For years, the accelerated math programs at middle schools have been giving students a chance to get ahead of their peers. At schools like Borel and Bowditch, sixth graders have the opportunity to skip certain levels of math and take classes like Geometry and Alegebra 3-4 while still in middle school. As freshmen at Aragon, these students usually take Algebra 3-4 or Precalculus, thus enabling them to take more advanced and rigorous math classes in their junior and senior years.
Freshman Jason Leung, who attended Bowditch, says that all students had to go through a math assessment in sixth grade. “The administration at Bowditch gave out this placement test because they know that kids’ math abilities aren’t always equal. About 12 to 15 people went through to the [accelerated program],” says Leung. Leung is one of the six freshmen enrolled in Precalculus this year. “I hate math, but I hate being bored more than I hate math, and flipping through the math in the sixth grade textbook, it just looked too easy.”
Senior Claire Tatlow, who attended Borel, also took advantage of her middle school’s accelerated math program. “I decided to take [the program] because I tested for it and got in. We didn’t have the option to take Algebra 3-4 in eighth grade, though,” she says. “The program wasn’t too difficult. I had good teachers, and I understand math and am pretty good at it.” Senior Nathan Zhang took Algebra 3-4 while still at Bowditch. But with the head-start the accelerated program gave him, he has found himself an interesting situation: he has exhausted all the math course possibilities at Aragon, having completed Multivariable Calculus his junior year. “I really liked the program [at Bowditch],” he says. “Having only 16 people in my class, I didn’t have to worry about motivation, because everyone was motivated and good at math. The class was more focused on the understanding of the material than grades.”
However, the accelerated math program is not the only way for students to place into a higher-level math class. Freshman Arnav Bhavsar, who attended Bowditch, was put into Pre-Algebra his sixth grade year, but took classes over the summers after seventh and eighth grade to get himself place into Precalculus this year. “Math is my favorite subject. It’s fun and easy to do once you know how,” he says. “At the classes I took at CSM, they explained every new concept well and made sure we understood them. I felt prepared going into Precalculus.”
Sophomore Janet Liu had almost the same experience as Bhavsar. She attended Abbott, where there is no accelerated math program offered. “I skipped Pre-Algebra in sixth grade and went to Hillsdale to take Geometry and Algebra 3-4 during seventh and eighth grade,” says Liu, who is now taking Calculus BC.
One might wonder if letting middle schoolers take advanced math classes prepares them well enough since the teachers are trying to teach eighth graders concepts geared towards high schoolers. “In sixth grade, everyone in my class wasn’t doing so well. I think it’s more of a maturity thing; at a certain age, you can only understand so many things. I guess as I grew older, I could understand a lot more math, and that made it a lot easier,” Leung explains.
“In Algebra 3-4, the freshmen students are prepared,” math teacher Alice Hu says. “But, in Precalculus, some are prepared and some aren’t. They might benefit from taking Algebra 3-4 or just brushing up on their Algebra.”
While skipping a year, or even two years, of math in middle school comes with the possibility of weaker abilities later on, most students jump at the opportunity to be challenged. When asked if he would still have taken the program now, knowing what it would bring in the future, Leung answered, “Oh, definitely. If anything, I would’ve urged the administration to get more kids in. I really liked the opportunity to be challenged.”
