[com2kid]

> I have a hard time believing above average students (with parents with parents without engineering/science degrees) could take linear algebra

Linear algebra is not hard. I had a math teacher who taught the basics of linear algebra in my middle school math class. While she was an exceptional teacher (incredibly good, we still talk over 25 years later!), I can attest that the concepts presented no great difficulty to any of the students (with the caveat that all of us were in an advanced learning program)

Now calculus, I feel that at least some high school students I've talked to really didn't "get it", even for single variable. Then again I get the feeling that most people who take calculus don't get it, which I find sad because IMHO calculus is absolutely phenomenal. For me, it was when math started really connecting to the real world and making an impact on how I saw things in my day to day.

[staunton]

> Linear algebra is not hard

Keep in mind that this term covers a huge range of math that can be introduced at very different levels of abstraction and generality. You might think linear algebra is mainly matrix multiplication and Gaussian elimination, someone else might think it's about the representation functor in Abelian categories.

[com2kid]

We're talking about HS intro classes, so my use of Linear Algebra was at the same level as saying, well, Algebra. E.g. Non-math major uses of those terms.

Almost any subject in math can go really deep!

[staunton]

Yes. However, I read your post as suggesting (given the quote you respond to) that significant numbers of high school students can/should take university level courses of the same name as their high school courses, presumably because it's the same thing.

[testfoobar]

For many advanced kids, math is not hard. It is a tool that must be mastered to solve the next set of problems. Profound understanding comes along the way.