Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy honors algebra in 6th grade

Hi... just wanted to get input from parents whose children did algebra in 6th grade... in our school district this means that my dd would be in AP calculus by 10th grade. Not sure if that is a great idea. She likes math and but is not crazy about it. I worry she will get burned out.

She is one of 3 kids in our entire district that will be taking algebra next year; and she really wants to. Right now I fully believe it is the right course for her but I worry about the math progression a few years down the road. Her interests currently are in the language/performance arts areas, and if that does not change she may feel burdened with difficult math courses.

Thoughts?

I took AP Calculus in 9th grade - it was a breeze. She will be fine.

My daughter is in 6th grade and just had Algebra. Our high school district has 5 semesters of Calculus classes. Calculus A for her is 2nd semester 9th grade, Calculus BC is 10th grade. They do offer a college Calculus two semester course which isn't AP but can get college credit. The previous poster may be right that it could be a breeze but who knows. A better question may be is that you may run out of math classes to take by senior year.

I'd say: place her where she belongs now.

If she "runs out" of math at the high school, there are always other things to do. She might take Statistics or another mathematics course that's not always taken in HS. She might look at concurrent-enrollment options at a local college. She might look at online courses.

Cross that bridge when you get there.

Same boat here. 6th grade DS taking Honors Algebra. We are living in the now for the next few years.

You might check into what math options are available after Calculus in your area. My son took Algebra in 7th and will take Calculus in 11th grade, but I do know one or two kids who have taken Algebra in 6th, on the track to take Calculus in 10th. The district recommends AP Stats and/or AP Computer Science, but some of these students take courses at local universities. There really aren't good options and the district really discourages taking it this early because of that problem. I know one kid who went to a private prep school to solve that problem.

Yesterday in browsing about math universities, I ran into a thread discussing how people getting into top math PhD programs were ones who were taking Linear Algebra their freshman year of college and beginning graduate math courses by their junior year. So, if that's a door to keep open wider; sooner seems like a good idea.

Yeah, I am going to have to look at the potential impact 5 years down the road myself to see whether it will be worth having DD doing Algebra I next year in 5th grade or not. Having read the Rusczyk talk transcripts and 'the calculus trap' I am not in a frantic hurry anymore to get DD the other side of AP Calculus. But... If she can cope with AoPS rigour and she can do it 'early' without external driving the so be it. She needs to be kept in her ZPD

Trying out doing the AoPS pre-alg this year during 'school hours' in the 'quiet work' time and will speak with the teacher next week to assess her feelings on how that is going. Preliminary feedback is good so far...

We are taking responsibility for our DD's Maths education and do not realistically expect nor demand that her teachers keep up with her before HS. We will provide the curriculum but would just prefer to have her do it as much as possible during school hours and not after school.

I am also wondering about whether or not to 'put the brakes on' a bit by having DD do the AoPs intro to programming with Python instead of an overt Maths course...

We are in a very rural (for NJ) area with regional high schools and I plan to meet with a friend of a friend that happens to be a former superintendent for the regional high school over the summer to get a pulse on how supportive of a mathematically gifted girl the HS is likely to be.

Worst case, my DD will not graduate HS but go to a Uni where such trivia will be an irrelevance, I suppose.

Two thoughts:

1) You can always choose to repeat a math in 9th grade if you decide later to slow the progression.

2) A lot of schools offer AP Statistics so you could always use that as a math filler if you want to slow down the path to calculus, and it is a good math to take.

I know in school it may be hard to avoid one-course-per-year, but do bear in mind that if you can, it may be better to. DS10 did Algebra 1 aged 7 (in under a month, i.e. already basically knew it) but has still not learned everything in AP Calculus, not because he's slowed down in any meaningful sense, but because more mathematical maturity means it's easier to go broad and spend time on problems. Yet at various stages I have been worried about the future in a way that, so far, has proved unnecessary. So I'm firmly in the "do what's optimal this year, and worry about next year when it comes" camp.