I'm seriously considering switching my soon to be 5th grader to Abeka Academy. Has anyone switched after using another program and how did the transition go? I was told that they are a year ahead and also advised by a friend to go down a grade for that reason. The only concern I really have is math. We have used Math u see from the start. All my kids used it before returning to public school and all of them had a really hard time in math. Lyndsey will be completing Gamma, which is considered 3rd grade, math summer. Starting in end of August, I will be using the video accredited program since she will be going to school in about 2 years and I don't want to deal with the same issues we did when the others went to public school. We need an accredited transcript or they test and WILL place in what grade they see fit even if it's 2 grades down. I don't know how the school would view her doing a grade level below where I would want her placed. Anyway, I was just curious about others experiences and wondering if you have any pointers when enrolling that may help the transition go smoother. Thanks!
Find Abeka online and print out the scope & sequence. See what skills they'll be covering in math, and find materials that can get you up to their 5th grade in math, also online. You may want to plan a math-intensive summer to get there. You might want to get something like Math Mammoth to address some specific skill areas. The only experience I have is my student who had been with me from 4th grade through 8th, who went to an all=Abeka (but still small) school for high school. She had started with me in 4th doing CLE's 2nd and 3rd grade math (on-level reading, and 3rd grade LA). I was able to get her through only most of CLE 6th grade math, but she went into their pre-algebra/algebra class for 9th grade. And just graduated, with a 3.9 GPA, including math. I don't know exactly what went on over there, how they ran their classes and whatnot, but she was right along with the rest of their students who had been in Abeka from the get-go. That probably doesn't help you much, but it's the only experience I have to offer...
I wouldn't move down a grade. I don't believe they are a grade ahead all over the board. I think it used to be a fairly common practice with Abeka, but over the years it has become less of a standard practice. I also don't put a lot of stock in placement tests. Anyone can bomb a placement test if the way they learned is different from the curricula you are trying to place them into at the time. I would just buy the grade level they are supposed to be in right now and fill in gaps as you reach them. Otherwise, you will have a child working grade levels below that may only have a gap in fractions or nouns or what not if a placement test is heavy in something that they don't have a great grasp on at the moment. I have personally used Abeka in private school many moons ago but Abeka doesn't really ever change. In the elementary years, the math moves quickly. From 1st-3rd, I would say it may move faster than some curricula. You begin multiplication/division at the end of 2nd grade. You are doing 3 and 4 digit multiplication/division in 3rd grade. 4th through 6th is just similar learning just getting harder each year so I would think 5th would be easy to jump into with math. Pre-Algebra isn't until 8th grade. The language arts is more advanced b/c grammar is really focused on from the early years which it is not in public school. Writing, spelling, and vocabulary is focused on early and continues to build each year. My friend in TX used 6th grade and 4th grade Abeka video with her kids and they returned to public school last year and are thriving academically. Her 6th grader is taking Pre-AP classes and will move to taking AP classes in high school. Her 4th grader has done well in the elementary school as well. They had no trouble going back to school. So I would suggest giving Abeka a go at grade level and keeping your MUS levels handy should a gap arise or something MUS hadn't covered and be prepared to jump in and fill in the gap. We spent 2 years in Singapore Math grade levels below b/c my students did poorly on their placement test. We were stagnant. My students knew 90% of the material inside and out. They had a few gaps, but they tested advanced in the top 10% on standardized tests. I finally decided to throw out the placement test results and place them at grade level and it was the best decision I ever made. When we transferred into charter school, both girls tested ahead of their grade levels...they went into advanced math courses. Placement tests are not a measure of what your child knows...they are a measure of what they know from the viewpoint of the curricula publishing the placement test. If your student is not used to that curricula and their wording or methodology, it stands to reason that they won't test well. I would put more stock in a standardized test than I would a placement test.
My main concern is that we haven't even covered multiplication. She's just learning her multiplication tables and how to skip count. We will continue to use MUS through the summer and I'm going to introduce her to division soon. I just don't know if she will be able to do 5th grade Abeka for that reason. She's never had exposure to decimals either so I'm just really nervous. I don't want to spend the money and it not be what she needed. But the fact that they have a 30 day guarantee helps. All the other stuff, I'm not too worried about. Well, I take that back, we decided not to teach her cursive so now we are going to be introduced to it and having to read it. I know they use it in the spelling books because we used it with my older son. UGH!! I just don't know what to do. We NEED to change our math curriculum, if nothing else. I'll pray about it and see what happens Thanks for the advice.
That sounds like what abeka is really getting into in 3rd grade math. Cursive starts in k with Abeka so knowing to read and write cursive is a must for their academy as it must all be written in cursive for turning in papers. Can you go to a display and look at the books in person?
