I have learned with D19 that it’s best to earn an A in an honors class to get the .5 grade bump to a 4.5 then earn a B- in an AP class for the 1.0 bump to a 3.7. 
Each student (and school system) is different.
Best yet is to get a A in the AP class 
@OrangeFish OK, that was kind of a flip answer, but you’re right. The trick is optimize course selection. As mentioned in a previous post, I think the best way is to consider AP in areas of strength and interest.
I agree, @Rivet2000 – as I mentioned in a previous post, each student (and school system) is different. Identify opportunities for success based on strengths. A goal of “all AP/IB courses and all As required” is not the best option for some students (including those in my household ).
Totally agree with everything you all have said. Once size does not fit all. I think half my problem is that we are moving to a new school/district where I have no experience. If we were staying here and she was going to a different school from my D18 (as she would have) I still would have had a basic understanding of what to expect from each level/type of class.
D22 is definitely more of a humanities kid. So we’ll be tilting in that direction for sure.
Oh, hey, I was oblivious that this thread had been started. I have an older d19 (hey there @OrangeFish ) and a younger d22.
My d22 is a classic introvert who is also witty, sometimes snarky, mostly full of realistic confidence and tends to be a great —sometimes tough— judge of both herself and others. When she is hungry, stressed or tired, she tends to turn it outward (rather than inward as my older d does). It takes longer to gain her respect and confidences than it does for most people (like me, I tend to be pretty open) but once you are in, you are amazed at how strong her personality really is. She is way tougher than she seems on the outside. She tends to always be full of reasonably realistic hopes and dreams and also is able to be flexible and change them when she sees they won’t work. This ride with her should certainly be interesting!
We live in a nice public school district in NY. She was able to take french 1, algebra h and living environment h this school year, as an 8th grader. Typically, 9th graders in our district on that math/science track take earth science (a few allowed to take chemistry, if they are strong math/science students), pre APWH/Global Studies 1, English 9, geometry, foreign language 2, band/art/DDP, PE, study hall and lunch— honors options available for the core classes. D19 (and her friends) have always taken an extra class each year so that they have either study hall or lunch, not both. D22 has had the opportunity to see how everything has worked out for her sister and friends, and plenty of time to make her plans. She walked into her counselor meeting in early February knowing exactly what she wanted. Her requests (we won’t get the schedule until August):
-Chemistry H
-Geometry H
-French 2 H (she considered non honors but her teacher told her she would be bored in regular, so she will try it. D19 hates Spanish 2H and has enjoyed nonhonors Spanish 3&4)
-English 9H
-PreAPWH (they split APWH into 2 years here since global studies is also split into 2 years)
-DDP (for those not aware, its design and drawing for production, and engineering based course that also counts as art)
-PE (required all 4 years)
-Health 1&2 (graduation requirements, she may not get into health 2 as upperclassmen get priority, she requested an intro to business course as an alternative)
She does not want 2 free periods a day. She wants either lunch or study hall, not both. Some other kids were discouraged from some of these options, but she wasn’t asking, she was telling them was she wanted (courteously assertive is the phrase we use) and they didn’t blink.
She is super ready for high school. I also couldn’t be more pleased with how much she has grown in middle school.
Here’s an interesting situation for us. DS’s high school has him slotted currently to be in Algebra II/Trig for 9th grade. This is a preliminary schedule, which could change (math placement test next weekend).
Assuming this assignment sticks, that means skipping Geometry. It also means Calculus BC senior year would be an option for him (they do AB full year, BC as a follow-on semester long course). Given his STEM orientation, that would be great.
Here’s our issue: the University of California system requires a year of Geometry (something @ucbalumnus alerted me to). While it’s way too early to know if DS will attend a UC, we certainly don’t want to preclude that option. So we likely will have him do Geometry as a summer school class after 9th grade. And if lucky, perhaps he can find some sort of job too.
Obviously this is something we’ll discuss with his academic advisor, or his math placement could change. But the college path is already creeping into our thinking. So soon!
I don’t understand why they would recommend he skip geometry?
@mom2twogirls They do that if they think you’re ready to handle the more advanced math. By taking the Alg II/Trig earlier, you’re able to take most advanced math later. UC used to be OK with accepting that Geometry is “folded in” to other courses you take. But not anymore (as of 2015).
It raises the question: should kids be slowed down to accommodate UC’s requirement? Or do you press forward and make adjustments as you go along?
It just seems to me like they are putting a lot of pressure on kids to make sure they learn the geometry on their own. I can see them being fine in algebra 2 without it, but I would worry about gaps in knowledge for some of the higher level math and science classes, as well at SAT/ACT.
It makes less sense to do it this way and then also have kids repeating sections of calc. So 9th would be Algebra 2/trig, 10th would be precalc, 11th would be AB (which half the year is precalc review), 12th is BC (half the year calc 1 review)?
My d22 is on track to take 9th geometry, 10th Algebra 2, 11th precalc, 12th BC. However, they do currently have the option at our school to double up and take algebra 2/precalc in the same year. If that doesn’t change before she gets to 10th grade, she likely will take both algebra 2 and precalc in 10th, BC in 11th, and calc 3 in 12th.
Yeah, that works for schools that do BC as the full year option (you’d take BC rather than AB). At DS’s high school, you take AB then BC if you want to go that far.
The Calc BC is only a semester long at his (upcoming) school. So you don’t spend time reviewing past material. You just get on with the next lessons after AB.
So then it’s really just the C part of BC (calc 2)?
Do they do AB similarly and only have it a half year course, teaching just the B part?
My older d19 is currently in Calc BC. I know that her midterm was an old Calc AB AP exam. Since they had to take Precalc as a prerequisite for BC, they did very little to no real precalc review. The first semester was all calc 2 concepts and now is calc 2 concepts.
It’s so interesting (and sometimes confusing) howndifferently schools handle curriculums. Makes me grateful we haven’t had to change schools.
I would recommend you find a way for your DS to take Geometry in the summer or during the school year. Skipping Geometry could pose problem down the road. Best of luck.
Thanks @glido. We are definitely planning on summer Geometry. For UC’s it’s a hard requirement, and from what I can tell some other schools expect it as well.
My D22 is attending a day school that eliminated AP courses last year and I’m ok with that! Her school also sequences Algebra II immediately after Algebra I, which is different than our public school (where my S19 currently attends). D20 is at yet a third school (boards) and She just slogged through the AP chem test yesterday.
My d19 took the AP Chem test yesterday too.
I would be fine with the school not offering APs as long as they had equally challenging options in place of them.
S22 is taking Spanish in 7th and 8th grade. They spread it out over a full year so 1A in 7th and 1B in 8th. He got a B in 1A and is likely headed for a B in 1B. He mentioned several of his classmates are retaking it next year because they also got Bs and think if they re-take they will get an easy A. Not sure if I want him to go this route or just take the B and move on.
Also, looks like he is headed for a B in Algebra 1B after getting an A in Algebra 1A.
Just finishing up the grade stress with D19 and now it is starting all over again.
S22 is finishing up German 1 in 8th grade and plans to take German up to German 4. He also plans to fit in four years of orchestra in high school. We are already trying to maximize GPA, which makes me sad, as my D19 is struggling with her GPA.
D22 finished her 3rd year of Spanish (8th grade) and placed into honors Spanish in HS. Plans to continue with Spanish in all 4 years of HS.
My d22 is taking French. My d19 took Spanish and hated it until 10th grade. D22 decided to try something different from her sister. She’s also giving French 2 honors a shot next year, even though her sister hated the curriculum for Spanish 2 Honors (she started enjoying Spanish more when she dropped honors). D22 was going to take nonhonors but her teacher convinced her she would be bored.