Kimm in WA Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Next year my twins will be doing pre-calculus. Older son used Chalkdust pre-calc successfully and is now doing fairly well at the CC. My beef/issue with Chalkdust is the amount of grading required on the homework and with two, it will be twice as much. Honestly, oldest DS did this successfully on his own. Several times, I'd mark something wrong on his daily work or test and he'd have to check with Dana Mosely via e-mail to verify that his answer was correct/acceptable. I know if I followed along with them on this I'd be better able to keep up (after all I DID take pre-Calc years ago), but not sure if I have the time for that. Is TT a good program for pre-calc? What are its strengths/drawbacks? How does it compare to Chalkdust? I'd appreciate any input. THANKS! Kimm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 If you're looking for rigorous, TT is not that. It's a good program, and has a cd with the step-by-step answers, which helps my dd as well as me, at the Algebra 1 & 2 level. But it's not as deep as CD. Are you wanting another DVD/CD program? I'm guessing there are others that are more rigorous if that's what you need. If not, then I'd think TT would be a good program. We like it at this level, but aren't at the Pre-Calc level, so not sure what it's like at that level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomsintheGarden Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 I've got no real advice, only sympathy. Two of my children and I have gotten through CD Precalc, and I've got five more to go, of which two are twins. I like CD, I really do, but it is a lot of work! The checking and tutoring I do are my gift to my dc, whether they appreciate it or not (they have so far). Best wishes in your decision. GardenMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Pre-Calc is a college level Math class. Chalkdust's program is a typical Pre-Calc program--lots of problems and lots of work... TT's Pre-Calc is mostly Algebra 2--only the last 30 lessons have Pre-Calc material. The 'Pre-Calc' topics discussed are glanced over--it is more of a pre-view course than a full credit college level course. In the DARK AGES--when I was in school Pre-Calc was not a prerequisite for Calculus.. many students went from Algebra 2 (with a bit of Trig added) right into Calculus... In reality VERY VERY few high school students got this far in Math--so only the 'cream of the crop' could make this big of a leap. Today a higher percentage of students are needing to take Calculus in college (or before). The need for an intermediate course (Pre-Calculus) is clear--as most students need the extra year of developing Advanced Algebra skills and logical reasoning (especially with abstract concepts). Because Pre-Calc is a college level course I feel much more comfortable using a curriculum that meets the basic requirements/standards... my middle dd is taking Pre-Calc this year. She started off with Chalkdust and switched over to Lial--she prefered the clear format of Lial. I'm happy with the content and depth of the course (and I liked Chalkdust too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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