Will someone please explain the Singapore math

[newlifemom]

placement tests to me?

 

Dd, who is struggling of late, just finished Saxon 6/5. If I were to grade her she would have received a high C/low B. But, I am not confident about her grasp of several key things. Fractions/Decimals/Percents. Anyway, I went to the Singapore website and downloaded the 5B placement test. She is.bombing.it! I mean, in tears, doesn't know how to do hardly any of the problems. Some of them I kind of steered her to how it was stated in the Saxon book and then she had an aha moment, but for the most part, complete and utter failure. What should I do with this? What does it mean? I have heard that Singapore was harder, but wow, I just don't know what to do with this info. I am so confused. Any ideas of what I should do now for math. I am seriously thinking of switching math next year. I am borrowing/buying LOF for the summer. I will start with fractions and maybe go to percents. WWYD if this were your dd?

[LizzyBee]

If you were to switch to Singapore, you'd likely need to go back to 3A or 3B, but you'd probably move pretty quickly through at least the first set of books. Just tell your dd that because the books are written differently, you need to go back a couple levels. If you think that would be emotionally difficult for her, Life of Fred is a great alternative. My 7th grader loves LOF! For extra practice, the Key To series is great too.

[jentancalann]

I would not worry too much with where she places in Singapore, math just isn't taught the same in that series. If you want to try it, just test her for placement and begin. I don't think it would be unusual for her to place at 4B (I'm assuming she's 5th grade?). Once she gets the hang of the way they teach she may fly right through the next book or two.

[HiddenJewel]

Singapore level 5 is NOT a US 5th grade. My 6th grader just tested in level Singapore 4A. I bought the Intensive Practice 4A book and we will use 4A/4B through the summer.

 

Those placement tests are hard. Dd13 (who is in the middle of algebra) and I can't even do all of 6B.

[choirfarm]

as people have said, they are not the same.. My VERY bright boy finished Saxon 65 in Febuary of whatever year it was.. ( 5th grade) and then we started Singapore 3A. We made it all the way through Singapore 6B by the end of 6th grade. AS some have said, you will fly through some of it. If I thought he knew the concept then I just had him see and if he aced it we didn't do any more practice problems. But I did have him do every review. So there were huge sections of the 3A and B and 4A and B he didn't do because he already knew, but there were several sections in each one that he did not.. We then went into Algebra.. So don't panic.

 

Christine

[newlifemom]

So, should I drop Saxon altogether? This is so hard for me. I have always been of the mind set stick with the same math program or there will be gaps. Is is going to harm her if we do LOF over the summer and start up with Singapore 3 in the fall? How teacher intensive is it. I will have 3 [count 'em] 3, 2nd graders this fall so I need to be able to have some flexiblity with that. Thanks so much for your help.

 

ETA: How much will this set me back $ wise?

[Marla]

How teacher intensive is it. I will have 3 [count 'em] 3, 2nd graders this fall so I need to be able to have some flexiblity with that. Thanks so much for your help. ETA: How much will this set me back $ wise?

 

Have you considered Christian Light Math? Here is their diagnostic placement test. http://www.clp.org/store/by_grade/19

 

They also have sample lessons to peruse: http://www.clp.org/store/by_subject/4

 

It allows student to work independently and is inexpensive.

 

We don't use Saxon but I gave dd their placement test and she tested into 6/5. In Christian Light (CLE), she tested in Level 400. CLE looks really thorough and gets good reviews.

[arcara]

My dd completed Saxon 65 this year making 95-100 on tests and placed into 4A (Standards Ed). She's been flying through 4A, mainly hitting the things she was weak on. She'll start 4B soon, but I imagine it will go much slower.

[siloam]

So, should I drop Saxon altogether? This is so hard for me. I have always been of the mind set stick with the same math program or there will be gaps. Is is going to harm her if we do LOF over the summer and start up with Singapore 3 in the fall? How teacher intensive is it. I will have 3 [count 'em] 3, 2nd graders this fall so I need to be able to have some flexiblity with that. Thanks so much for your help.

 

ETA: How much will this set me back $ wise?

 

Pam,

 

Singapore works on a totally different premise than Saxon. It isn't a reflection on your dd that she is struggling with the placement test, especially given they go into upper level math in 7th grade vs. the US tradition of 8th.

 

Coming from someone who used to schedule her math classes in college at 8 because it was an easy A, I feel her pain. Was I good at math? Not really. I was very good at accepting their formulas and applying them. I had no clue why I was doing anything. Singapore is more interested in why and in problem solving. It is going to take a little back tracking, but your dd already has covered a lot of it, so it will just be filling in the why.

 

I don't find Singapore overly teacher intensive. If you do an exercise a day, you will most likely need to go over the text with them daily, and give they will all be in the same grade you can cover it at once. The text will demonstrate what they will do in the workbook, so they should be able to do the workbook independently. Usually it only takes a few minuets to cover the textbook, but the farther you get in the program the more time it takes. Now and then the text will have a review and those can take a long time to get through. Because we do two math programs here, I skip them. You probably could also break them in pieces and do them over several days if needed. I think that will be the most challenging piece for you to figure out. The Home Instructor Guides are a great help, so I highly recommend them. They will add in extra reinforcement, and work on memorizing math facts and such to help the program work better. It also has a great schedule that coordinates all this for you. :D

 

My guess is for 3 2nd graders you would be looking at around $80 for the year for all three students. That is just for the HIG, text and 3 copies of the primary text. If you buy the IP and CWP books then it would be closer to $150. I suppose I can't mention those without expounding, can I? The Intensive Practice books follow the topics in the primary workbooks, but take the concepts one step farther, challenging the child's thinking. The Challenging Word Problems books are going out of print, so they might be a non issue, but they cover the concepts in the primary series at the same level of difficult, but all in word problems. You don't have to use the IP and CWP books.

 

Heather

 

[fractalgal]

placement tests to me?

 

Dd, who is struggling of late, just finished Saxon 6/5. If I were to grade her she would have received a high C/low B. But, I am not confident about her grasp of several key things. Fractions/Decimals/Percents. Anyway, I went to the Singapore website and downloaded the 5B placement test. She is.bombing.it! I mean, in tears, doesn't know how to do hardly any of the problems. Some of them I kind of steered her to how it was stated in the Saxon book and then she had an aha moment, but for the most part, complete and utter failure. What should I do with this? What does it mean? I have heard that Singapore was harder, but wow, I just don't know what to do with this info. I am so confused. Any ideas of what I should do now for math. I am seriously thinking of switching math next year. I am borrowing/buying LOF for the summer. I will start with fractions and maybe go to percents. WWYD if this were your dd?

 

I would start her in Level 3A or 3B if you were to choose Singapore. Since math builds on itself, it would be better to have a solid base before moving forward.

 

Singapore presents math in a visual way, which is helpful in grasping the concept behind the idea. I especially like the Intensive Practice Workbooks when wanting to go more deeply into a topic.

 

Saxon is good at solidifying a concept with review, but sometimes does not go deeply enough in presenting the big picture when introducing a new idea.

 

Good Luck :)

[newlifemom]

So which placement test should I be using?

[siloam]

So which placement test should I be using?

 

Pam,

 

My guess is the one's you are using are the same as the Sonlight test, but I usually refer people to the Sonlight page. Sonlight is the publisher of the Home Instructor Guides levels 2A-6A (not the Standards Edition), so they are very involved in the curriculum. Mostly I find the Sonlight site easier to navigate, but both can be confusing at times.

 

Heather

[fractalgal]

So, should I drop Saxon altogether? This is so hard for me. I have always been of the mind set stick with the same math program or there will be gaps. Is is going to harm her if we do LOF over the summer and start up with Singapore 3 in the fall? How teacher intensive is it. I will have 3 [count 'em] 3, 2nd graders this fall so I need to be able to have some flexiblity with that. Thanks so much for your help.

 

ETA: How much will this set me back $ wise?

 

I alternate between the Saxon and Singapore. For example, my daughter recently completed Singapore level 4 with both the IP and CWP 4 workbooks, and she tested into Saxon 8/7 or Alg 1/2 on the placement test.

 

The advantage of alternating is that there are few gaps, and the student gets the benefits of both programs.

 

You could do only the text and workbook for a lower cost, but I like the depth that the support materials (IP and CWP) bring to the Singapore program.

 

It is somewhat teacher intensive (moreso in the IP and CWP), but you could get the home instructor's guide, and see if that helps.

 

Good Luck :)

[Ibbygirl]

I'll chime in here agreeing with the other posters. I switched from Saxon to Singapore for 5th grade and had to start with 4A &4B. I would strongly suggest getting the home instructor's guide. My daughter likes Singapore much much better and is much happier doing math now. I did 4A, 4B and 5A last year and I have done 5B, 6A & 6B this year so that my daughter can start NEM in 7th grade right on level. It was a lot to be sure, but she was able to handle it. I really like Singapore because it teaches them to think through the problems, not just solve a problem that looks a certain way. I wish you all the best. :)

[newlifemom]

Thanks everyone, I just printed off the 3A test off of the sonlight link. Will have dd start there and stop when we go below 80%. I am going to get the LoF books, fractions and Decimals for her to work on over the summer. I guess the reason why I am reacting this way is because it was at this time in my life where they just 'gave up on me' in math and told me I was dumb at it. I don't want my dd to go through life thinking she is dumb at math. She may never be an engineer, but she is a smart girl and I want her to go as far as she is able. KWIM?

[AngieW in Texas]

I would expect somebody who has finished Saxon 65 to place into 3B or 4A in Singapore. They have a completely different scope and sequence.

 

Your dd will likely find a lot of the Singapore level she places into to be review, but there will be things that are brand new. She'll learn more even with the review because Singapore's problems are usually much more complex than Saxon's.