I promise my question isn't meant to offend! Context: We have used Math U See since Pre-K (so, 11 years so far!). We really love it and it's always worked great for us. But I'm trying to decide if we want to use it next year, for Algebra II. (Honestly, I'm a little thrown by MUS's Algebra 1 redesign; it's making me question whether their other high school courses are still adequate.) We're so comfortable with MUS that I really hesitate to switch. That said, I am curious about Teaching Textbooks because I do love how inexpensive and how user-friendly it is (in that it does all the grading, etc. for you). I would still be using the program alongside my student (she wouldn't be left on her own!), but math is not our strong suit, so I like the way the program walks the student through everything. I guess the thing that is so off-putting to me about Teaching Textbooks is that the website looks like it was designed in 1996 by a student in an Intro to Computer Design course. In other words: the website and the look of the apps don't inspire a lot of confidence. But...maybe it's great? Is it considered a complete curriculum for one credit of high school math? Would love to hear from others who are familiar with TT. Thank you so much!

Hello! Context: My oldest daughter is finishing up sophomore year. She is a fine arts person and is not an aspiring STEM major. We did Biology with Lab at home for 9th grade and she is just finishing Chemistry with Lab this year (Chem class has been taken through WTMA and we did the labs at home). Next year, she'll be taking dual enrollment and she'd like to take Plant Biology with Lab at the community college. I just want to make sure that it's not "bad" for her transcript to take two biology courses. As I said, the DE course is specifically Plant Biology, but I just wanted to confirm that colleges wouldn't see her two biology courses as redundant, if that makes sense. (She has a special interest in plants, which is why she is pursuing the course.) I guess I am asking: Do her lab sciences need to be in wholly different science disciplines to "count"? Possibly also relevant: She is planning to take an Anatomy with Lab course through DE as a senior, so she'll have four lab sciences total. I just want to make sure she's not making any major mistakes with her schedule; thank you for any input you can provide!

My daughter is taking her first-ever AP exam next week. A couple of questions about test day: Will she need to have any special homeschool code memorized, or was that info already taken care of when she registered? (I just want to make sure she won't encounter any surprises that will freak her out.) Can students write on the test itself? (Can she circle answers as she goes, make notes to herself, or otherwise mark up her actual test?) I know the only writing that will be graded is what she writes in the essay booklet, but she's curious if she can write on/mark up the test itself. Can she bring her ID in her little lanyard wallet, or must she bring the bare card itself only? (The list of items you can't bring is pretty strict, so I curious what others do?) Any other tips or advice for a first-time test taker? Thank you!

Note: My daughter is only a sophomore, so she is not opting to have her AP score automatically sent to any colleges. I don't think she will(!), but if, for some reason, she completely bombs her AP exam, we can just fill out the form to have the score deleted, correct? (The website says you have to submit the form before June 15th, but she won't even see what her score is until early July... Do they mean you have to submit before June 15th only if you've opted to have scores auto-sent? We could still cancel them after June 15th, correct?) I see that you can request your student's Free-Response Booklet. Would this have any writing/notes/points written in it from the scorer, indicating how her individual essays were scored? Or would the booklet contain my daughter's writing only? Is it possible to see your student's multiple-choice answers? (What the student got right and wrong?) If so, would you receive just a basically useless bubble sheet, or would it come with a copy of the actual questions as well? Just curious; this is her first AP. Thank you!

Okay, this is so helpful. Thank you so much! Thank you for providing this framework!

My older daughter is taking Chemistry at WTMA, but we did the lab portion of the course at home (10 labs from the Quality Science Labs Micro Chem Kit). If she stays consistent for the rest of the semester, I think she'll earn an A from WTMA, and she most definitely earned an A with me for her labs. If that ends up being the case, I'll just give her a final grade of A and call it good. But I get a little tripped up thinking about it because WTMA has sort of a fussy grade scale based on specific numbers and +/-, whereas I've been keeping a simple A/B/C/D grade scale for most of the courses on her transcript--the ones we've done at home. (For us, A = mastery, and I don't bother with grades like 97/98/99.) But if she earns, say, a B+ from WTMA and an A from me for labs, how would you figure the final chemistry grade? I realize this is nit-picky, since it's not like I'll be submitting an official transcript from WTMA the way I would from a community college, but...I do want her transcript to be honest. Mostly, I'm curious how others have graded hybrid courses in general, as this might come up in future courses as well. Thank you!

I posted earlier to share that my older daughter is starting dual enrollment in the fall. She is an aspiring fine arts/art history major, so not a STEM kid. At the end of this year, she will have completed biology with lab at home and WTMA chemistry (with lab at home). She'd like to have four sciences on her transcript, so she plans to take two more lab sciences before graduation. She would like to take botany and anatomy, as she feels knowledge in these particular sciences will enhance and inform her drawing skills. Our cc does not offer Botany courses. (I took a Botany lab in college that I loved, but that was at a flagship state U; the cc doesn't have a botany department.) The cc DOES offer both Plant Biology and Horticulture. Both courses have labs. The Plant Biology course is worth 4 credits and the Horticulture course is worth 3 credits. My daughter is most interested in learning about plant structure and doing in-depth observations of plant anatomy. Of her two choices, which course should she choose? (Descriptions attached.) Basically, I can't tell the difference between these two courses and I don't understand why one is worth more credits. Would love guidance! Thank you so much!

THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is seriously so helpful. I really appreciate it!!

Hello! My daughter (currently 10th grade) is going to start some dual enrollment courses next fall at our local cc. (For my Ohio boardies, she'll be doing CCP at Columbus State, though I don't yet know how many CCP credits the state will issue us.) The cc recommends that she start dual enrollment with their basic intro English composition course. I'm fine with that plan, since most upper level courses require the course as a prerequisite. The only thing that trips me up is how to represent this English course on her transcript. I was planning to put "English 9" and "English 10" down for the 9th and 10th grade English classes we've done at home, but I don't want it to look like she didn't complete English 11 and English 12! (The cc English course doesn't fit into the tidy English progression I envisioned for her transcript, lol.) My questions: How would you name these courses on the transcript? If she takes the cc intro English course, what is the next logical English class for her to take in 12th grade? Does it have to be another composition course, or can it be like, a literature or poetry class at the cc? (In our English 9 and English 10 courses at home, we did a mix of literature and composition, not one or the other. Will the cc courses be seen as "incomplete"?) For this one-semester cc English course, I can give her one full credit on her high school transcript, correct? (In other words, she's done two English courses at home, and if she does two one-semester English courses at the cc, I can give her a total of 4 English credits on her high school transcript, correct?) Thank you so much!!

Thank you so much!! This information is so helpful. I wish I had known I could just do this course myself. Thank you for sharing your experience. And yes, Smarthistory has literally saved our lives this year!!! The PA Homeschoolers course does not leverage it, but we stumbled upon it on our own early in the school year and I literally don't know what we would have done without it. Basically, Smarthistory's amazing videos and the Barron's APAH prep book are our favorite tools; with those, I feel I can definitely do the course on my own the second time around, once my younger daughter is a couple years older. Thank you again!

This is SO helpful! Thank you so much!!!

My older daughter is currently taking AP Art History through PA Homeschoolers. It's been a fine class, but there are definitely things I would do differently. Now that I've gone through this course with my daughter (only a few weeks left before the exam), I think I could definitely DIY the course myself for our younger daughter. Has anyone gone through the process of creating their own approved AP course? I'd love to hear what the audit process involved (timeline, etc.). Basically, my understanding is that homeschoolers have done this before, but I'm not really clear on how you do it without being affiliated with an "official" school. Thanks for any info you can provide!

Thank you for sharing!!

Yes! Here is where you can buy the "old" version of Algebra I Here is where you can buy the new, revised version of Algebra I (For both links, you need to scroll down the page a little bit to get to the actual products you can add to your shopping cart.) To be clear: Only Algebra I has been revised so far. I'm not sure how quickly revisions for all the other levels will roll out, but this is what the Math U See customer service agent told me in an email: "We will be offering a new edition of all the upper levels, but started with Algebra 1. Pre-Algebra and Geometry will be the next releases with Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus and Calculus to follow." From what I understand, they will continue to carry the Legacy editions. (Another quote from the Math U See customer service agent: "The current version of Algebra 1 will still be available for purchase so that customers who prefer to stay with our Legacy Algebra 1 program will still have that option.") I hope that helps!

One more question about standardized testing.... My daughter and I are still deciding which test she'll do: SAT or ACT. (We're going to do the practice tests and then decide.) But I'm looking ahead to next year and trying to make a rough plan of when she'll test. I think it's reasonable for her to take whatever test she chooses twice, so I'm wondering what a reasonable gap is between test dates. For instance, if she takes her first attempt in March 2024, does it make sense to take her second in, say, June 2024? Is that enough of a time gap to see improvement? She can't take the test first thing junior year because she'll need time to study and prepare, and because I want her to get as much math in as possible before she tests. So I feel like the earliest she could take the first test is December 2023, but I feel like the later she takes that first attempt, the stronger her scores will be. At the same time, I don't think I want to push any of the testing into senior year because lots of you have recommend getting all testing done junior year because senior year fall is so hectic. That makes sense to me. Anyway: What was the span of time between your student's test dates and what sort of span would you recommend to others? Thank you! Bonus question: How early can I register for either exam? (When does registration open for next year? June? July? Later? Thank you!)

Yes, the sticker shock is real. (Especially if I will end up buying each high school level twice!) We love Math U See, but one of the things that was always great about it was that it was so affordable for our family. (Especially when compared with many other curriculum providers and/or any classes we take online, such as at WTMA.) It was a known expense every year and one part of homeschool planning I never had to think about. So...lots for me to consider as I look ahead to next year. @2ndGenHomeschooler If you do attend a convention and get the chance to see it in person, I would love to hear your review of it, if you have the time to post and share it here!

To be sure, the old versions will be continue to be available for the foreseeable future. (Math U See is calling them "legacy" editions.) So, I could just continue to buy the student packs of the old versions for my younger daughter. And I might! But I definitely have to research the new one to see if the benefits of upgrading are worth the price for our family. I hope that helps!

I know! I am really thrown. It's probably fine and something we'd get used to quickly, but Math U See is the one thing in our homeschool that has always worked for us and has never changed. Literally been using it for 11 years so far. I'm going to spend more time looking through the new version; I'm guessing the changes are positive. But still...it's unexpected. Also: If we go with this revised program, I will have to majorly adjust our homeschool budget. I was only planning to spend money on the student pack each year for my youngest (as we've always done), but if we go with the new program, I'll have to buy the new version of the actual curriculum. (And I'll have to do so each subsequent year/level moving forward! The new levels won't be available/published in time for my oldest, but I think they will be for my youngest, so I'll have to buy every year of high school math twice if I go that route. That is something I'll have to think about....) But I sent an email to Math U See and they responded that they are definitely working on a curriculum revision like this for every high school level they offer, as well as for Pre-Algebra.

This is my concern, too. Will there be new test prep books available by this summer for the new version of the test? (How else can students prepare?!)

Hello again! We have used Math U See the entire way, since kindergarten (my oldest is now doing 10th grade Geometry). I went to their site today because I am starting to think about next year. My younger daughter will be doing Algebra I next year, and I was planning to buy just the new student pack for her (we already have the rest of the curriculum because my older daughter used it last year). I was very surprised to see that they are revamping their upper level courses and they now have a brand new Algebra I course. Has anyone used the new Algebra I program? I'm on the fence whether to try the new version or to just buy the old student pack and proceed as usual. (Now that we've been using Math U See for over a decade, I'm very wary about switching. It will be so weird to switch to a new system and not have Mr. Steve teaching, etc.). Would love to hear any thoughts or reviews. Thank you!

This is helpful info, thank you!

Thank you for the responses so far! Appreciate your insights!

This is super helpful information, thank you!!

Hi! My oldest is currently a high school sophomore and we're beginning to plan her junior year. She is college-bound, so she'll obviously have to take either the SAT or the ACT next year. How do we decide which test is best for her? (If it's relevant, she is an artist and is very strong in English/writing, and she enjoys science. Math is not our family's favorite, but she is competent in it.) Also: My understanding is that students typically take either the SAT or the ACT in the spring of junior year and again in the fall of senior year. Is that correct? Finally: Has anyone done the Mr. D math boot camps? (Do they sell out super quickly?) I feel like that would be a good way for her to study for the math part, but I want to make sure it's "worth it," you know? I would love to hear any reviews you might have, if your student has done these classes. (We were planning on doing the WTMA SAT prep class, but it looks like they discontinued it because the SAT format is changing. That is also stressing me out re: SAT....) Any insights or tips folks can provide about standardized testing would be so helpful. Thank you so much!

Thank you so much for these responses! So appreciated!