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Math Acceleration at AMS or AHS

If a student wants to take a math course that is at a more accelerated pace than Algebra 1 in 9th grade, the student is required to complete the request for acceleration form that should be available on the district website, Infinite Campus, or through Nicole Kuhns or Josh Gorman (ELP teachers at AHS).  

If a student is trying to enter a high school class that is in the curriculum sequence post algebra 1, the student would need to take a first and second-semester exam for each course that is a prerequisite and earn a score of at least 80% for each of the semesters (not the average of the two semesters). For example, if the student wished to enter Advanced Algebra 2, the student would need to score at least 80% on both of the semester exams for Algebra 1 and both semester exams for Geometry, in other words, 4 exams in all.

It is possible to enroll concurrently in both Geometry and Advanced Algebra 2, so in that case, only the two semester exams for Algebra 1 would be needed.  Both Geometry & Advanced Algebra 2 would then be on the student's schedule for that school year.  


For the student desiring to take Precalculus during the 10th-grade year, it is the opinion of AHS's Mathematics Department that concurrent enrollment in these two courses is preferred to trying to earn credit by exam for Geometry to accelerate to Advanced Algebra 2, as students miss too much by not having the classroom experience. To be clear, concurrent enrollment in the core courses is possible only with Geometry & Advanced Algebra 2, as other cases need a prerequisite course that could not be taken concurrently.


The timeline for course registration and acceleration for the 2020/2021 school year will be February 3-14. Once families submit their acceleration request please note they will not hear from the ELP department until they have processed the forms, which will take a bit longer than in the past as we are working with fewer ELP staff members this year. For questions related to whether or not a form has been received or what the status is, families are welcome to email Josh Gorman or Nicole Kuhns for additional information.