If she is currently doing well I would not switch away. Rather, though, I would do some extra work with word problems during the summer (NOT during the school year -- I think that might be overwhelming for someone who's not the strongest math student) with someone else's program. Foerster might be a good choice. This will benefit in two ways. 1) Summer review is almost always good for math. 2) She will see word problems from more than one angle.

He might also be figuring out exactly what to say when he calls his friend in the admissions office and says "Don't lose this one!"

I really wouldn't go with something that's very basic like Saxon or MUS. I think Dolciani is a good idea and Foerster may work too. I'd be working on building her stamina and appetite for problem-solving with gradually more difficult programs. For geometry, I haven't seen it myself but Understanding Geometry -- http://www.criticalthinking.com/understanding-geometry.html -- is a middle school geometry course which might help prime her for a more challenging course later. It's also not very expensive. :)

The second thing is a strategy for moving forward, and some encouragement. MM4 chapter 1 was horribly difficult for dd, and I was really discouraged. What I did was print out (from the set of free files you get access to when you buy MM) worksheets on the same topics, from 2nd grade, then 3rd grade, and have her work through those and then come back to the material in MM4. It took a long time, but she really got it, and after the first chapter, was able to move through the rest of MM4 quickly. So don't be afraid to back up as needed on specific topics, and really master the concepts. I think this is a really good idea.

I would either get 5/4 and test through it (give the tests until the grade drops below 80%, then start with the lessons covered on the first failed test) or get intermediate 4 and start where your child left off in school. After intermediate 4 you should be able to move to 6/5. I think I'd go with intermediate 4 but 5/4 is also a reasonable option. This would put him on target for 8th grade algebra if you take summers off. If you feel that he should be accelerated more than that, you can do so by working through the summer and not taking breaks.

The photoshopping is absolutely stupid and ridiculous. Trying to get more diverse pics is completely understandable -- they're trying to make their campus be more like the pics!

Honestly, if she doesn't find a school she wants to go to, she needs to get a job. It is NOT the end of the world if an 18 year old gets a job instead of going to school. I would let her know that. If she does decide to attend one of the schools she has been accepted at instead of getting a job, I think putting a limit on "We will pay as long as your GPA is over x" is a good idea. I wouldn't make x 3.7 or something -- frankly I think that will exacerbate her already risk-averse academic behaviour. Set something reasonable that should be attainable even if she takes tough classes. But don't micromanage her -- that way, you're only out one semester. However, I would really quit trying to find schools for her. Tell her it's up to her to find a school that she wants to go to, you will pay x dollars, you will be happy to help if she wants, and leave her alone. Again, if she ends up not going to school this year because she can't get it together, it's not the end of the world.

Honestly, if she doesn't find a school she wants to go to, she needs to get a job. It is NOT the end of the world if an 18 year old gets a job instead of going to school. I would let her know that. If she does decide to attend one of the schools she has been accepted at instead of getting a job, I think putting a limit on "We will pay as long as your GPA is over x" is a good idea. I wouldn't make x 3.7 or something -- frankly I think that will exacerbate her already risk-averse academic behaviour. Set something reasonable that should be attainable even if she takes tough classes. But don't micromanage her -- that way, you're only out one semester. However, I would really quit trying to find schools for her. Tell her it's up to her to find a school that she wants to go to, you will pay x dollars, you will be happy to help if she wants, and leave her alone. Again, if she ends up not going to school this year because she can't get it together, it's not the end of the world.

There are a lot of things that I would consider to be neglect (educational or otherwise) that still wouldn't rise to the level where I would feel comfortable reporting them.

I don't think that people should be compelled to use DE. But I can't see why parents should feel compelled to NOT use it if it's what is best for their specific child, either. This sort of black-and-white all-or-nothing thinking is exactly what the PS does, just in the opposite direction.

FWIW, I took out loans the first time I went to college and still blew it off and flunked out. The money just didn't seem *real*. What made me have skin in the game was working a dead-end job and realizing how incredibly dumb I'd been to skip my classes. I went back and went to every single one and did every single homework assignment. I am absolutely not saying every child will be this way, but it did not work for me.

Yeah, hearing what she says I would move her ASAP into a different level or a different program. She needs to get out of this "I'm dumb" asap. I would be really surprised if she couldn't handle 54 -- I'd still do the placement test to see how she does.

Saxon and Singapore are not really comparable in scope and sequence. Did you give your DD the Saxon upper grades placement test before ordering? If she is doing fine but it seems way too easy, it may be a good fit but she may simply be misplaced.

I've only skimmed, but it looks like your main motivation is weight loss rather than ethical. With this in mind, my recommendations would be different than if you were planning on veganism for ethical reasons. You have mentioned that you tend to slip into a pattern where you start adding in animal food out of a desire to feel full and this causes you to slip further along the path to junk food. When I have seen this pattern in my friends, it often seems to follow "Oh, well, I'm already off-diet, so I might as well go further off." Maybe trying to be too strict about your healthy diet is actually leading to less adherence in the long run. It might be easier to have a diet that is only 80% what you want to eat and 20% allowable treats (and plan those treats into your day) instead of trying to be perfect. It would definitely lead to more weight loss to adhere to a not-quite-perfect diet all the time rather than a perfect diet only sometimes.

To elaborate: It is very, very common for people to misuse statistics, to claim the numbers show what they do not show. Basic probability is also misused in this way. Many otherwise intelligent people are fooled by misuse of statistics because it sounds plausible. Understanding this is crucial for evaluating many claims made in all areas of life. I don't really want to go into specific detail here because I feel it would be sidetracking the thread, but that is why it's my personal recommendation as a senior-year math class for students.

I would highly recommend statistics as a general education course for a student who will not pursue a STEM career. Understanding statistics is really crucial to knowing when people are lying to you.

While I agree with a lot of the rest of your post, I'm bolding this comment because I've seen it before. There are a lot of places where we could pass a frustrating and inconvenient law that would indeed help children who are being abused or killed. For a specific example, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children of every age from 2 to 14. If we banned private use of motor vehicles, or instituted a nationwide speed limit of 10mph, we could save so many lives! Obviously this is a ridiculous example and I don't think we should do this. But saying "No matter how frustrating and inconvenient, if it saves one, we should be willing to do it" is a rather excessive statement.

Making it through is really great news! Thanks for updating. With respect to the math class, it might also be a possibility to have him take it at another school in summer session.

People have done it, but it's definitely unusual. Many colleges do require a life science. What were the other four years looking like?

I think you're making the right choice.

+100. This makes it very, very difficult when a student needs to use the transitive property of equality, because he cannot distinguish between a chain of valid equalities and his own confused reasoning.

I write script t's as variables for this reason.

I would keep doing what you are doing, open to the possibility that she may suddenly catch on and start moving faster. I would also work year-round if you are not already -- but other than that I wouldn't hurry her any more.

If at all possible I would pick english/history/science courses for your 9th grader that are not customarily "required" for high school graduation or that your younger child plans to take more advanced levels of during high school. This would sidestep the issue. I'd be reluctant to have, for example, the only us history on a student's transcript be from an 8th grade course, but a non-required course like world geography would be ideal.

+1 to what everyone else said about the accommodations available to someone with documented dyscalculia. One of my friends (before this was a recognized diagnosis) attended a small college where she was able to substitute a logic course instead of a mathematics course.