Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Virginia eliminating accelerated math before 11th

Eliminating accelerated math courses for middle and high school students is simply a bad idea with serious consequences. For starters, Virginia will have far fewer students accepted into engineering programs of study at U.S. colleges. Thereafter, Virginia�s engineering universities will be faced with watering down admission requirements for its own state students. Ultimately, Virginia students who are accepted into in-state and out-of-state engineering programs will not be able to compete with students from other states.

Math classes are the backbone of a high school student�s body of work for those pursuing engineering. The normal sequence of classes offered toward high school graduation is Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trigonometry, Pre-Calculus, and Calculus. Accelerated math students can handle Algebra 1 in 8th grade, which puts them on a trajectory to take full calculus (even AP Calculus) before graduating high school.