DD took algebra I as a 7th grader, I believe-- I'd have to look, as it's been quite a while.
Anyway, she had been ready for quite some time, and found the material theoretically very simple indeed-- mostly giving formal names to things that she'd already found quite intuitive.
To the point about readiness for algebra, I used to present my kids with algebra-like problems to gauge their readiness. I'd see signals indicating readiness or not. In particular, before they were ready, they wouldn't retain what I'd taught them. Now, it's normal to forget stuff --- especially when you're learning a lot at once, but it was different when they weren't ready. I'd have to re-explain everything all over again next time, and there was basically almost no memory of the previous round. It was also extremely difficult for them to apply ideas before they were ready.
Agreed-- and ditto.
DD didn't have that basic readiness until about 4th-5th grade. Then, it was EASY.
Like reading was easy to learn when she was almost five-- same developmental champing at the bit.
For reference, though, that developmental arc is vastly different for different children-- DD was either 9 or 10 when she took algebra, and was 12 when she was tutoring other students in it quite successfully.
