I would give heavy weight toward mastery of the subject no matter how difficult the path to get there. I would tend to give some credit for doing the homework well in a timely fashion and credit for tests. HOWEVER, I would let a great test override poor homework scores for that subject since they have learned the material in the process. I would also allow students to go back and repeat a new test in order to improve since the goal is to actually learn the material and if the score is bad I don't move on in the first place.

If your dd is serious about starting precalculus in the fall, another option would be to start DO algebra 2 this winter/spring while still doing geometry so that she doesn't have to rush as fast to get through it.

What jumps out at me most is that he can encode the words, but has more trouble decoding them. Is this typical (looking for input from others). Level 4 is much harder as others have said. My daughter had horrible time decoding the words and then when she was able to decode individual words, it still wouldn't come together as fluency - turned out to be convergence insufficiency which was helped by vision therapy. My son is on level 4 right now and I agree with working on each level until they can do it. We use the student sheets and the fluency drills as given, but I also take a copy and cut it up and put it into a ziplock bag. I make him pull out phrases and sentences through the day to practice more. I can add anything we need to work on - more review of contractions, sight words, etc. When we play a game, he picks one phrase/sentence every turn. He might read more to earn a little extra computer time, etc. Lots and lots of drill however it works in your home.

My daughter is doing DO prealgebra (with me grading and answering questions). She's bright, but has struggled with math mostly from dyslexic problems. I've had a hard time teaching certain concepts and doing the DO Prealgebra has been what we needed to fill in some of those holes. She'll move on to AoPS with me next. I think multiple chapters of his prealgebra videos are up for free on you-tube if you want to see samples. My oldest (math whiz) has been impressed with the quality of teaching. My daughter has had some trouble with the computer screen interface bothering her migraine headaches and it has affected her speed through the course. I would rate the math as very solid teaching and problems. I'll move her to the AoPS Intro books next, but if she struggles DO would be my next choice. My oldest went through AoPS completely and my second will probably move on to DO precalculus after he finishes the AoPS Intro books. He's doing the DO physics course now. I think the course is best suited for an independent child who is self-motivated to learn (aren't all courses). Some students would struggle more with the format of DO.

If you find yourself needing to remediate Algebra 1, I think you can pay for a month's access to DO videos, etc and work on the pieces you need to do and then move on. Also I've heard he'll work with you on helping sort out what needs to be remediated if necessary.

These predictions look more accurate than anything else I've seen so far. Who really knows - it's a waiting game.

Not the original poster, but I've really liked DO prealgebra for my daughter who is bright, but has struggled more with math. DO has been an excellent teacher and has filled in the gaps where she was missing things. My oldest has listened in on the videos and says DO is a great teacher.

I would say get through at least chapter 15. Chapter 16 is covered in traditional geometry, but it is dilations, rotations, transformations. If this is needed then it is easy to learn later. Chp. 17 is analytic geometry - an intersection between geometry and algebra. - good stuff Chp. 18 intro to trig - can see it from the start in a precalc course Chp. 19 - more hard problems :)

Take away the paper math and do it orally and with manipulatives. It can be something like cuisenaire rods or just any physical items for counting and adding. Until the math is solid with real objects, don't change to the abstract form of this squiggly line represents three, etc. Also, consider testing for learning disabilities as others have suggested.

I have made several calls the past few weeks to customer service and they've always been easy to work with. (We choose to go with the dvd option for other reasons so I don't specifically know about the online version).

My son has accommodations for dyslexia and dysgraphia (and slow processing speed). ACT was much easier - he has national time and half (what we requested) College board only granted him time and half on written sections (not the multiple choice) He'll use this for AP exams. Choose not to appeal the decision for PSAT/SAT. I would certainly go ahead and ask for accommodations as it won't hurt to ask. I turned in a cover letter summarizing what I was asking for and why, a list of educational accommodations with elementary just being a summary of accommodations over elementary years, and then accommodations by year for middle/high school. I also listed testing by whatever grade it was done it on this list.

My son's went up 25 points, but I would assume most would go up as they should learn some between 10th and 11th.

The main test prep is good solid teaching over years of school. Other test prep - be sure to do a full length test. I have my kids take as much time as they want, but time it so I have a good idea how cramped for time they are. Next we analyze what they missed - do I need to teach something more or learn test taking strategies? Do they need to learn to go faster? I don't cram a lot of test prep in, but I do try to find out what if difficult and why and see if I can correct it.

Answered on your other thread.

My son has severe dysgraphia (and is very gifted). What works for him won't work for others as each person is very different. Getting evaluated was helpful. OT - no success here Vision therapy - huge success in helping his physical act of writing (letter formation and size); this was related to issues with how he processed visual spacial information Lots of copywork Years of scribing (into high school) oral narrations (turning ideas into sentences) Composing sentences/paragraphs - this has been very difficult; things that seems most helpful were freewriting (timed, but purely creative to get words on paper); Brave Writer classes have helped tremendously at teaching him structure and being encouraging at each step. Much of his writing sounded very simplistic for years, but it has finally all come together (still takes forever)

I had many of the same problems as everyone else. Our home school code - Ky Home School was eventually accepted after multiple repeats. Then we had no scores. I saw the page asking for an access code, but of course did not have access to the access code. Eventually last year's scores showed up and with a few more hours this years magically appeared. It took a combination of frustration, persistence, time and ignoring the computer. Hope it gets to working for everyone else.

Sounds like my son. Tested in top 1%, but couldn't get words from his brain to paper. He said he couldn't translate the idea/image into words. (He also tests dyslexic, dysgraphic with processing speed issues). I would scribe everything and he'd be in tears trying to figure out what to say. What was fantastic for him was Brave Writer classes. It broke it down into pieces and the teachers were very good about hand-holding and being encouraging. I'm impressed with how far he has come in writing (all thanks to Brave Writer). He is still incredibly slow, but he has learned the process and the output is great.

I use Derek Owens differently than most, but have been happy so far this year. I am perfectly capable of teaching the math and answering my kids questions, but I needed something to bridge the gap between me as the primary teacher and my kids. Daughter - doing DO prealgebra; she doesn't take any notes. She listens to the lectures and then does the homework. If there are any problems, then I make her go back and do the examples with me. This is filling in some gaps that we were having a hard time getting done. My plan is to move her on to AoPS Prealgebra with me teaching next (already started). Son #2 - doing DO Physics with me paying half-price and doing the grading and answering questions myself. This has been a great resource to get physics taught and removing me from being the primary teacher. I can give feedback and instruction as needed on the homework. This son is also very independent and self-motivated and I've told him he can have a financial incentive to finish at a faster pace so I don't have to pay for as many months. :closedeyes: He'll probably do DO precalculus next, but all has math before now has been AoPS.

For me it shows up at $20/month. I already own a lot of courses, so I'm not very excited about paying a monthly fee. Julie

FYI - For anyone having the same problem as I did creating an account: I would try to put in the KY homeschool code and CB kept not recognizing it as a school. I started over more than once and eventually when I put in the same code it popped up Kentucky Home School. ... now if just says he has no scores. Hoping they show up eventually.

I really don't want to put in a different high school. I KNOW we put the KY homeschool code on the PSAT form because the high school counselor made ME do it when we registered to take the test at the school. I felt crazy sitting in the counselor office with a bunch of high school students bubbling in a form that should be done my son.

Ugh. The school code doesn't seem to work for my school either.

I'm trying to help my son create an account, but it won't let us as it won't accept homeschool as our school.

Love it!

Brave Writer has 4-6 week classes that start year-round.