<p>@twinsmama, I have encouraged my kids to take math through the end of high school. I believe that they should develop left brain skills (and right brain skills) through graduation, before specializing. While not perfect, I think that math is the most reliable & consistent way to exercise the left brain skills. For me it is an age thing, not a level thing. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could go to a proof-based, competition math type of learning, perhaps after algebra 2 & trig, if they were not going to pursue STEM?</p>
<p>I know I’m talking to the wrong audience here, 
but there is already too little time in the high school schedule to take all the courses that interest them. Why take math for an arbitrary 4 years when they will have already progressed far beyond what they are likely to need in life? They can take more in college if they want or need it. But then, I come from a time when EVERYONE took Algebra 1 in 9th grade. It’s fine that my kids are in Algebra 2 in 9th, but that should free them up to take other things as juniors and seniors rather than require them to take higher math courses just because “colleges want four years of math.”</p>
<p>@twinsmama: Is your son’s BS flexible on that four years of math? Four years of math is a requirement at Choate. Though the course catalog is filled with wonderful classes, there is every little time to take any of them unless a student loads up with a sixth class some terms. Electives aren’t very feasible until junior and senior years but, even then, they have to be slotted around the four-year English/language/math/science requirement.</p>
<p>I’ve noticed with interest that my college alma mater (university of Washington ) now requires applicants to have a “quantitative based course” their final year of high school. That could be math, computer science, physics, chemistry or other elective science that includes math.</p>
<p>I’d be surprised if they were the first or only university with this requirement. Something to keep in mind when deciding “how far” to take math in high school, especially for the less mathy kids. </p>
<p>Friendlydaughter took geometry as a freshman and then Algebra 2 (sophomore), Precalculus (junior) and Calculus AB (senior). I personally think Statistics would be more useful to her than Calculus, but that seems to be the route of the very non-mathy students and I think Calculus looks a lot better college-wise. She certainly has time to take stats in college so I’m not especially worried about her not having it in high school. I just think it would be a better use of her time than Calculus, frankly. Obviously I expect her to go into a social science or humanities major, not STEM.</p>
<p>One point about math for many BS students is that they often repeat 9th or 10th grade coming into BS, so they’re farther along in math than many HS students. For those that aren’t going into STEM, I think taking a more practical math-based class like stats or even econ is a good option if they’re done a year of calculus as juniors.</p>
<p>@ChoatieMom, It looks like his school is quite flexible for senior year, although my daughter’s HS is not. But there is still little room for all the wonderful classes in the course catalog! The arbitrary “4 years of math” that colleges supposedly want ought to be “math through (fill in the blank),” so that students who have gone that far can fill up their senior schedules with classes in their areas of interest (math or otherwise). </p>
<p>Engineering, Science, Math and Econ all require upper college Math. I think it’s good that our kids are trying to catch up to other countries, at least the kids with math and science aptitude who are going to go into a field where they will need Math.</p>
Our D is in tenth grade and is taking AP Calc BC at her prep school. (She was not a repeat 9th grader). She actually placed in to calc as a freshman but decided to step back and take Honors Pre Calc BC knowing she was going in to a highly competitive school environment. There is a heavy preponderance of internationals, particularly Asians, who push the math standard there. She has strongest grade in her class at the moment. There may be one or two other tenth graders in the class as well. She’s planning to take multivariable calc next year.