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Best Math Curriculum for College Prep


Best College Preporatory Math  

  1. 1. Best College Preporatory Math

    • Chalkdust
      14
    • Saxon
      4
    • TTbooks
      1
    • Jacobs
      0
    • Videotext
      2
    • Abeka
      1
    • Singapore
      5
    • Foerster's
      12
    • Lial's
      4
    • Other
      7


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I originally posted this in the General thread. However, some of the posters suggested that I ask this question in the High School thread.

 

The question was:

 

Which math curriculum do you think is the best for preparing children for college? What are their Pros and Cons?

If you choose "Other" on the poll, please post the curriculum.

 

Thank you.

 

Click here for original thread http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94404

Edited by LUV2EDU
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I think part of your choice should depend upon your own confidence and aptitude in math. If I were to do it over, I would do Chalkdust, mostly because the instructor is excellent. However, I don't care for the Chalkdust books as well as Lial's, which is what we used for Algebra I and II. I think a more math-minded mom might choose one of the other programs, i.e., Lial's, Dolciani, Foerster's, etc.

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Well, I was about to vote, but saw it says "best program".. I don't know which one is best, but I do know my son is going with Singapore NEM. His choice.

 

You can still vote for Singapore.

 

If you really think about it, it is the opinion of the poster. It may be the best curriculum for them. However, the poll still gives people an idea of which curriculum may or may not help teens get high scores on the SATs or ACTs.

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I think part of your choice should depend upon your own confidence and aptitude in math. If I were to do it over, I would do Chalkdust, mostly because the instructor is excellent. However, I don't care for the Chalkdust books as well as Lial's, which is what we used for Algebra I and II. I think a more math-minded mom might choose one of the other programs, i.e., Lial's, Dolciani, Foerster's, etc.

 

On the Chalkdust website, they said you can use other textbooks with their video instuctions.

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Dolciani is the best for me.

 

I love the rigor of the old Dolciani texts. They are in my comfort zone because I used them in high school and then went on to earn both a BS and MS in mathematics.

 

But whether Dolciani is the best for someone else's child cannot be said. Nor have I had the luxury of examining every program that is out there for comparison purposes. Much of a choice in mathematics curriculum depends on the type of support material required. Does your student need video lectures, for example?

 

I can report that before we launched Algebra I in 8th grade I collected a stack of ten algebra texts and looked at a few more at a curriculum fair. My husband (who also has a MS in Math) concurred with my assessment that Dolciani was the best for us. But I did not have Gelfand in the stack.

 

One thing that I do want to emphasize though is that I am giving my son the background to be a math or physics major even though I doubt he will be. (Can you blame him? He has had to live with his parents!) My son, future archaeologist and/or historian, loves science. I suspect that history of technology/engineering/science will enter into his future work. Thus, I am preparing him for where his path may take him--even if it appears that he does not need a math rich background for his intended major.

 

Best,

Jane

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On the Chalkdust website, they said you can use other textbooks with their video instuctions.

Yes, I had considered that option myself, but then I would have had to take the time to line up the Chalkdust DVD's with the lessons in the book---which could have been done in advance over the summer. However, we did use Chalkdust for Geometry, and except for having to repeat one chapter twice, the program worked well for my oldest.

 

One big caveat: Like Latin, unless your child is really able to self-teach math all the way through high school, I advise that you be prepared yourself to help them understand the concepts---even with Chalkdust. Mid-year I had to jump in and start watching the lessons for myself, as my knowledge of geometry was rather dusty!

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I voted for Foerster b/c I have used it for Alg I & Alg. II/Trig. I also used Jacobs Geometry, which was fine but not thrilling. ;-).

 

My favorite elementary math curriculum is SRA McGraw Hill Math Explorations and Applications. IMO, this is what prepared my dc to start algebra in 6th or 7th grade.

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One thing that I do want to emphasize though is that I am giving my son the background to be a math or physics major even though I doubt he will be. (Can you blame him? He has had to live with his parents!) My son, future archaeologist and/or historian, loves science. I suspect that history of technology/engineering/science will enter into his future work. Thus, I am preparing him for where his path may take him--even if it appears that he does not need a math rich background for his intended major.

 

Jane brings up a good point about the value of a strong math background in high school even if your child doesn't pursue a major in college which requires that. The analysis and strict logical thinking which is required for math is apropo for many other majors as well. When I took the GRE last year, I found that the top schools I was looking into for master's programs (which were completely unrelated to math) still wanted a decent score on the quantitative portion of the test. The analysis of literary texts, for example, or the pursuit of Latin, or, as Jane mentioned, history or archeology--a strong math background is a good idea to help develop those thinking skills.

 

Just a thought!

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You can still vote for Singapore.

 

If you really think about it, it is the opinion of the poster. It may be the best curriculum for them.

 

Ah, but we haven't even tried Singapore NEM yet... We did try Lial with much success, but it doesn't follow the local curriculum. Singapore is a better match for us, although it's still not the same order. At least, it's closer.

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Singapore's NEM and Math U See.

 

I'll preface this by saying I don't enjoy math, yet I found NEM to be the most straight forward, thorough, and easy to understand math curriculum that I've seen. It does take prep work for the teacher and a good deal of math work time for the student, so if the child has has other interests they are following, there may not be time for this curriculum. If the child has a math/engineering bent, they'll love the many and varied problems. If you have time to screen the book and plan, you could cut down the problems to a manageable size for a child with other interests.

 

Math U See is another great program...this is sort of like comparing Dickens and Austen. They've both got it, different styles.

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My problem is that I am weak in math. I'd love my kids to be able to go through/do the more rigorous math programs, but I can't help them through. Some of you were math majors, or did higher levels of math. Math is what brought my college gpa down. We can't afford Chalkdust, and not sure they could get through it anyway, without me being able to help them. Tutors are also very expensive! They've done well with the programs we have used--TT and LoF.

 

What does one do in that case?

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Well, we are just moving into this area. I did a lot of research last year and decided on Video Text. I don't have a real strong Math background and I really liked the way Video Text presented things. It's been almost 40 years since I took Algebra. My daughter is in 6th grade doing Video Text this year. We are taking it slow. She finished Module A and is about 1/2 way through B and is getting As on all the test. So far so good. We will slow down and back track if she hits a wall. I am watching the lessons with her and learning along with her, so that I can help when needed.

Janis in DE

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Well, I can tell you the resources my teen has used to date. She has college acceptances in hand, so that's promising.

 

Algebra 1 -- Lial's

Geometry -- Jacobs'

Algebra 2 -- Lial's

 

College Algebra and Trigonometry -- Sullivan's PreCalculus at the community college

 

AP Statistics -- The Practice of Statistics by Yates, Moore, and Starnes through PA Homeschoolers

 

Oh, and some prep work using Chalkdust's SAT Math review.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I think part of your choice should depend upon your own confidence and aptitude in math. If I were to do it over, I would do Chalkdust, mostly because the instructor is excellent. However, I don't care for the Chalkdust books as well as Lial's, which is what we used for Algebra I and II. I think a more math-minded mom might choose one of the other programs, i.e., Lial's, Dolciani, Foerster's, etc.

 

Yup - I voted Chalkdust but then I am NOT a math person so I need the lecture on DVD for my kiddo.

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Aleks is good for some math review, but the problems tend to be "formulaic" in the sense that they are all pretty much the same. I would still recommend a traditional math textbook that has a variety of problems.

:iagree:

My ds did Aleks for a few months until he admitted that it was too easy to complete without thinking through the problems.

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