<p>I go to a Canadian high school, and am sometimes confused by the course descriptions offered by the majority of Americans here. A lot of forum members say they are taking biology or chemistry in grade 9, but in my country this is what the schedule looks like:</p>
<p>Grade 9: Science (Everything, about 2 months each)
Grade 10: Science (same as above)
Grade 11: Science (Same as above)
Grade 12: You can choose (Biology, Chemistry or Physics).</p>
<p>Are you telling me that in America, you can choose which strand you want to take even in grade 9?</p>
<p>Also, the same applies to math courses. A lot of members are saying they are taking "Algebra II" in grade 9, but our school only offers a "Math" course, and this is what it looks like (My school has never taught me algebra, i self studied):</p>
<p>Grade 9: Core Math.
Grade 10: Core math.
Grade 11: Core math.
Grade 12: FINALLY, you can choose Calculus, advanced functions or "Easy" math.</p>
<p>Is this true, and if so, why is Canada so behind in these core subjects? I did some practice tests meant for grade 8 Americans, and it was so hard i couldn't do any of it (On some state government website).</p>
<p>:D I had a Canadian Penpal awhile back and he talked about the differences in Canadian schools, but I didn’t know this. So you are saying that for maybe 1 semester, you would take Bio for 2 months, Chem for 2 months, and Physics for 2 months? In America, generally you take say, Bio your 9th grade year (14-15 years old) for the entire school year. Then you could take maybe Chem your 10th grade year(15-16), and so on and so forth. And doesn’t your math vary in level, like you have 3 different levels of math maybe per core? So yes to your questions, for the most part we choose what classes we want to take, but at my school it was required to take Bio as a 9th grader, Chem as a 10th grader, and Physics as an 11th grader, and you can choose your 12th grade year, but the classes are required to graduate in my state too. And just Google the math and start with the algebra you taught yourself.</p>
<p>So if you choose to take biology in grade 11, is it the same course that the grade 9’s are learning? I would LOVE to have it your way, since its only 2 months and it goes by so fast.</p>
<p>Also, yes we learn for like 2 months each (Goes by really quickly).</p>
<p>Sort of. Most high schools have an order for the science classes that is strongly recommended (so they basically force you to follow the order) and the order is based on the difficulty/amount of math needed in the science class. So at my school you take biology in 9th grade, chemistry in 10th grade, physics in 11th grade and then you can pick in 12th grade between biology 2, chemistry 2 and physics 2.</p>
<p>arceuz, I also live in Canada (AB) and we do two years general science (science 9,10) and then do semester long specialized classes in Bio, Chem or Physics starting grade 11. My school is a little weird so we can start specializing in grade 9. For math, we have Math 9-10-11-12, not separation but kids can take higher level math if they want.</p>
<p>I used to live in the States and there they split up subjects and specialize early. So, in grade 8, I took a grade 9 class (Earth Science), in grade 9 I took Biology and Chemistry. For math, I took Algebra I in grade 7, Geometry in grade 8, Alg 2 in grade 9. The Canadian system covers the same stuff, it`s just integrated.</p>
<p>I also go to a Canadian high school. Math courses are streamed:
Grade 8- Regular Math or Honours Math that combines grade 8 and 9
Grade 9- Regular Math (Honours kids skip grade 9)
Grade 10- Regular Math, Easy Math (Honours kids go straight to regular math 10 in grade 9)
Grade 11- Precalculus, Foundations of Math (graphing, statistics, etc.), Easy Math
Grade 12- Precalculus, Foundations of Math, Easy Math
Anyone who took summer school, honours, or went ahead a grade somehow can take AP Calculus. </p>
<p>Science:
Grade 8- core science (bio, no chem, physics, unit on water systems)
Grade 9- core science (bio, chem, physics, astronomy)
Grade 10- core science (no bio, chem, physics, earth science, ecology)
Grade 11- You can choose science & technology (considered to be the dumb science course), earth science, biology, chemistry and/or physics.<br>
Grade 12- You can choose biology, chemistry and/or physics. Earth science and sci&tech not offered at grade 12 level because they’re mainly taken by people who just need enough science credits to graduate and won’t pass bio, chem or physics.
Anyone who has space in their timetable can take an AP science. </p>
<p>The advantages of this system are that it’s a lot easier and one can remember material better. I think that it would be difficult if I were majoring in say, biology, and the last time I had taken a bio course was in grade 9. However, the disadvantage is that I have to learn material I’m not interested in, such as astronomy. It’s hard to fit AP courses into my schedule because I HAVE to finish the Canadian system to be eligible to sign up for AP courses. Also, the concepts are just skimmed over each year because there’s so much content to cover.</p>