Math Expectations
If you're heading for high school, you may be curious to know whether you're really ready for high school-level work, or if you've absorbed all the information your new teachers will expect you to know. These pages will help you identify the things you're expected to know when you start high school.
Some students are caught off guard when it comes to math requirements in high school. Most schools require three or four years of math, which means students should be prepared for algebra (not pre-algebra) when they start high school.
Do yourself a favor and purchase a used pre-algebra book and practice, practice, practice in the summer before you start high school. Know how to use a graphing calculator, know how to interpret a graph, and know how to calculate interest.
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Are you confident that you fully understand the terms in the list? If you have any doubt, do some math review on your own before the new school year starts. Give yourself a solid foundation!
American History
By the time you enter high school in the United States, you should be able to provide an overview of the major events as well as the key individuals who impacted the American experience, from pre-history to modern times. As students progress toward college, they will gain deeper insight into how these people and events impacted and related to other events.
Read over this list and try to explain the historical significance (and the approximate date) of each. If you can do this, you are definitely ready for high school history class!
Reading: When entering high school, students should be able to determine the meaning of word connotations and know the definitions of analogies, metaphors, and similes. They should also know the elements and types of story plots and poems. Upon reading a work of fiction, students should be able to identify a theme. They should also recognize the significance of an author’s point of view.
Writing: Students must be able to edit for word choice and consistent point of view (recognize a switch from first person to second person).
By high school admission, students should know how to use software such as Microsoft Word to know how to format a document. Students will be expected to write papers using MLA formatting style.
Research: Students entering high schools should be able to read two or more sources, summarize them, and synthesize information in a single essay. They should know how to recognize and construct a bibliography. Students should be able to recognize (and create) a thesis statement. Students must know how to conduct many of the tasks involved in using a library.
Grammar: It’s a good idea to review capitalization rules, common spelling rules, sentence structure, and commonly-confused words before entering high school. You should be able to recognize the 8 parts of speech in a sentence.
Before high school, students should have an understanding of cell structure and know the differences between plant cells and animal cells. They should understand meiosis and mitosis and other basic functions of cell biology.
Students should know the definition of scientific process and hypothesis.
Students should how to calculate word problems related to distance and speed. They should know the structure of the atom and know the difference between protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Students should recognize the periodic table and know the meaning of terms such as the state of matter and molecular motion.
Students should also know how to determine whether a solution is acidic, basic, or neutral.
More Science Terms to Know
If you're heading for high school, you may be curious to know whether you're really ready for high school-level work, or if you've absorbed all the information your new teachers will expect you to know. These pages will help you identify the things you're expected to know when you start high school.
Some students are caught off guard when it comes to math requirements in high school. Most schools require three or four years of math, which means students should be prepared for algebra (not pre-algebra) when they start high school.
Do yourself a favor and purchase a used pre-algebra book and practice, practice, practice in the summer before you start high school. Know how to use a graphing calculator, know how to interpret a graph, and know how to calculate interest.
Terms to Know
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- absolute value
- cosine
- exponents
- integers
- order of operations
- powers
- rational numbers
- roots
- sine
- square root
- variables
Are you confident that you fully understand the terms in the list? If you have any doubt, do some math review on your own before the new school year starts. Give yourself a solid foundation!
American History
By the time you enter high school in the United States, you should be able to provide an overview of the major events as well as the key individuals who impacted the American experience, from pre-history to modern times. As students progress toward college, they will gain deeper insight into how these people and events impacted and related to other events.
Terms to Know
- agrarian economy
- amendments
- American Revolution
- Bill of Rights
- Civil War
- colonies
- Declaration of Independence
- Federalist Papers
- Great Awakening
- Industrial Revolution
- Jim Crow Laws
- laissez-faire policies
- Magna Carta
- Manifest Destiny
- Mayflower Compact
- Monroe Doctrine
- states’ rights
- suffrage
- Trail of Tears
- United States Constitution
- World War I
- World War II
Read over this list and try to explain the historical significance (and the approximate date) of each. If you can do this, you are definitely ready for high school history class!
Reading: When entering high school, students should be able to determine the meaning of word connotations and know the definitions of analogies, metaphors, and similes. They should also know the elements and types of story plots and poems. Upon reading a work of fiction, students should be able to identify a theme. They should also recognize the significance of an author’s point of view.
Writing: Students must be able to edit for word choice and consistent point of view (recognize a switch from first person to second person).
By high school admission, students should know how to use software such as Microsoft Word to know how to format a document. Students will be expected to write papers using MLA formatting style.
Research: Students entering high schools should be able to read two or more sources, summarize them, and synthesize information in a single essay. They should know how to recognize and construct a bibliography. Students should be able to recognize (and create) a thesis statement. Students must know how to conduct many of the tasks involved in using a library.
Grammar: It’s a good idea to review capitalization rules, common spelling rules, sentence structure, and commonly-confused words before entering high school. You should be able to recognize the 8 parts of speech in a sentence.
Before high school, students should have an understanding of cell structure and know the differences between plant cells and animal cells. They should understand meiosis and mitosis and other basic functions of cell biology.
Students should know the definition of scientific process and hypothesis.
Students should how to calculate word problems related to distance and speed. They should know the structure of the atom and know the difference between protons, neutrons, and electrons.
Students should recognize the periodic table and know the meaning of terms such as the state of matter and molecular motion.
Students should also know how to determine whether a solution is acidic, basic, or neutral.
More Science Terms to Know
- atomic number
- carbohydrates
- DNA
- electromagnetic spectrum
- enzymes
- evolution
- geologic layers
- plates
- proteins
- visible light spectrum