My granddaughter has joined a new school this year in 7th standard. It is a public school. The school authorities conducted a test in math. The test is of 9th grade standard. She did good in the test. So she is placed in the special category and supposed to learn the 9th standard math. Her math class will be along with the 9th standard kids. We can opt out of this if we want. I know this is a common practice in USA. My doubt is what is the benefit in learning the 9th standard math in advance in 7th standard. What happens when she reaches the 12th grade. Will she run out of the math subject. Please enlighten me about this. Thanks friends
Nothing to worry about. This is good for your GD provided she likes Math. 9th grade math in public school means she is probably doing algebra 1 this year. The aceleration puts her on track to take Calculus AB/BC and post calculus courses like differential equations and MVC in her junior/ senior years. She will not run out of Math courses don’t worry. The ability to learn higher math in high school gives her an advantage and positions her for engineering/ hard science majors in college. This schedule is quite doable. My kids did the same in their high school years even though they did not opt for engineering ultimately.
Interesting. For quick response, I tag it to stalwarts @Srama @hrastro @Rihana @Viswamitra @MalStrom @chanchitra
Hello! It is a good practice to give a placement test and many schools do that. First of all I agree with what @1Sandhya has said. To answer your questions - For one, she will not be bored in her math class. When kids in that grade level get bored, they tend to slack and also may begin to feel that it (everything sometimes ) is easy for them. This can affect some students. The important thing to do is to make sure that there are no gaps in what she needs to know for 7th and 8th grade curriculum, that the 9th grade math is not too challenging, and that she will not lose interest - students can lose interest if t becomes too challenging too. Be flexible. It is a fine balance and the teacher can make a huge difference. Regular communication with the teacher will keep you in the loop. @1Sandhya has explained it well. She will not run out of courses and also some schools have alternative courses (AP courses) she can take instead of math if she so wishes. As a teacher and a parent, I personally like to keep in mind that the child is stretched right and everything that is happening academically is only to stretch her ability and importantly I would like not to compare/talk with other students/parents so that you can see your child grow and enjoy as she enjoys her learning. While an end goal of taking a particular subject is important, it is even more important that the child loves learning and learns to love learning - that will be a huge bonus! And make sure that this advanced placement will not become the milestone to measure her success. Best wishes. Dear @Thyagarajan sir, thank you for tagging me
As the school has placement tests and opt out policies, they will most likely have a "math pathways" chart available in the math department or curriculum section of the school website. This chart will show the possible math courses students take in 7th-12th grades and the pre-reqs for each. If such chart is not available, you can ask the school counselor. If they are on summer vacation, you can post the query in local social media such as Nextdoor. Parents and senior students will be happy to answer the query. Most colleges require four years of math in high school. The school will have courses for all students to take over four years or they will have options like dual-enrollment in a local community college.
@gitagita I agree with all the posters above. There will be enough for your granddaughter to learn in Math and she definitely is not going to run out of courses. I have seen children doing AP courses anywhere between their 9th to 12th grade. If at all, it strengthens her skills when she goes to undergrad. In fact, she could do advanced courses throughout her education including up to graduation. When she is ahead in her math skills, she gets credit for that and can compress her time to graduate as math credits are mandatory for engineering undergrad and grad.
Thank you so much for the quick replies. These types of questions and answers are really helpful for Indian students in USA and their parents.
I think you've received enough responses from the stalwarts from the US Education point of view.... So I'll speak from the mathematics point of view! 1) It is not really advanced, so dont worry - what public school students in US (and many other countries) learn in middle school is easy enough for the more math oriented students that they might get bored. It is better to go advanced and maintain the interest in the subject. 2) Completing core courses early will give them more time and energy to take up advanced courses or even alternative courses or get into art or sports. 3) Whether she takes up engineering or math related courses or not, Maths is a basic fundamental requirement for any kind of education/career path - and being better than peers at it will give her an early advantage in any career! 4) Recently there has been an overwhelming interest in careers reg computing - a combination of maths, statistics and computers - so encouraging her (& preventing boredom in the topic) would give her an advantage in cutting edge technologies Hope this helps Keep smiling HR
