Freshmen who completed Algebra I in middle school and are now in Geometry reported adjusting well.
Mr. Carter, who teaches Geometry to both freshmen and sophomores and runs the geometry math lab, reports that freshmen are doing better than sophomores.
“Sophomores have more trouble than freshmen,” Carter said. “Most of the kids that come to math labs are sophomores.”
Mr. Hoffman, who teaches geometry and runs a math lab, also believes freshmen are doing better than sophomores in geometry, but attributes this to sophomores being embarrassed to be in the same class as Freshmen.
“If you’re a freshman in geometry, you can probably handle a higher rigor and manage to get through algebra at a lower level. It tends to make [students] a little more successful,” Hoffman said. “There seems to be a lack [in the sophomore’s] general skills, the ability to ask questions, and there are sophomores who are embarrassed to be in geometry with freshmen.
The tendency for students to compare themselves to others also plays a role in confidence.
“There’s also that thing when you look at a peer, they’re a year or two younger than you but you’re in the same spot. There’s that comparison. That comparison gets in the way [of students learning],” Hoffman said. “Say I’m an older sophomore. I’m in a class with a younger freshman, say [that a] 13-year-old in the class understands it and you don’t, [it] starts to become an ego hit a little bit, like you should know and because you don’t you get that embarrassment to it.”
Some freshmen believe that geometry is even easier than algebra which allows for the change from algebra to geometry to be very simple.
Aidan Emerson (‘27) believes the change from algebra to geometry was seamless.
“I feel like I was pretty well prepared for it. It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. I’m used to the workload,” Emerson said. “Algebra [was] harder for me. Shapes are easier than numbers.”
Sophomores currently in Geometry may find the subject matter exceedingly different than Algebra 1.
“There are so many different formulas and proofs,” Emma Apodaca (‘26) said. “You have to learn the definitions and what to use in the proof, while in Algebra it’s just finding x.”
For sophomores struggling in geometry, it’s best to look past the age differences of their peers, ask their teacher for help, attend tutoring labs, and use outside resources like Khan Academy to supplement in-class learning.
