One strong lesson here is to fully research schools when moving during high school. How they handle class rank for transfers, credits given, etc.
" I’m missing why senior yr would have to be 5 soft courses. Is it just that this school does not have further AP classes. or classes at a higher level?" I’m also puzzled. The OP said “The high tract, which many like them used in middle school, allowed the children to complete four subjects in 7th and four subjects in 8th for hs credit. Apparently they will only honor 2 of the eight credits from middle school at the new school… they will be taking 5 soft electives and 2 new AP courses as a senior.”
So, they won’t get credit for 6 classes taken in middle school, and they will need to take 5 “soft electives” to make up for this? So the middle school classes were “soft elective” classes? (Then how did they get so far on the AP classes?) And the school requires 5 “soft electives” in addition to all the electives they took in grades 9-11? That’s an awful lot of “soft electives”; that does not seem right to me. Most of our electives can be anything the kids want–from weight training to APs. Isn’t that the point?
So you think they should sue their way out of a state requirement or school district requirement because another school said it was okay to take high school history in 7th grade? I think California requires one performing art class in high school (or some other requirement you may not agree with). Whether you like it or not, if you want a diploma from a California school, you have to do it. California doesn’t really care that Montana allows the 7th grade class, or that Idaho doesn’t even have that requirement, California is issuing the diploma and can set the rules. Military kids put up with this all the time.
These students are juniors, with two full years to complete more classes. I moved as a senior in high school and my old school had 4 years of history but only 3 of English, and yet my new school was the opposite. Guess what, I need to take the 4 years of English to get the diploma or transfer back to the old school.
Wow, great information and I had her come to read your responses on the site. They will finish the year at their current school and return to the old district next year via job transfer or living with a friend.
I think @T26E4 has the right idea. Take the next step up logically in sequence and then switch to homeschool when you get to the all arts elective senior year. I’m assuming the school will (for example) let them take AP Bio, if they took regular biology in middle school. If it were just one arts elective they had to retake (and you could take a different art so you weren’t repeating material) that wouldn’t be the end of the world, but if they actually have to backtrack and take everything that would be a tremendous waste of time.
This is the equivalent of telling an excellent skier that they have to go back to the bunny slope because they are too young or too short. It’s a waste.
How are the requirements structured at the new school? (new state?)
At our school, requirements flow mostly from the state, I think. The requirements are for a certain number of credits (i.e. class years), in specific subjects - Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, Science, Fine Arts, Practical Arts, PE/Health. There are a few smaller requirements to meet certain tests, that are normally met within certain main classes (i.e. they’re not separate classes).
For the most part, there’s a lot of latitude WITHIN areas. i.e. You need a certain amount of science, but have many options WITHIN science.
So if someone transferred in from a different area with a different science curriculum, and needed more credits as a junior or senior to graduate, they’d be able to choose from MANY science classes/options. Perhaps they’d be a little irritated if they thought they’d fulfilled their science requirements already and ended up having to take an extra science class, but it’s not that big of a deal, IMO.
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More generally, the idea that a 7th grader is picking up a lot of HS credits in classes beyond math and foreign language feels a little odd to me, especially if such classes were taken at a MS, not a HS. Our kids carry certain math credits into HS, and the older kid gets basically one year’s HS credit for the two years of French she took in MS, but I think that’s a far more typical arrangement, nationally.
I’ve never heard of HS credit for MS work. MS work only involvles placement.
My children took AP Foreign Language their first year of HS, took the exam, scored 5s and were done with foreign language at the HS level. But there was no credit for MS work.
Similarly, taking a zero period math class at the HS and then spending the rest of the day at the MS didn’t count for HS credit. The student just started in a higher level math class. The class taken the prior year (MS) doesn’t show up on the HS transcript.
I would caution against sending students to live with a friend while attending high school. They will most likely be resposible for paying out of district costs and fees.
It varies by HS, but it is very common, esp. for math and foreign languages.
Our system does both. In our system math and high school biology can be taken at the middle school and get put on the high school transcript and factored into the high school GPA. They warn parents extensively not to push their kids to take these classes if they are not mature enough to do well. The bio students also take the bio (Living Environment) NYS Regents test at the end of the year. There is no question that this is a high school level course. There may or may not be a math Regents test - they have changed the math curriculum so many times I can’t keep up!
Students who take two years of foreign language in middle school get placed into the second year of the language at the high school. But they don’t record a grade for it and you can repeat the language if you want to. My older son actually did two years of high school math in middle school, but he had to shuttle to the high school for the second year of it.
Let’s say they took Algebra and Geometry in middle school.
Are you saying that they have to take those again?
Or are you saying that they don’t get credit for those, but they can continue with Algebra II, Pre-Calc, Calc AB and then Calc BC as their Math in HS. If the latter,well that is normal. You don’t graduate early from HS. Many kids take Spanish 1 and Algebra in Middle school.
In fact it may be cheaper for them to continue in HS, adn try to take as many AP and Dual Enrollment classes as they can to get free credits for college.
if it is the former, escalate to the board of education if you have to.
Oops, forgot to add th
They attended a middle school where you had the option to take at the Honors Level art, science, computers, math, etc. for high school credit. i think many subjects were available. My own kiddos did not have such a smorgasbord…more power to that school system! Unfortunately it is a case of moving from a top school in the US to one that has few options and is inflexible. They have more than enough credits after this year to graduate in their former state but not the new state because of the situation. I assume they just need English like all schools.
Perhaps the OP should give specific details.
Which classes were taken in MS?
Which classes the student wants to take in the new school but not allowed to?