a video teaching with this text from Math Without Borders. This is only for enrichment and will supplement her public school algebra I class she starts in the fall.