Our district suggested accelerated math for one of our kids. We called and asked for their criteria. They were…class grades, state assessment, and some other standardized achievement test they gave…and teacher recommendation.
We said “are any of these compelling reasons for OUR kid to accelerate in math?”
The department chair hemmed and hawed. So…we graciously declined the offer. We were the first ever parents to decline accelerated math.
It meant that our kid would be in honors math, but not a year ahead. She took math all four years of HS, and got an excellent and strong foundation. Her last HS course was pre-calculus. She took calculus in college.
Oh…and she was an engineering major.
My husband is an engineer. He said that getting a really strong foundation in math is far more important than accelerating ahead in HS.
This not accepting the accelerated route never impacted anything our kid wanted to do.
Of course, YMMV depending on your kiddo and the school.
Some kids very much need and benefit from acceleration. But really…this has taken on a life of its own…and in some places…it’s the expectation that kids will accelerate…which is not right for all kids recommended.