Reply #22: Wow I can't imagine Algebra II and Geometry in the same year [View All]

They were two separate years for me in school (Geometry in 10th and Algebra II in 11th). I was pretty good in math when compared to my peer group, and I don't think I could have handled the entire content in a single year. Trig and Analytic geometry in 11th (or in my case the 12th sounds like what I did), but Calculus I and II for for a single year in High School. Again quite impressive, and I don't think I could have managed it in High School. In college at Purdue my Calculus I and II were 5 credit hours each, and these courses took by far the most time.

The reason for hurrying up is strictly about the dollars. Right now I don't really know how we are going to pay for college educations for my daughters with tuition going up 5%+ per year and salaries growing at 2% per year. Merit based scholarships are highly competitive and even kids with great AP courses and grades in High School are not getting much. Right now, if my daughter stays on track for Algebra in 9th she gets locked out of AP Calculus and probably AP Physics in High School. Not only does this mean she would have less chance for merit scholarships, we will have to pay for those classes in college and probably add another semester to her college career.