Does your 7th grader have high school level courses yet?

[hereyago]

Well,
Today DD11 brought home her Grade course options sheet for next year which will be 7th grade.

As I am reading it, all the Foreign language courses as well as Algebra-which the math teacher will deem if the child has the aptitude for it, are ALL high school level courses. If they get a C or lower, they will be asked to repeat the course as the final grade will be included in your child's grade point average for high school.

Yes, I am a sassy a 42 yo, but it has been awhile since I attended school, but is this the norm now? TIA

 

[laurafergie]

Both DD19 had high school level courses in 7th & 8th grade. It helped a lot when high school came around to be ahead, to have an advanced honors diploma and to plan for dual enrollment courses. They both graduated high school with 36 college hours and will probably graduate early from college next year. Anything your child can do to get ahead of the game is good.

 

[hereyago]

Both DD19 had high school level courses in 7th & 8th grade. It helped a lot when high school came around to be ahead, to have an advanced honors diploma and to plan for dual enrollment courses. They both graduated high school with 36 college hours and will probably graduate early from college next year. Anything your child can do to get ahead of the game is good.

I am from Newport News, my fellow 7 cities Dis'er. Thanks. she brought the form home with the letter and I was like, um, really? But it has been sometime since I was a student, but that is great, it actually helps out with what she wanted to do.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

DS in 8th grade is taking essentially first year HS math and French... he doesn't get credit (or have it in his HS GPA) though. He'll just be one step further up the chain when he starts HS next year. (I believe by senior year, it would bump him to AP classes for those = college credit.)

 

[laurafergie]

I am from Newport News, my fellow 7 cities Dis'er. Thanks. she brought the form home with the letter and I was like, um, really? But it has been sometime since I was a student, but that is great, it actually helps out with what she wanted to do.

Hey!

As the PP said, some of the classes did not get high school credit, but some did - they did push them higher up - like I seem to remember them taking Algebra I & II, Spanish, maybe Earth Science? and it seems like some government class. Don't remember all the particulars - but take advantage of everything you can.

 

[padams]

My 6th grader will take high school spanish I next year. My 8th grader has high school spanish II and algebra this year. He will start high school in spanish III. The school doesn't include the grades in their high school gpa but the courses do count towards taking a certain number of required language and math classes for high school.

 

[Ohiodislover]

7th and 8th grade language are both for high school credit. My DD has had 2 high school math classes, and 1 science.

 

[disneyismyname]

Our school never had a language option for 7th/8th graders...you could only get into high school math or science if you were super super smart.

 

[golfgal]

Is this new where you are? When I was in middle school back in the dark ages we did this as well. The advanced students took what was essentially high school math, English and foreign languages. It is how advanced kids get ahead of the game. Since having high school math is a good thing on your transcript for college, our high school has a program for the advanced kids that allows them to take a condensed math class one summer so they graduate with 5 years of high school math too.

Then take it further and juniors and seniors can take college level classes at any of the 4 year colleges/universities around here too.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

Is this new where you are? When I was in middle school back in the dark ages we did this as well. The advanced students took what was essentially high school math, English and foreign languages. It is how advanced kids get ahead of the game. Since having high school math is a good thing on your transcript for college, our high school has a program for the advanced kids that allows them to take a condensed math class one summer so they graduate with 5 years of high school math too.

Then take it further and juniors and seniors can take college level classes at any of the 4 year colleges/universities around here too.

At my kids' school, the vast majority of kids take Algebra I in Grade 8. A few take it in Grade 7 when the rest take Pre-Algebra (there is no 'Grade 7 math' course offered). Those who struggle in Pre-Algebra can then take an 'Advanced-Pre-Algebra' course in Grade 8 before continuing on to Algebra I.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

My 2 high schoolers both took algebra in 7th, geometry in 8th, algebra II in 9th, (trig in 10th for my sophomore). Both started Spanish I in 8th grade however my second son had a harder time with it and repeated in this year (in 9th grade).

Not only can you child end up taking AP classed in their junior and senior year (some kids in our school took the Computer programing AP class as a sophomore), but according to all of the parents I have talked to ... colleges look at what level and the difficulty of the classes your child takes and in what school years. The biggest catch is that they have to do well in the classes. If they take the advanced classes and struggle, it can work against them. This is the reason we had our son repeat Spanish I. It was more important for him to feel comfortable with Spanish than to struggle through it for 3 years (which is what is required for some colleges.)

Hope this helps ...

 

[XYSRUS]

My oldest 2 also took Algebra in 7th, Geometry in 8th and will take Honors Algebra 2 in 9th grade. Spanish in 8th counts for 1 HS credit as does the 2 math credits. This enables the kids to take higher math in high school. Great idea if the kids can handle the courses. Advanced SS and science are poorly lacking in our schools. We always say about SS and science..."Where's the love?"

 

[Art 1]

Sounds about right, ours start taking Spanish in Kindergarden.

 

[Good Ol Gal]

my ds in 8th grade is taking both spanish and algebra. Both are high school courses and they will both count toward his HS GPA.

he will technically be able to graduate in 11th grade if he wanted to.

 

[natenapril]

sounds right to me too. My DD is in the 7th grade and takes French, sign Language, and algebra along with regular classes.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The gifted kids are taking HS level math already.

My dd is taking French in 7th grade now and will take it in 8th grade and which will count as French 1 if she maintains a B average. She will be able to enter French 2 in 9th grade, so it does count as a HS credit.

She will be taking Algebra 1 in 8th grade and if she maintains a B average there she can go into Honors Geometry in 9th grade.

She is also taking Public Speaking in 8th next yr which will count toward some communication elective for HS.

All of the courses taken in MS do not get counted into their GPA, although they will have credit for the classes, except for math.

The math classes are about levels of math and is not counted as a "yr". They still need to take the required amount of "yrs" as needed for college apps/graduation requirement. Being on the gifted track just gives you the ability to be able to be on a higher math track in HS.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Our middle school does foreign language classes starting in seventh grade (the same was true when I was in middle school).

My daughter's advanced math class wasn't "high school level" until 8th grade, but I have a friend at work who's daughter was taking high school level math in 7th grade.

And it doesn't really count as a "class", but in our district, 7th graders can join the high school marching band (there is no middle school marching band).

But none of them count toward high school GPA.

 

[Cinderella94]

I'm a junior in HS right now.

In 7th grade I took Algebra 1; in 8th grade I took Geometry and Spanish 1, all for high school credit.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

In our district in California, all 8th graders take Algebra I, (and some need to repeat it in HS ) ready or not. At my DD's middle school, she is taking Algebra I in 7th grade since she is in the gifted program, and passed the pre-algebra end of year exam at the end of 6th grade. If 7th graders aren't doing well at the end of the first trimester, they are moved back to pre-algebra. She will also take Geometry in 8th grade, and since that is a regular HS class she will get HS credit. I don't think it counts toward her GPA, but it will go on her HS transcript. She should be able to start Honors Algebra II in 9th grade.

I wish our district offered a foreign language in middle school! That sounds great!

 

[hereyago]

In my 7th grade, we had nothing like this. In 8th grade, we had introduction to foreign language, each semester you learned a new one, basic. There were no high school courses in middle school.

It is just difficult to try and help them when things didn't exist when I was that age. DD will have as many electives as she will have core classes.

I think I may email the GC and ask a couple questions. I just don't want DD to take a course she may have to repeat even if she gets a C and then when she gets to high school, want nothing more to do with that particular elective.


This year in 6th grade, she picked Exploratory Courses, however, she couldn't individually pick which ones she wanted, the computer would pick for the students. So she wasn't able to have introduction to the different languages, which would have helped if she chooses to do a language next year.