Where should I start in college-level mathematics?
from Mary Parker, Professor of Mathematics, Austin Community College
This depends on what mathematics courses you have already completed. Below are links to pages that describe those options. However, there are several special comments for high school students.
The ACC Math Advising Web pages have description of what college-credit courses you are eligible to take, depending on your background and test scores.
Getting Ready for Calculus
Last spring, several parents asked about the possibility of their high school junior who had just completed Algebra II coming to ACC to take Trigonometry and Precalculus over the summer so that they would be prepared to take calculus in the fall.
Unfortunately that isn't possible for a variety of reasons.
The main reason is just that 12 weeks in the summer is not enough time for students to absorb that much material. If that were possible, AISD would probably offer this option in summer school anyway.
A second reason is that such a student has not met the prerequisite to begin in the Trigonometry course.
A third reason is that our Precalculus course is not offered in six weeks, so a student can't take Trig and Precalculus in one summer. If we offered it in six weeks, students would have to attend class 11 hours per week and study and do homework between 30 and 40 hours per week to complete this material. That's just not realistic for most students.
I understand that these inquiries were prompted by a perception that students who do not take calculus in high school will be at a disadvantage in applications to the Ivy League universities. And that, in order to take calculus in high school, students had to start on a special path in the seventh grade, which is earlier than most students and parents are thinking about college admissions. I understand that this is frustrating. However, I think that the situation is not as dire as this picture suggests.
In general, the feeling among mathematics professors is that students taking calculus in high school is not necessarily a good thing.
First, virtually all mathematics departments prefer that students begin their course of study with calculus, since they don't think that every high school will have taught calculus in the way that best supports the upper level classes at the university. And students who have already had calculus in high school are not always receptive to "retaking" it in college.
Second, students need to not start algebra courses until they are developmentally ready for that level of abstraction. While there are some individual exceptions, usually age 14 is about right. Starting students in algebra too early runs the risk of making them rely too much on memorization and too little on understanding. And, once they have begun their algebra studies with little understanding, there is no practical way to "make up" for it. By the time they are developmentally ready for the abstraction of algebra, the material that is being presented in their algebra classes relies so much on the earlier material that the "gaps" in their understanding are perpetuated. This leads students to frustration and dropping out of mathematics.
In summary, if your son or daughter did not begin algebra early, you should not see that as a major drawback in their education. Probably it was a good thing, in fact. If he/she is finding their current math course reasonably challenging, it is unlikely that starting all of it a year earlier would have been better. If she/he is not finding their current math course challenging, ask the teacher for some ideas for enrichment activities. Maybe work on some of those could lead to a good project that would enable the teacher to write a glowing recommendation for college admissions committees.
Go back to the outline of Mary Parker's "Where should I start in college-credit mathematics?"
This page was prepared by Mary Parker, mparker@austincc.edu. It was last updated on August 5, 2000.