Not every parent knows, but the standard Common Core Math Pathway does not allows students to take all the classes they want to/need to be very competitive for college applications. Sample Common Core Math (“CCM”) Pathway:
With this pathway, students will not be able to take AP Calculus in their high-school career at all, and the highest-level math they can show colleges for grade-based consideration is Algebra 2 (they will be in Precalculus when they apply). Many colleges, especially private ones prefer to see AP Calculus already completed so they can be assured that students can handle “college-level courses”. Generally, the more AP’s that students can score well in, the better it will be for their college application.
The standard common core pathway restricts a student’s ability to take additional AP courses, so many students look to advance through math courses.
Advancing through a course is something that should be taken seriously and it is imperative that their foundations are solid throughout. Otherwise what’s the point? Summit Tutoring can help solidify foundations with our Test Prep courses.
These Common Core Math classes are designed for students looking to prepare for a middle school math placement exam or to improve their math foundation prior to attending an outside course (such as BYU Independent Study) for math advancement.
Rising 6th graders will typically take a math placement exam at the end of their 5th grade to determine their next year math class placement. Some districts will test 6th grade math on the placement, so our CCM 6 Test Prep class will teach students Common Core 6th grade math to prepare them for this important exam (it’s their first and sometimes the best opportunity to advance!).
Rising 7th and 8th grades may have other opportunities to advance, and we can help prepare students by teaching them ahead. Since every district has different policies regarding this, please feel free to contact us for additional details. Note that we always suggest verification with your school prior to any advancement planning.
Students who are at a minimum 8th grade in Fall 2021 and are approaching high-school math topics such as Algebra 1 and beyond may consider advancing (skipping) math in preparation for the 2022-2023 academic year, however they must consider their school’s advancement policies since unlike for middle-schoolers, there is no advancement or placement exam. Rather, students must obtain outside course credit for the math level they are trying to skip and must plan accordingly.
Though we cannot provide credit from our courses, most outside courses do not provide students a solid foundation to prepare for the following year’s math (consider them summer courses). For this reason, many students take our supplementary “Prep” courses to reinforce their foundations. For example, many students will skip Geometry to take Algebra 2 right after Algebra 1, and so they take our “Geometry Prep” class during the academic year to reinforce their Geometry foundations so they are more prepared to take their outside course and also Algebra 2. Because the logistics involved are more complicated, please contact your school and/or our office for more details before signing up for a class. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding this or other tutoring we offer.
Please see here for additional details on our most requested math advancement courses: