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I want to go through LOF Statistics to give me a good background before either:

 

a) taking an exam to get college credit for inferential statistics (needed before I can be admitted to graduate psychology program)

b) to give me a good background for a college stat course

 

I would ideally do the former. However, I know I have some serious gaps in my math. I could. not. pass. College Algebra. It was so frustrating. I don't know exactly where I started floundering in math. In late elementary? Beginning middle school?

 

So:

 

Do I need a strong algebra background before hitting Statistics?

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This depends on the book. Some statistics books (and courses) require more of a mathematical background than others. I would suspect that if you are taking a course for social scientists (is it specific for the major?), you may be learning to apply statistics, use software packages, etc. Derivation of formulae is where the math comes in.

 

If you have some gaps in math, consider buying a couple of Lial consumable books on the cheap. (Old editions are just fine.) These books are written for an adult audience and give loads of problems. You might fly through one chapter and appreciate the extra practice in the next.

 

To find a better answer to your stats question, you might want to ask some students (specifically older ones) in the program how much math they had under their belts when they enrolled in the course and what they would have done differently.

 

Good luck.

Jane

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Thanks! I don't (yet) have access to students. I'm planning ahead here. The college I wish to attend is an hour and a half away. I still have young children at home and thus for now wanted to go through things so I avoid looking clueless :001_huh: like this.

 

I have a Lial's Calculus here I'm afraid to touch (dh couldn't pass it -- no hope for our dc here, huh? :tongue_smilie: :lol:). I'm going to peruse the boards here for the Lial's text -- is it Basic Math Facts? I remember seeing something like that recommended for pre-algebra.

 

To identify gaps I think I'm going to take (no kidding) Singapore's assessment tests and see where I get placed. I think my gaps in algebra have a lot to do with previous gaps in middle to late elementary. I'll let people know how I scored (regardless of the outcome). Believe it or not, I'm a little nervous. My strong suit is mental math. I do almost all calculations in my head. My arithmetics facts are pretty good, but I can't show you how I did it. I remember my teachers were frustrated for a long time that I could come up with an answer (more often than not the right one) but they couldn't give me points because I couldn't write out how I did it. Sigh. I'm starting to feel the pain again. Who would have thought I would one day voluntarily put myself through math again? :tongue_smilie:

 

I remember taking a Media Research Methods class in College (interpreting stats) and I did well: I got an A minus :) Gotta hang on to the positive ;)

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I want to go through LOF Statistics to give me a good background before either:

 

a) taking an exam to get college credit for inferential statistics (needed before I can be admitted to graduate psychology program)

b) to give me a good background for a college stat course

 

I would ideally do the former. However, I know I have some serious gaps in my math. I could. not. pass. College Algebra. It was so frustrating. I don't know exactly where I started floundering in math. In late elementary? Beginning middle school?

 

So:

 

Do I need a strong algebra background before hitting Statistics?

Statistics does require Algebra -- usually Algebra 2 (the one major example being the use of logarithms to transform exponential curves to straight lines...), but definitely a good handle on manipulating variables -- there are lots of formulas, and knowing what goes where and why, and how you can get from there to the answer is a big chunk of the work.

 

If you think you're going to have to take the course, I think I'd work on the algebra rather than prep for stats specifically.... But if you want to try diving into the statistics and picking up the algebra as you go, I've heard good things about LoF in that way.... Also there's a telecourse on www.learner.org called Against All Odds that DS used this year... I was impressed with it, and it's a good match for the AP test if you're headed that way.

 

It is possible to rely on software (as Jane says), but if you're going for a graduate degree in psychology, I'll bet you have to do at least one course the other way.

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I'm not in a hurry. If preparing to take Statistics takes me a year or two, so be it. I want to make sure I have the facts down. I'd rather take my time and relearn my math facts than jump in and drown.

 

I consider myself a reasonably intelligent human being. As a child, I was even pronounced gifted (in areas such as languages and history). I still can't believe I failed College Algebra three times in college :blink:

 

That was ten years ago, so I hope to do it a lot better this time ;)

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That was ten years ago, so I hope to do it a lot better this time ;)

 

I jumped back into math a few years ago (after rather a long break...) and it's amazing what a little growing up does for the brain :) I bet you find it's much easier now than it was ten years ago!

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Do I need a strong algebra background before hitting Statistics?

 

I just bought the Life of Fred Statistics book myself. It says in the section about what background you need that, "It would be nice to have a little algebra so that the x^2 and absolute values and square roots don't mystify you. But that's about it. I can't think of anywhere in the book where you'll need to solve any equations or do any algebra word problems."

 

I have no idea whether the LOF Statistics will prepare you to take an exam to get college credit for inferential statistics.

 

If you have any questions about this, you could probably ask the Life of Fred author, Stanley Schmidt. He is very responsive to emails.

 

Jean

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I took the Singapore Placement test 4B. No calculators. However, I found out I had forgotten to do long division :blushing: I got a 56%. Needless to say, I didn't pass. Does this mean I should go back and redo 4th grade math?

 

I feel discouraged. Maybe Developmental Psychology is too lofty a goal for me if I get stuck at 4th grade math. It also goes into higher level Stats later on :sad:

 

I can always get my degree in Library Sciences.

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I'm going to peruse the boards here for the Lial's text -- is it Basic Math Facts? I remember seeing something like that recommended for pre-algebra.

 

 

 

The title you're trying to remember is Basic College Math by Margaret Lial et al. You might find an older copy and just hit the chapter reviews until you run into something that needs a little refreshing and then start from there. Lial's books have been a big hit for our family.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Like I said above, it's a lot easier ten years later! But not because you remember everything -- just because it makes more sense this time. How long do you think it would take you to relearn long division? (Or have you got it now that you recognize having forgotten it?)

 

I went back to Algebra (with NEM), worried that I was going to have to re-do all of high school math and that it would take me years... but actually it only took a couple months because by the end of NEM1 I'd remembered enough that I didn't need to work through the rest of the series -- a quick refresher was enough, and I've been taking college math classes (online) and doing fine this past year.

 

So what I would say is if you were already going to buy Singapore for your kids, go ahead and get the books from 4th grade on (really!) but I bet it only takes a week to get through each, and you'll have the confidence of knowing you've really really got it this time. :001_smile:

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Like I said above, it's a lot easier ten years later! But not because you remember everything -- just because it makes more sense this time. How long do you think it would take you to relearn long division? (Or have you got it now that you recognize having forgotten it?)

 

I went back to Algebra (with NEM), worried that I was going to have to re-do all of high school math and that it would take me years... but actually it only took a couple months because by the end of NEM1 I'd remembered enough that I didn't need to work through the rest of the series -- a quick refresher was enough, and I've been taking college math classes (online) and doing fine this past year.

 

So what I would say is if you were already going to buy Singapore for your kids, go ahead and get the books from 4th grade on (really!) but I bet it only takes a week to get through each, and you'll have the confidence of knowing you've really really got it this time. :001_smile:

 

:grouphug: Thank you. Now I look back at my pessimistic post and laugh sheepishly :tongue_smilie: It was a tough day for me and an easy day to succumb to pessimism.

 

I appreciate your help! I'm actually using MCP Math, but I wanted to see where I was with Math and I know Singapore uses assessment tests. This gives me an idea. I will see when MCP Math teaches long division and go from there.

 

Thank you, everyone. I needed the encouragement :)

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