Great questions. This is a small private school that is pretty rigorous. I feel that they have some difficulty differentiating in math and the small size definitely factors into it. It is the policy of this school to separate Algebra into two years for the majority of students. All 6th Graders take PreAlgebra - although there are two tracks, honors and regular. Most 7th graders take Algebra A in 7th and B in 8th and go into Geometry in 9th grade. A small percentage of 7th graders take full year Algebra in 7th and Full year Geometry in 8th. And a very small percentage of students take another year of PreAlgebra.
I actually pulled my daughter out in 6th as she was ready for full year Algebra and they couldn't accommodate it - mostly scheduling wise as opposed to philosophically.
I had anticipated him skipping 6th grade math and taking PreAlgebra this year to be ready to take Algebra as a 6th Grader. I still wonder if that's a better idea than skipping PreAlgebra and taking two years for Algebra???