mom31257 Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 In GA, students have to have 4 math credits to graduate and business math cannot be one of them. I have a friend who's dd has used MUS for Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2. She struggled to even do decently in Algebra 2. Her mom didn't know she would have to do a higher math than Algebra 2. One complaint she's had about MUS is that dd has to do it all to get a decent grade, and it can take a long time. What would be a good curricula choice for her? She wants a teaching element like video or something easy to understand. She looked at Life of Fred, and though she likes it, she's afraid it won't look good on a transcript. Someone recommended Saxon Advanced Math, but I'm not sure you could go into Saxon that late in the series. Should she just stay with MUS and tough it out? Are there other options out there? Are there any other courses she could do that would count? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I wouldn't recommend going from struggling in MUS Algebra 2 to Saxon's Advanced Math. :tongue_smilie: I don't know what program would work best, but I wanted to throw that out there. Could she do something like accounting and/or a computer science course? I would think that if she struggled with MUS algebra 2 that she's not scoring well on the math section of the SAT/ACT, so could she do a program based on problem solving focusing on the standardized test prep? If it has to be "higher" than algebra 2, then she may need to just stick it out with MUS. I hope someone can give you some good suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 My dd did well in BJU Algebra 2, if you can do another Algebra 2, that dvd class was great and would definitely seal algebra for her. We are doing Lial's Intermediate Algebra since it is a college text. We may go through quickly and put some precalculus at the end. We already had a few trig. chapters in Algebra 2. I have approval from the college dd wants to attend to just call it "Intermediate Algebra." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 My dd did well in BJU Algebra 2, if you can do another Algebra 2, that dvd class was great and would definitely seal algebra for her. We are doing Lial's Intermediate Algebra since it is a college text. We may go through quickly and put some precalculus at the end. We already had a few trig. chapters in Algebra 2. I have approval from the college dd wants to attend to just call it "Intermediate Algebra." I don't think she has time to do another Algebra 2 course. It is just crazy that non-mathy kids have to take 4 maths. My own dd is going to be one of them. I have a math degree, so I know I can hold her hand through it all. My friend is not mathy, either, though. She lives about 50 minutes away or I would just teach it to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Could she switch to TT's Pre-Calc? Some of the topics it covers are in Alg 2 with other curricula, so it would partially be a review, but there's enough new stuff for it to legitimately be a Pre-Calc class too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Do you need to go by the public school standards when you're a homeschooler? Anyway, I'd choose a basic course in statistics, and if the mother struggles in math I'd also try to take it online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Do you need to go by the public school standards when you're a homeschooler? Anyway, I'd choose a basic course in statistics, and if the mother struggles in math I'd also try to take it online. The four year colleges in GA are requiring what the public school are, so yes, you have to go by public school standards. The mom really feels like the dd needs more review of Algebra 1 & 2 instead of a higher math. She did all kinds of math SAT prep, even online courses and scored a 440 on the math part of her SAT. She scored very well on the rest, but she is geared towards writing and literature. She could take business math if she were going to a 2-year technical school, but she's not. Does anyone else have other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 What about doing what Susan C. mentioned earlier -- a college-level intermediate algebra class (redoing algebra 2, essentially) and transcripting it as Intermediate Algebra? This would have the added benefit that, as she will almost certainly require a general education math course at university, the algebra will be fresh in her mind and she will be best positioned for success in college courses. She could also try the Teaching Textbooks Precalculus course which has a lot of Algebra 2 review. Honestly with a 440-Q she's probably not ready for College Algebra, which would have been my other suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 (edited) A homeschooling friend of mine whose student with LDs does NOT "get" math at ALL, and had to have 4 math credits. So the mom accurately reflected what they were able to accomplish on the transcript: 9th grade = 1 credit = Pre Algebra 10th grade = 1 credit = Algebra 1, part 1 11th grade = 1 credit = Algebra 1, part 2 12th grade = Geometry Could your friend do something similar: call the Algebra 2 done this past year "part 1", and in the coming year, re-do Algebra 2 (using Life of Fred and Teaching Textbooks, or even MUS again) to really "nail it", and call it "Algebra 2, part 2"? FAR better (IMO) is to both be truthful about the student's abilities and accomplishments on the transcripts AND help the student really MASTER what math is done, even if that means repeating the math. (Currently doing MUS Algebra 2 with DS who struggles with math, and we have backed up and done virtually every lesson twice in order to slow it down so he can "get it" -- which means taking 1.5 years to complete it). If you don't like the titles "Algebra 1", "Algebra 2, part 1" and "Algebra 2, part 2", what about something like: "Algebra 1" / "Algebra 2: Fundamentals" / "Algebra 2: Applications" or "Algebra: Introduction" / "Algebra: Equations & Functions" / "Algebra: Linear Systems" Just a suggestion! BEST of luck to your friend in finding the best solution to her math dilemma! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited August 1, 2011 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 How about statistics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 For those not understanding the GA math situation, here are the requirements for admission to any of the public colleges and universities in GA: http://www.usg.edu/student_affairs/documents/staying_on_course.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Wow - that list doesn't give many options for the non-mathy. Best bet would be algebra III - it's on their list - which could probably be done by just continuing with MUS. They also have two which they denote as unsuitable for STEM majors which might work, but honestly I have no idea what they are: Advanced Mathematical Decision Making Mathematics of Industry and Government Statistics is a good idea too. I'm sure there's some which aren't as rigorous as those which prepare for the AP statistics test. I'd find out which texts would qualify for the above two courses and see if they interest the student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Wow - that list doesn't give many options for the non-mathy. You are so right! It's so frustrating that a rigorous education is associated with advanced math and science courses. I'm sure I will be struggling with this myself in a few years. Fortunately I have a math degree, so I can hold my dd's hand through high school math. She wants to write and loves history and literature. Those are the areas I want her education to be rigorous. I don't want math and science to be so hard for her that she doesn't have as much time for those other areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 And many mathy people feel the same way about having to devote so much time to history and languages. :tongue_smilie: Dd wishes they had history for the non-history students. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 We are going to shoot for statistics. But he is going to have to work his butt off for the next 4 years to get caught up in math to take the four maths he will need to graduate and go to public technical college in Georgia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 For those not understanding the GA math situation, here are the requirements for admission to any of the public colleges and universities in GA:http://www.usg.edu/student_affairs/documents/staying_on_course.pdf Curious what the alternatives are. Surely there are lots of Georgia residents who did other things. College freshmen are sometimes in their 50s or 60s! Do they send you off to Community College or private schools? Are there neighboring states with reciprocity agreements? Do they simply have more college applicants than they can ever serve, and eliminate a bunch of them using these lists, without any concern for meeting the educational needs for all of the residents of their state? Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Curious what the alternatives are. Surely there are lots of Georgia residents who did other things. College freshmen are sometimes in their 50s or 60s! Do they send you off to Community College or private schools? Are there neighboring states with reciprocity agreements? Do they simply have more college applicants than they can ever serve, and eliminate a bunch of them using these lists, without any concern for meeting the educational needs for all of the residents of their state? Julie This is a new set of standards. The first students under this requirement will graduate in the spring of 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 (edited) This is a new set of standards. The first students under this requirement will graduate in the spring of 2012. Interesting. I'll have to keep an eye out on how it plays out in Georgia. I'd hate for other states to follow suit. When I went to college, back in the olden days, there were folks who may never have gone to high school, and yet they might become leaders in their fields. I mean, there were standards -- but they could be met in many ways, including standardized tests, community college courses, or even field experience. The only penalty for not meeting admission requirements (such as foreign language or math) was that you'd have to take those prerequisites during your college years, for no credit, and pay fees for them. I believe this is still the case in Minnesota, unless they've changed something on me overnight. It was also the case in colleges to which my son applied. State higher education is paid for by and provided to the citizens of the state, is it not? Scratching my head over here... Julie Edited August 2, 2011 by Julie in MN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 I'm thinking you can probably get in, but my guess is that you'll have to do remedial math classes before you can fulfill your math requirements for your degree. That equals more time and more money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niffercoo Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I'm thinking you can probably get in, but my guess is that you'll have to do remedial math classes before you can fulfill your math requirements for your degree. That equals more time and more money! I'm not sure. I mean, technically speaking, these are the new high school graduation requirements for the state as well. At least, I know they are for math. So all students are supposed to have these math classes when they finish high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 The four year colleges in GA are requiring what the public school are, so yes, you have to go by public school standards. The mom really feels like the dd needs more review of Algebra 1 & 2 instead of a higher math. She did all kinds of math SAT prep, even online courses and scored a 440 on the math part of her SAT. She scored very well on the rest, but she is geared towards writing and literature. She could take business math if she were going to a 2-year technical school, but she's not. Does anyone else have other suggestions? Could she take another year of algebra and label the continuum as pre-algebra, geometry, algebra A, algebra B? With course descriptions that explain that algebra B is a more intensive class with review of previous concepts as well as expansion of them? Would that allow her to have more dwell time on algebra? Not sure what materials would be a best fit for her. Given the SAT score and the general description, it sounds like she'd benefit from more time with the algebra. Not mastering that will close a lot of doors. What about Khan Academy? ABeka? UCCP (They have an Algebra 1 course, which might be review and call into question the passing grade for the first algebra 1 class. On the other hand, if she hasn't mastered it, it is hard to move forward.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Algebra III is a review of Algebra II and a little pre-calc. Algebra III is a perfectly acceptable 4th math for acceptance at Georgia State, KSU, Mercer, and Georgia Southern. (And I am sure at many other schools, those are just ones that my tutored students have attended with Algebra III as their fourth math in the last two years.) By the way, the universities changed their standards forcing the public schools to match, not the other way around. The new math in Georgia was to satisfy the universities who were dismayed at the discrepancies between students who graduated from average Georgia high schools and the out of state students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Wow - that list doesn't give many options for the non-mathy. Best bet would be algebra III - it's on their list - which could probably be done by just continuing with MUS. They also have two which they denote as unsuitable for STEM majors which might work' date=' but honestly I have no idea what they are: Advanced Mathematical Decision Making Mathematics of Industry and Government Statistics is a good idea too. I'm sure there's some which aren't as rigorous as those which prepare for the AP statistics test. I'd find out which texts would qualify for the above two courses and see if they interest the student.[/quote'] There was also an Advanced Algebra and Trig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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