First off, let me mention, this is our first year homeschooling. My children have been in public school all their lives until now. I'm so confused!! We finally picked the math curriculum my 16 yr old is going to do (thanks to all that helped me in my previous thread!). He decided on Teaching Textbooks. I had him take the assessment test on their site. According to their test he needs to start with Algebra 1. He has already taken this and geometry in public school and passed with decent grades. But, he doesn't remember learning much of it at all! So, I guess we need to back track 2 years of math?!? Which also makes me wonder what to do with science ... he is supposed to be starting chemistry this year. But, what I understand is you need to be doing algebra 2 in order to understand chemistry. What would you do in this situation? Is this going to mess him up for college? I honestly don't care if he graduates on time ... I just want him to know and understand what he is learning so he can be prepared for college. What are our options? Please help ...
if he has already taken them he may end up finding TT to be a refresher course... as in going through the program with less time needed. I would also go with the Chemistry, my dd did horribly in ALG1,did great im Geometry and did Chem, she got high grades in that as well! now is in alg2 and is getting high Bs. much better than A1! Taking it again wont be a problem for college, in fact have him test when he goes to apply and he may skip other science or Math courses once he gets there because of redoing them he is going to retain alot more knowledge than his peers!
I'm not familiar with Teaching Textbooks yet. We use Math-U-See. Ds is in 8th grade and had been in public school the last two years. He is now behind in math. Anyway, when I tested him, he could have gone back two books from where he should be, but instead I took him back one book because it has review built in. I knew he would get what he needed for a refresher from the reviews. Is it possible for your math program to "split the difference" as well, and then he could be caught up? Just a thought.
hey thts true! 8th grade math here is review, for the most part... so maybe you can do a review , then (what grade is your younger child(ren) in? And wil they use what you dont use because ds knows it already? I would go through do reveiw with him, then get started where he levels off. Sometimes kids just dont test where they really are too!
We use Math-U-See as well, and I found their reps knowlegable and very helpful. They helped me decide on which level to get for DS. Perhaps Teaching Textbooks has a support number somewhere that you can call and get the same sort of advice from people who actually know how much review is built in. As other moms have already said, maybe you can start just one year "behind" if there is a lot of review built in.
You can always do the TT, but give him the quizzes FIRST, and find out where he should start in that particular level. Once found, do two or three lessons a day. That way he could "catch up". I wouldn't worry so much about the Chemistry, I would imagine he could do it with the knowledge that he does have. I took Chemistry in high school but never took the higher maths at all (I got placed in the business track so did Consumer Math and Accounting all 4 years - of course, by the time I'd finished my senior year I'd finished a year of College Accounting). Anyway....I got a's in Chem even without the higher maths. This was 20 years ago, though, too. LOL
Ok, here are my thoughts on this. 1) Algebra 1 is 9th grade Math (Pre-Algebra would be 8th grade), so at least it's still a high school course. It could be a lot worse. 2) Algebra 2 is not required for Chemistry. I never took Algebra 2 & I did great in Chemistry. There's no reason for you to not have him do Chem this year. 3) I don't think what some others suggested would work - only going back one year. I can see how that would work with lower Math, but I've never known a Geometry class to do much Algebra review (of course, my experience with that is limited & I could be wrong). So, I would get him Algebra 1. 4) I like what Krista said - let him test out of chapters & double up on the lessons to get through it faster. If he can pass the chapter test before doing the chapter, there's no reason to make him do all that work. See if you can find Algebra 1 & Geometry used, so it costs less. If he can review both courses in one year, he could do Algebra 2 next year & not really be behind (most schools only require 3 years of Math for graduation).
I would just let him go back if he needs too, he might not remember it but once he does it, it might come clear. then let him move at his pace, more then likely will breeze right though them.
My third son did OK with math in high school but, given the direction he wanted to take in college, I urged him to take an online math class one summer to get a little ahead. This pushed him into a more advanced class the next semester. In retrospect, this was a big mistake. He had to take an assessment test when starting college in August and ended up in a low-level math class. OK, he's finding the class very easy - not a bad thing during his first year there - but I can't help but think he's missing out. Why? Because I am probably responsible for pushing him too much during high school years. In light of this, I suggest you let your son focus on the level of math with which he's comfortable. If it's something he needs for higher education or finds he has an aptitude for it, he'll get there in his own time. Don't do what I did and push a child forward too much. It's not a matter of ability; it's a matter of confidence. I agree with others' comments about chemistry: It should be no problem. I'd be careful with physics, though, because some texts are quite mathematical.
Steve - that is a great idea - sometimes we want so much for the kids, but we need to make sure they understand the material, not just push ahead because we can. Good luck with the math!
We've always called things levels instead of grades. It doesn't matter what level work they're doing, as long as that's what they need and they are working and advancing! Math is important to have a good base, so if he needs Algebra 1, let him take it! Don't try to push him ahead! It's WAY better to be what some may consider "behind", and doing well, than to be "at level" and not understanding it! If he goes back now, he will have a strong base and remember things better, so will do BETTER in college, not worse! We do the test/quiz thing too---give him the tests and if he passes with 90%, or 80% (whichever you think is best, then he moves on. When he misses things, you look that info. up and work on it 'til he gets it, then move on. PLEASE don't worry about the level! Just encourage him in what he IS doing, and let him advance at his pace--he made speed through some stuff and crawl with others. That's okay, as long as he's truly learning and advancing. THAT'S how kids truly remember things, because they work at it until they really understand it! Best wishes!
I don't know about colleges across the country, but at least in Washington many colleges have a minimum level they require everyone to start at regardless of what you know. For example, if you could do Calc 1 & Calc 2, you can't start out any higher than pre-calc because it's a prerequisite. The exceptions to this is permission of the instructor (only on some courses) or you can challenge the course. So, although learning the more advanced maths is a big help, it's not necessary because often times they'll end up re-taking them again in college. Does this make sense? Deena had some good points. It also reminded me of some studies that were done about memory. The particular study had the first group learn some Spanish in a single long session. The second group broke the session into two smaller session 1 week apart. They tested both groups on what they remembered 8 years later and found that the second group remembered 250% more than the first. Through other studies they found that memory drops very quickly at first but then slows and thus review and/or multiple studies over a long period of time is much better. So reviewing math now will only help him and may be a bigger benefit in the long run.
OK, I'm feeling better about this. I was really worried his science would suffer due to this. I want him to work at his own pace ... I'm definitely not going to push him. He is not wanting to be home schooled so I need to work WITH him. I talked to him about this and he read the responses here. He is OK with going back to Algebra 1 and doing the tests first to see what he needs to work on. We are not in a hurry and our main objective is that he ultimately understands the curriculum. If he goes through it fast - great! It won't be a waste because at least we will know he is ready to move on to what's next AND I have two more boys that will be using the curriculum. Thanks for all the responses!
I took Algebra twice in (public) High school...it didn't mess me up at all. I agree that letting him take it in as quick a time frame as possible might help in a lot of ways...you will know he has the info..and he will feel like he is accomplishing something. I think the foundation of Algebra is sooo important, but I never did do Algebra 2 and I am a science major (ok Psych, but still) and I had no problem with Chemistry or other sciences...
If you don't want to buy curriculum for review you can just use the stuff on my website. I have things set up so that someone can review algebra1 very quickly. If he does well on the tests he can just keep going. Erna.
Most of the colleges I applied told me - and the college I attended followed thru - that they would require a placement test. Some let you test out based on AP scores. For instance, my AP scores allowed me to test out of several classes, but because I only got a 3 in Calculus I started off in the second semester of Calc in my freshman year of college.
