Summer school is designed for remediation of students who have taken Chemistry already and have earned a poor grade. It is NOT a good choice for students who are trying to circumvent the system and take an easier version of the course. IT'S NOT EASIER!!!
We cover ALL the same material in summer school that we do during the regular school year. To cover 180 days worth of material in 23 days of summer school, almost 8 days of work must be done each summer school day. There is a minimum of three to five hours of homework each night. In three days of summer school, students take two tests--sometimes three.
I am mystified by parents and students who tell me that since they are not good at math and science (really; people are NOT genetically set on this), they want to take Chemistry in summer school. Okay; you have a hard time grasping mathematical and scientific concepts so you are going to give yourself LESS time to accomplish this. Does this really make sense to you?
You should also know that college admissions officers are fully aware that students try to take the easy way out by taking tougher courses in the summer. Do you want to decrease your chances of getting into a good school by doing this?
I know that some students cannot fit all the courses in that they wish to take, so summer school is a way to compensate for this. I have had many summer school students who did well, even at the accelerated pace. I have been saddened to have even the best of them tell me that they remember very little of what they learned since they did not have the time to assimilate the material enough to keep it beyond the course.
My best recommendation for virtually all students is to take Chemistry during the regular school year and avoid the insanity of the pace of summer school.