Accelerated Math Considerations for Incoming Middle School Parents
Summary
NSD is unique in offering high school algebra in 6th grade as a common path for Highly Capable math qualified students. This is a rigorous path and can be a great fit for many math HiCap students but not necessarily for all. This three year accelerated path puts students doing three AP (Advanced Placement, college level) courses in high school. Please consider your student’s interests and abilities, their schedule, and their performance in 5th grade math when making this decision with your child. Contact their 5th grade math teacher if you have questions about their math progress. If you do decide to accelerate two years instead of three, email their middle school counselor and ask for them to be placed in pre-algebra in 6th grade.
Considerations
Are you an incoming middle school parent debating whether to register your rising 6th grader for algebra next year? The HiCap Parents Council has been discussing the ins and outs of this decision, and we have a few thoughts for you to consider.
Math Requirements in High School
Number one, there is no such thing as finishing math “early” in high school. Even though middle school classes do count as high school math credits, colleges are quite insistent that students take a math class all 4 years of high school, regardless of what level math they are taking. This is true regardless of what major your child plans to take in college; it’s not just for STEM schools. Physics and some CTE classes can count as a math course too.
Transcript Implications
Algebra 1 (and beyond) are high school math classes which are automatically added to high school transcripts. There are options to remove this from the transcript later on in high school. Whether to remove a class from a transcript is very specific to the student’s circumstances, so you would talk to the high school guidance counselor about removing it.
Unique Offerings in Northshore
Northshore is unique compared to surrounding districts, as well as districts across Washington state, and even nationally, in offering high school algebra in 6th grade as a common path for Highly Capable math qualified students. The highest typical path offered in surrounding districts is algebra in 7th grade. In most areas of California, for instance, they don’t offer algebra until 8th grade. The three years accelerated math path in Northshore is an *extremely* advanced math trajectory, and is not necessarily the right path for all students, even if they qualify for it.
Transition to Algebra in 8th Grade
Northshore is moving to algebra for nearly all students in 8th grade. This means that general education students (without a HiCap math designation) will typically be taking algebra in 8th grade, one-year accelerated math compared to national standards. HiCap math kids who take algebra in 7th grade are two years accelerated.
Registration for Algebra in 6th Grade
Northshore largely does not restrict access to algebra in 6th grade for continuing Highly Capable math students. As long as your student has had reasonably good grades in math and similar scores on the SBA, they are automatically registered for algebra in 6th grade. The district has not given an algebra readiness test for many years now. This puts the decision of whether to register your student for algebra in 6th grade squarely on families, which is kind of refreshing actually. If you have questions about whether algebra is the right fit for your student, you should talk to your student’s math teacher. Somewhere around 20% of HiCap families in the past chose not to enroll their 6th grader in algebra, even though they are qualified and prepared for the class. If you do not want your student to take algebra in 6th, it’s a good idea to email the counselor to ensure they know this - they have been known to place a student in algebra regardless of what was on their registration form.
Performance and Preparation
The vast majority of 6th graders in Northshore who take algebra do well in the class, and are well prepared coming from an EAP math background which covers pre-algebra in 4th and 5th grade. The edgenuity 4th/5th grade math program is newer, so we don’t know for sure how that will go, but the belief is that they are equally prepared as the EAP students. However, some EAP students who did well in algebra in 6th have found that algebra 2/trig in 8th or future math classes in high school were a bigger challenge, and have opted to retake that class as 9th graders in high school.
Accelerated Math Path Fit (Suitability)
The three years accelerated math path can be a terrific fit for a strong math student who plans to go into some form of a STEM degree long-term. It can also be a great path for students who are solid in their math skills, and enjoy the topic, regardless of their long-term career plans. These students should register for algebra for 6th grade.
Typical Accelerated Math Path Trajectory
However, if your student has found the accelerated math in EAP or edgenuity to be a bigger challenge, and especially if math is not their favorite subject, they can choose to register for pre-algebra 2 as a 6th grader, instead of algebra. This would put your student in algebra in 7th grade, which is still a very accelerated path, and comparable with most of the best schools across the country, and will not affect college admissions.
At WHS, BHS and NCHS, the usual three years accelerated math trajectory looks like this. The year that a student takes each of these classes will depend on when they take algebra.
Source: North Creek High School Course Catalog 2024-2025
AP (Advanced Placement) courses are considered college level courses, and do offer college credit in many situations. Precalculus can offer college credit as well in some situations. Know that this is an extremely accelerated math trajectory, putting the student in college level courses early in high school, and in high-level college courses by senior year. In addition, AP Statistics is available at all schools, and can be used to double up in math, as an alternate senior year class - or as a non-traditional option, in 9th grade to “slow down” the math trajectory.
International Baccalaureate (IB)
If your child is going to Inglemoor for high school, the International baccalaureate (IB) math course sequence does not lend itself to the three years advanced level of math acceleration. The full IB diploma program requires that students take the IB math course exams during their 11th and 12th grade of high school, even if they took the actual courses years earlier, which is awkward. Three years accelerated math students and two years accelerated math students pragmatically end up in the same math courses at Inglemoor. That said, IB math courses are more integrated in nature so they are still plenty rigorous and interesting.
More Acceleration
For those of you with kids who are contemplating even more accelerated math (4-year or greater), recognize that this likely means they will need to use running start for math in the senior year of high school, or take a non-traditional math course senior year, or AP Statistics. While it is possible in Northshore to achieve a 4-year acceleration using the summer math options, this typically only makes sense if you are contemplating an early college plan of some sort. If your student is really excited about math, and wants to enhance their learning, typically a better choice is to go broader and deeper, rather than to accelerate as quickly as possible. Art of Problem Solving courses (in Bellevue or online) are a great way to accomplish that, or the Math Olympiad system of competition math.
Further Reading
This article is required reading for any student who is considering higher levels of math acceleration:
https://artofproblemsolving.com/blog/articles/avoid-the-calculus-trap
