Erica in OR Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 New to the whole high school planning thing, as my oldest is currently finishing 8th grade. She has been working through Saxon Algebra 1 this year and will finish up through lesson 75 this year. We hit a point during the year where she wasn't grasping it as thoroughly as she should, so we slowed down for better mastery, doing a problem set in two days (odds one day, evens the next) and she's nailed everything since then. Looking for advice on what best to do since then. I see two main options: 1) I've talked to her about the option of starting from the beginning, but mainly moving quickly through the first chunk of lessons that she's firm in, doing review and some practice problems, and doing the tests for grades. Then settle back into a regular schedule that would allow us to finish the book in a single school year for an official transcript grade for 1 credit Algebra 1. 2) Start halfway through the book, with tests for grades. Aim to finish it for an official transcript grade for 0.5 credit Algebra 1, then begin the Saxon Algebra 2 book for 0.5 credit Algebra 2 this year, to finish next year. Is one better than the other? Any other options I'm not seeing? Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I would just continue where you left off as long as she is solid in her understanding. When she finishes Algebra, give her credit for Algebra. I wouldn't worry about when she started it. Then go on to Geometry or Algebra 2, whatever you would do next. Odds are, she will speed up or slow down enough at some point to even her math out to the school calendar. You can work towards that. But don't stress over the credit. As long as she completes Algebra she gets a credit for Algebra. She didn't get a credit for it in 8th grade, so go ahead and give her the whole credit in 9th. eta - You'll give her credit for the future math classes when they are completed. You may even end up doing your transcript by subject instead of by year and it would never show up at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I really wouldn't worry about giving half-credit one year and half the other. Just give the credit when she finishes the course, and start the next one. Then you've got a little slack built in, just in case she slows down later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 If she completes algebra 1 in 9th grade, give her one whole credit for algebra 1. It does not matter that she started the course a few months early. Then, move on to the next math book. There is no need to make math fit neatly into school years. Just give the credits in the year the student finishes the course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anna~ Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Sorry to hijack, but I am in a similar situation. My DD is doing AoPS Intro to Algebra this year in 8th, but right now she is just finishing up Chapter 9, so she will obviously not finish this year. I like and agree with the suggestion to give her the credit for 9th when she finishes, but since the latter part of AoPS covers alot of Algebra 2 topics, I am not sure what I should call it. I am hoping she will also do their Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, and Precalculus before she graduates. Just not sure if I should give her credit for Algebra 2 in 9th, since she will mostly be doing the second half of the AoPS book, and then call the Intermediate Algebra something else, or just call the Intro to Algebra book Algebra 1 and the Intermediate book Algebra 2. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 Part of my issue is what grade to give. I have the tests she took, but since we don't have to report grades for middle school, have not been preparing for tests the same way we would if a grade was assigned (specifically review chapters, work additional practice problems, then take test in a quiet atmosphere). We typically just do the next test without review, then check problems and rework any missed for mastery. Would I need to assign a grade based on the earlier tests as well as the ones to come? Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Part of my issue is what grade to give. I have the tests she took, but since we don't have to report grades for middle school, have not been preparing for tests the same way we would if a grade was assigned (specifically review chapters, work additional practice problems, then take test in a quiet atmosphere). We typically just do the next test without review, then check problems and rework any missed for mastery. Would I need to assign a grade based on the earlier tests as well as the ones to come? You can choose any method of evaluating you want to. There is no need to use the older tests. I give one comprehensive final exam at the end of each semester, after some review and pretest. I teach to mastery; if my kids are not acing the pretest, they need to go back and do some more review. Algebra 1 is so important that the student needs to retain all the material long term. I'd simply set aside some time for a general review at the end, design a final exam that tests all concepts, and base the grade on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Sorry to hijack, but I am in a similar situation. My DD is doing AoPS Intro to Algebra this year in 8th, but right now she is just finishing up Chapter 9, so she will obviously not finish this year. I like and agree with the suggestion to give her the credit for 9th when she finishes, but since the latter part of AoPS covers alot of Algebra 2 topics, I am not sure what I should call it. I am hoping she will also do their Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, and Precalculus before she graduates. Just not sure if I should give her credit for Algebra 2 in 9th, since she will mostly be doing the second half of the AoPS book, and then call the Intermediate Algebra something else, or just call the Intro to Algebra book Algebra 1 and the Intermediate book Algebra 2. What do you all think? AoPS is a different story - You should probably map to an Algebra 1 standard (in this day and age that includes prob and stat topics as well but you can decide to go old school) You could just do the AoPS books and call them: Honors Algebra 1 Honors Geometry Honors Algebra 2 etc FYI - better to start a new topic so easier to follow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 My DD is doing AoPS Intro to Algebra this year in 8th, but right now she is just finishing up Chapter 9, so she will obviously not finish this year. I like and agree with the suggestion to give her the credit for 9th when she finishes, but since the latter part of AoPS covers alot of Algebra 2 topics, I am not sure what I should call it. I am hoping she will also do their Geometry, Intermediate Algebra, and Precalculus before she graduates. Just not sure if I should give her credit for Algebra 2 in 9th, since she will mostly be doing the second half of the AoPS book, and then call the Intermediate Algebra something else, or just call the Intro to Algebra book Algebra 1 and the Intermediate book Algebra 2. What do you all think? I simply gave a credit for Algebra 1 upon completion of AoPS Intro to Algebra, and a credit for Algebra 2 upon completion of Intermediate Algebra. The topics of AoPS do not line up with the traditional courses; Intermediate covers part of precalulcus, and Precalculus covers stuff not normally taught in school. I did not find it worth sweating over alignment. I listed which topics were covered in each course in the course descriptions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anna~ Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Thank you MarkT and regentrude. I was going to post this question, and then I saw this thread so I just posted here. But I should have started a new topic. Sorry Erica in OR. Hopefully, both of us got our questions answered :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erica in OR Posted May 23, 2014 Author Share Posted May 23, 2014 Thank you MarkT and regentrude. I was going to post this question, and then I saw this thread so I just posted here. But I should have started a new topic. Sorry Erica in OR. Hopefully, both of us got our questions answered :-) Anna, the usual thing about great minds thinking alike, eh? ;) No worries. Yes, now one class is set! Erica in OR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I was going to post this question, and then I saw this thread so I just posted here. But I should have started a new topic. Sorry Erica in OR. Hopefully, both of us got our questions answered :-) I think you were fine to ask in this thread. Sometimes too many threads of similar topics get started at the same time causing people to need to repeat themselves when responding. Either this thread or a new one would have been fine. :) I'm just glad you asked because I had almost the exact same question you did, so thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Is it the Saxon version that includes Geometry? If so, I would call it "Integrated Math 9" and then the following year she does "Integrated Math 10". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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