Would MEP 6 be considered pre-algebra compared to our US programs? Anyone use it for

[home4school]

HS? I searched past posts, but didn't turn up much about people using MEP for HS. Does anyone use MEP for HS here?

 

Thanks,

Kim

[Amy Jo]

:bigear: (I'm thinking about it for a brush-up, but I find the Yr 7+ confusing with all the options.)

[emzhengjiu]

I'm not sure if MEP 6 would be considered pre-algebra or not. The idea of pre-algebra is confusing to me anyway. My 7th grade DD is using MEP for extra practice. She enjoys the interactive work. From what I've seen of level 7, I think much of it may be more like pre-algebra in the U.S. We use Singapore as our primary math program so the scope and sequence is different.

 

Ann

[home4school]

This post was a response to a question I must have missed on the yahoo group this morning:

 

MEP yrs 7,8,and 9 are basically the same as yrs 4,5, and 6. Yrs 7,8,and 9 are intended for older children, while 4,5,and 6 are not as dry so appeal to the younger set...but the material is the same. If a child completes yr6 and does well they could do GCSE OR...could begin a traditional Algebra 1 class (non-MEP) or perhaps skip A1 and begin Geometry (A2 is review of A1 plus more, so strong students could skip it and then just review and take the intermediate portions taught in A2 in 10-11th grades).

 

My dd who is now in a non-MEP Algebra 1 class (8th grade), went from yr5 to A1. She found that pre-A was what was taught in yr5. She is a strong maths student so take that into account.

 

I hope I have not further confused you, but it sounds like you would want to do GCSE or go to A1.

 

It sounds like from this you could go into A1 after MEP 6. I didn't realize 7,8,9 were review or that in the UK upper math is mixed instead of split out here in the US. The GCSE is mixed math. Guess that explains why no one uses it here for HS. I was looking thru it all last night and was so confused as to the layout, but this post cleared it up about the upper levels.

 

Still, from what I see though, 6 certainly covers a good bit of ground to me when I compare it to pre-al here.

 

Thanks for the replies!

Kim

[nmoira]

It sounds like from this you could go into A1 after MEP 6. I didn't realize 7,8,9 were review or that in the UK upper math is mixed instead of split out here in the US.

It's not entirely review, and within units there are occasionally topics I haven't seen in other middle school level math programs (e.g. critical path analysis in the Mathematics Diagrams unit of Y8). They also have some cryptography units, which for some reason are not listed on their main page.

 

The GCSE is mixed math. Guess that explains why no one uses it here for HS. I was looking thru it all last night and was so confused as to the layout, but this post cleared it up about the upper levels.

NEM mixes topics. But no one uses MEP for high school because the A level courses haven't been released yet. MEP currently ends at GSCE, the equivalent of Y10, which would be 9th Grade in the US.

 

I haven't yet been through Y5 and Y6: my youngest is in Y1, and I'm picking out topics here and there in Y7-GCSE for my eldest. However, I've perused these two levels and compared the scope and sequence of MEP to Singapore Standards Edition, and it certainly compares favourably. A good math student can move from Singapore 6 into Algebra.

[freerange]

But no one uses MEP for high school because the A level courses haven't been released yet. MEP currently ends at GSCE, the equivalent of Y10, which would be 9th Grade in the US.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this? - The A level material is at http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/alevel/alevel.htm

[nmoira]

I'm not sure what you mean by this? - The A level material is at http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/projects/mepres/alevel/alevel.htm

Thanks. :)

 

Ignore me... and I'd actually seen these before, but I read a page on the MEP site which must not have been updated, as it said the A level materials weren't out yet. That's what stuck in my head. :blush: I hope it's either just more sleep or more coffee I need, and that it's not an impending sign of premature senility. :lol:

 

Edited to add:

Mathematics was treated in a similar method when I was in high school (in Canada) and wasn't broken into branches until Grade 13 (not a typo). Now in Ontario, I believe similar courses are taken in the equivalent of Grade 12 college prep. In our final year we did Algebra (both linear and abstract), Functions & Relations and Calculus. In many ways I find it to be preferable to the US system and most topics are introduced on a need to know basis and concepts are reinforced through use rather than practice. However, a poor implementation without leveled challenges can be dreadfully boring for good students because they can't move ahead in a particular topic. I was fortunate to have a couple good math teachers who understood that good students needed to be challenged and assigned "special" problem sets.

Edited April 14, 2010 by nmoira