<p>Ds2 seems to have hit a wall with BC Cal. He managed a 77 in the first reporting period of this semester after finishing last semester with an 86, I think. But he failed the first test in the next reporting period. The homework he turned in this week got a 30, and that covers most of the material on Thursday's test, so I'm not optimistic. We met with his teacher yesterday, and I learned that pass/fail is an option. I'm curious what pass/fail looks like to adcoms? What about a C? Which is preferable?</p>
<p>For background: Ds is a junior, so, he's years ahead in math (he's already completed DiffEq, for instance). He plans to major in something humanities related -- poli sci or linguistics. He's one and done with the January SAT -- got 750 or above on all sections. He's interested in some selective schools, from Georgetown to Pomona to Rice.</p>
<p>What do you think is the preferred route? The teacher, who is willing to work with him in the mornings and at lunch, thinks a tutor would be wasting our money. Oh, and only the semester grades are reported. In other words, schools would never know he had a 77 first reporting period if he can pull it up to a B; they would just see the number grade, which likely would be in the B range.</p>
<p>Wish I could help you; never heard of taking a core course pass/fail in high school…not permitted here…</p>
<p>What I will comment on is the first semester/second semester conundrum…so it is recorded separately on the transcript that goes to college? or only a final grade is recorded…?</p>
<p>There is another thread on CC right now of a student who is failing third quarter as well, and earned a “B” last semester, but his/her transcript only records a final grade…</p>
<p>IMO, if first semester was an 86, which is an unweighted “B” and second semester can be pulled up to a “B” as well, he should be fine…</p>
<p>In terms of the pass/fail, I would sample call a couple of the colleges in question…curious to know since that is not done around these parts…</p>
<p>There are three reporting periods that make up a final semester grade, along with the final. So, let’s say you make a 90 first reporting period, an 85 the second and an 80 the third. You made an 85 on the final. What colleges will see on the transcript is just an 85, the avg of the four grades. They won’t see how you got that 85. So, it’s possible that he can get high Bs in each of the next two reporting periods and have a solid B on the transcript. I’n just not hopeful at this point.</p>
<p>FYI, at this point, anything below a 91 will lower his overall GPA, which is why pass/fail is so tempting.</p>
<p>Totally agree…pass/fail would be best case scenario but I would def find out how colleges assess…I wonder if they would actually request or require the actual AP score on the test in lieu of the grade; interesting idea…</p>
<p>almost like self-studying…I would ask that as well…</p>
<p>I could call for you if you would like…let me know…I like a challenge…</p>
<p>Rodney, you crack me up! Feel free to call any college you want and ask. Report back.
If they would let an AP score stand for a grade it would be great! Many kids who make a B and sometimes C in this class end up making a 5 on the test. The class is just that difficult.</p>
<p>Racin, not offended at all. Maybe it’s not DiffEq. Maybe it was discrete math. I really can’t remember. But kids enroll concurrently. It’s part of the deal with taking BC Cal. Maybe the main reason that I’m not offended is that I have NO idea what he’s doing. I took Trig in HS, and that’s it. I can look at his homework and say, “Great job!” because I am lost and really have no idea what’s going on. His dad and I can’t help him. It’s part of our frustration.</p>
<p>Discrete math is more likely to be taken concurrently or before calculus, since it does not require calculus as a prerequisite. Differential equations is normally taken after calculus, since students need calculus knowledge like differentiation and integration to understand it.</p>
<p>Discrete math is useful for computer science and related topics like cryptography.</p>
<p>Calculus as a high school junior is two grade levels ahead of the normal sequence.</p>
<p>If he intends to major in political science or other social studies subject, he may still find calculus knowledge useful if he needs to or wants to take a statistics course that is more in-depth than AP statistics.</p>
<p>I agree that pass/fail is appealing, but let me make sure I understand what you propose. </p>
<p>Only semester grades are reported, right? So, he has an 86 on the transcript from 1st semester. Then, he takes second semester pass/fail, so assuming he passes, his second semester grade will be “pass.”</p>
<p>I wonder if admission committees would want the school to explain why he changed from a letter grade one semester to pass/fail second semester. It might not be noticed if the whole year was pass/fail.</p>
<p>Neither is a good option, but if I had to choose, I think a Pass is better than a C, especially if the C will affect the student’s rank and the P will not. I have seen pass-fail grades permitted in HS courses that exceed the graduation requirements at the school.</p>
<p>Why does the teacher think that a tutor would be a waste of money? Is it because the student isn’t taking advantage of the extra help being offered by the teacher? I’d need to hear more before I would be convinced. They’re teenagers – sometimes they have an attitude about working with the teacher, and no attitude about a tutor. It’s also possible that the tutor might explain things differently than the teacher/the book, and that might help turn on the light for your son.</p>
<p>On the other hand, maybe the teacher thinks it’s a waste of money because S is goofing off in class and admits that he doesn’t do the reading. What’s your son’s explanation for the low grades? Does he think there’s a problem here?</p>
<p>twomoose, you got it. Yes, they might want an explanation. I think I’ll ask his GC and the college counselor what they think.</p>
<p>Hanna, I think the teacher is thinking a couple of things. 1) He knows we can’t afford a tutor. And 2), He really makes himself very available to the kids and thinks that if ds will just take FULL advantage of the teacher, that they can knock this out themselves. This is my second child to have this teacher. He’s tough on the kids but has a heart of gold. He wants ds to succeed and is willing to be a full partner and just thinks they can do this themselves. Ds worships this guy and doesn’t want a tutor either. We have a plan in place for ds to go in every morning before school starting today. Already, ds has called and is in a much better place. He had two quizzes today, one a 70 and one a 100. And he’s redoing the 30 homework to get a better grade. Could he have been doing that all along??? Argh. But whatever. As long as he can turn this around.</p>
<p>What do I think is the problem? Ds is a naturally bright student who, for the first time, is in a class he can’t just coast through. He has never really had to WORK to get his good grades and, therefore, hasn’t developed the study habits to know how to get himself out of the spiral (this is the same class that did it for ds1, too). Also, he is very concerned about image. He wants to be seen as one of the smart kids, but this negative feedback is now tempting him to become one of the cool, not willing to work too hard kids, like many of his friends. In our meeting yesterday with the teacher, he was maddeningly cavalier, but I think it was a front to save face when really it was a cry for help. He wants us to come in and be the heavy and MAKE him go to tutoring, etc., so that it looks like it’s coming from us and not him, so that he can maintain his cool image with his friends, who, truthfully, mostly don’t take nearly as rigorous a courseload as he does. That’s my armchair diagnosis.</p>
<p>“He wants us to come in and be the heavy and MAKE him go to tutoring, etc., so that it looks like it’s coming from us and not him”</p>
<p>Hm, maybe problem solved, then. You can make him meet with the teacher just as you could make him go to tutoring. He does better in class, and still gets to complain to his friends about his LAME parents who make him go to STUPID office hours. Everyone wins! Glad to hear that you are already seeing improvement.</p>
<p>My parents were always happy to take the blame for anything my sisters and I wanted to get out of. “Sorry I can’t help you hide that tequila on the class trip – my parents are SO STRICT and they’d kill me!” (True story. My parents were actually total softies, but hey, other teens didn’t have to know that.)</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m OK with being the bad cop. One thing he said in our mtg yesterday was that he is using the fact that we don’t understand his schoolwork to his advantage. :eek: What kind of kid who’s trying to get away with something is so candid and admits to playing his parents??? It’s like he wants to get caught. So now he is! :D</p>
<p>My son, a senior, dropped calculus. He was missing between 25 and 50 percent of instruction because of a fall sport. The teacher did not like boys and did not like athletes. It will not appear on his transcript at all, but he did notify his colleges.</p>
<p>Because your son is so far ahead, could he drop it this year and try again next year? It might be worth asking the question. At least you have a cooperative teacher.</p>
<p>For a state school (in-state), I would say pass/fail would be better because they don’t typically examine the record subjectively. But elite schools (like Pomona) expect you to take “the hardest courseload possible.” Implicit in that statement is that they will be able to see how you did in the hardest courseload possible. </p>
<p>I’m not sure what to tell you except that he’s better off if he can pull off a B-.</p>
<p>MD Mom, that’s an interesting thought. I know his middle school let kids doing HS work do that, but I have no idea whether his HS will go along with that.</p>
<p>Ds also has had to miss some school because of his sport, but not a lot. Part of the problem this last test is that he missed the first day polars – whatever they are – were introduced because we were on a college visit. I guess in his magical thinking the material would just come to him. :rolleyes: He didn’t make a concerted effort to catch up on what he missed so I’m not terribly surprised that he didn’t do well.</p>
<p>If he’s planning to be a liberal arts major does he really need Calc. BC? Is Calc. AB a separate class at his sch.? How did he do with that ? Is there another class he could switch to for the rest of this year and then chose a different math for senior year? Maybe a dual enrollment course instead of AP?
S1 took Calc. AB as a junior and made a B /4 but didn’t want to tackle BC so took AP Stats as a senior.</p>
<p>No, he doesn’t need BC Cal. But he WANTED to take it. AB is a different course that he didn’t take. He wasn’t requred to. If kids make at least an 85 in Honors Pre-Cal, then they are eligible for BC Cal. Lucky them! And because he wants to be seen as one of the smart kids, of course he chose to take it. Trust me, I’ve been fighting this battle for years – “Honey, why are you pushing yourself in an area you’re not that interested in?” This started in 7th grade when I told him he shouldn’t take Alg I and to wait until the next year. Didn’t listen to me then, either. </p>
<p>I know that a kid who is over-achieving and perhaps too optimistic about his own abilities isn’t a huge problem in the grand scheme of things, but I knew this day would come when he was in over his head. Even his brother said all those years ago, “Dude, listen to Mom. You shouldn’t be two years ahead in math.” Oh, well. It is what it is. I just need to know how to minimize the damage.</p>
