<p>My school has this weird system and the math that sophmores are supposed to take is Math 3PB. I think it's because our math courses are 1.5 years long and not just 1 year. I was a sophomore this year, and I took Math 3BH. It was a combination of trig and algebra. But a handful of students took pre-calc, which is normally a senior course (I'm taking it next year as a junior). And one kid took Calc BC. (It's weird because we all think he's a math genius, but a lot of people take AP Calc courses as a sophomore! He just happens to be the only one in our school who took it as a sophomore.) The math courses are usually odd because if you miss just one year of honors, you fall 1/2 year behind. And they are all classes with mixed grades of students, which also doesn't really happen in non-elective classes.</p>
<p>Our school does this horrible integrated math program that's really messed up and the hugest waste of time ever invented. There's four years of it now, so most kids just take Integrated 1 freshman year, Integrated 2 sophomore year, etc... Advanced kids are usually a year ahead, so I guess most took integrated 3 sophomore year in order to get to AP calc senior year. I took precalc sophomore year which kinda sucked because everybody else was seniors, and they all thought I was like this genius kid (I'm not). </p>
<p>Junior year I took Calc 1 and Calc 2. Next year, for my senior year I'll be taking Calc 3, Matrix Algebra, and Multivariable calc. Math really isn't my favorite subject or anything though, I'm just taking the classes because they're prereqs for my physics classes next year ;)</p>
<p>
[quote]
I took Algebra 2 and Geometry last year, kinda like Mr Chipset, and will take Pre Calc Next year. Man I wished there was some kind of accelerated AP Calc AB and Pre calc course in my school.
[/quote]
I also had the option of summer school but there were some specific financial problems. Also, it would make me have no math class in 12th grade and, as I'm applying for IB -- no dual enrollment will be available. I feel sad though, for not taking AP Calc next year -- I love it and it's easy.
But thanks God, we're on block schedule -- I will have all of the mathematics taken in 12th grade. I would be sad if I wouldn't take all math my school offers :)</p>
<p>sophmores
My School is
Way below average-Algebra I
Below Average-Geometry
Average-Alg II
Above average- trig/precal
Way above average-None at my school except someone who took stats ap</p>
<p>How do so many people make it to AP Calculus by sophomore year of high school? Is algebra now taught in elementary school?</p>
<p>At my high school, I was the math whiz and took the most advanced math track possible, which was Honors Geometry freshman year, Honors Advanced Algebra sophomore year, Honors Pre-Calculus junior year, and AP Calculus (AB) senior year. Calculus BC was not available. The math in elementary school was a joke. We had to go back to 2+2=4 every year up to 6th grade.</p>
<p>Although I've ranted about a number of issues in today's educational environment, the availability of more advanced math at the lower grade levels is a good thing.</p>
<p>
[quote]
How do so many people make it to AP Calculus by sophomore year of high school?
[/quote]
HS in middle school classes+block schedule+summer school.</p>
<p>< How do so many people make it to AP Calculus by sophomore year of high school?</p>
<p>HS in middle school classes+block schedule+summer school.></p>
<p>What is the relevance of taking high school classes in junior high school? If you took Advanced Algebra and Pre-Calculus in junior high school, then when did you take Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry?</p>
<p>What is this block schedule system you speak of?</p>
<p>Good question, jhsu. I guess I'm definitely not ahead by CC standards, but a lot of people at my school consider me to be (they haven't seen CC ;)). I think what allowed me to get into Calculus and the higher maths during high school, was really just determination and hard work. I was never really a math genius or anything, but I was a perfectionist and would work extremely hard just to avoid missing problems. I was also lucky to have teachers in elementary school that allowed me to do "special math" individually, while the rest of the class worked on basic arithemetic facts. Additionally, my mom helped to homeschool us during the summer mornings, so that we could keep the skills we had learned fresh in our mind and learn some new ones too. As to how I got ahead, I'm not exactly sure. I know I was a year ahead in middle school and took another year over the summer once. Now, in dual enrollment, I take one college math class each quarter which has allowed me to get to where I am now.</p>
<p>I definitely know what you mean about the quality of math education in a lot of public elementary schools though. Our school districted has adopted an integrated math program for all ages (elementary-high school), because it "improves the test scores." Its so sad now; from what I have seen, the "effects" of this program are mostly negative. I volunteer every Friday morning for a couple hours tutoring younger kids and I'd say about 80% of them do not know their addition/subtraction facts (8-3=5, 3+2=5, etc.). And, these are not extremely young children... they are all about 10-11 years old!The integrated math program teaches them 6 different ways to calculate it, but as soon as they learn one method they skip to the next, without practicing the newly-learned method at all! Eventually, the cycle continues the next year...as most forget the facts they learned the previous year and the beginning months of the next year are spent reviewing. Most of my friends (I'm a senior this year :)) are still not solid with basic math facts: calculating a tip, calculating change, etc. and often just resort to their calculators on their cellphone!</p>
<p>I should probably stop now, I really dislike the integrated math program...</p>
<p>
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What is this block schedule system you speak of?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The block system I think is when you have four classes for half the year and four classes the other half. If you take math for the entire year, I think you are technically completing "two years" of math in one year. I've never experienced it though...so I'm not sure if that's entirely correct.</p>
<p>Average? Math Analysis (after Algebra II)</p>
<p>Block schedule is when you take full year class in one semester, spending 1.5 hour each day; four classes a semester.
For example, I took Algebra I H in 8th grade (whole year), then Geometry H in first semester of 9th grade and Algebra II second semester.
Next year, I will have first semester without math (sux!) and second -- Pre-calc. I would've taken Pre-calc during summer and then Calc AB 10th grade, which is two semesters -- even though we're on block schedule.</p>
<p>< The block system I think is when you have four classes for half the year and four classes the other half. If you take math for the entire year, I think you are technically completing "two years" of math in one year. I've never experienced it though...so I'm not sure if that's entirely correct. ></p>
<p>This sounds bizarre. The basic schedule I had in high school consisted of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, Foreign Language, Health/Gym, and Lunch/Homeroom. That's 7 class periods, or 5 academic class periods. Most of the classes I took were full-year classes - the only 1-semester classes I took were Driver Education, Health (health one semester, gym the other semester), and Economics.</p>
<p>4 academic classes per day isn't much less than 5. Does your high school try to cram nearly 2 years' worth of work into 1 year? I still don't understand how block scheduling works.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Does your high school try to cram nearly 2 years' worth of work into 1 year?
[/quote]
All classes are going at the double speed. Some AP's are taking two blocks -- whole year; for example AP Chemistry. Look at my example of schedule.</p>
<p>Fall:
Health
AP Language/USH -- first semester
Phys. Cond
AP Chemistry -- first semester
Spring:
Pre-Calc -- one semester only!
AP Computer Science
AP Language/USH -- continuing class
AP Chemistry</p>
<p>So, you see, Chemistry takes two blocks and is exception;and APUSH is melted with AP Lang so it's still one class per semester.</p>
<p>I'm taking Algebra I next year and I'm going into eighth grade.</p>
<p>^Noob. If you're a real CCer, you should be up to Geometry, at least.</p>
<p>My sophomore year math class was just called "Mathematics", but we did geometry, algebra, some trig, imaginary numbers, various functions, and possibly some pre-calc, I'm not sure. I can't remember what else we did. It was a "pre-IB" type of class.</p>
<p>^^ me too... well it was called geometry but we did some trig and algebra too to prepare us for IB... except my school is bizzare and only offers the 2 ib standard level maths... not such a big deal for me but people that like math tend to get POed</p>
<p>Oh, that's annoying. Mine offers all three. I'm in Methods SL (well, Mathematics SL since they changed the terminology), but Math HL is actually a pretty popular class 'round here.</p>
<p>Cameliasinensis (yes, I typed your name): Do you have Math Method HL? We have two years program of IB Math Methods and I don't know if that's Mathematics HL...</p>
<p>No, the three levels are, in order of difficulty:
Mathematics HL ("Math for Mathematicians")
Mathematics SL, formerly Mathematical Methods SL ("Math for Scientists")
Mathematical Studies SL ("Math for Ordinary People")</p>