What have you used (curriculum) that has improved your kids scores/performance?

[babs]

Looking for evidence that backs a curriculum choice - any subject!

 

Thanks

[Mommyfaithe]

CLE math....went from 45this % to 98th percentile in 1 year...YAHOO! and she is still almost 1/2 year behind the CLE grade level...but making strides daily.

 

CLE Reading....similar spike in reading level. While I don't really like reading programs, this one offers reading instruction, interesting stories from many famous authors and teaches students to think a little deeper without overwhelming them. (I don't have them do all that writing ...we do much of it orally.)

 

~~Faithe

[creekmom]

Well, I can't say that it improved their performance, since I only switched to another curriculum (TT) for a few months before switching back, but I think Saxon (especially the upper levels) will help your kids perform well on standardized tests. My son (5th grade last year) scored the grade equivalent of post high school on every section of the math on the Stanford (97 percentile rank). My daughter (3rd grade last year) scored a grade equivalent of 10th grade on the math problem solving section, and seventh grade, ninth month on math procedures (94 percentile rank). I wouldn't say that either kid is particularly gifted in that subject, but it is the subject we start with, so it always gets done. ;) I started them both in Saxon 1 in kindergarten. With the upper levels of Saxon, they read the lesson on their own, check their work and correct/rework mistakes. Saxon may not be a favorite on these boards (and I know it's not a good fit for every child), but I think it's about as tried and true as you can get. :001_smile:

[1Togo]

Ditto on Saxon in our house. After the Advanced Math was completed, ACT science scores jumped up, and AG brought up the ACT English many points.

[siloam]

Looking for evidence that backs a curriculum choice - any subject!

 

Thanks

 

I don't test year, so I don't have that kind of data. I just wanted to say keep in mind the child's learning style. I use a lot of hands on programs that would drive some kids nuts, but my kids are hands on learners. My oldest is also extremely auditory so she does better when I read aloud to her than when she reads it herself, regardless of the curriculum.

 

Heather

 

[Mandy in TN]

With Kumon math and a tutor my oldest ds's ACT math section went up 7 points!

[homeschoolally]

CLE math....went from 45this % to 98th percentile in 1 year...YAHOO! and she is still almost 1/2 year behind the CLE grade level...but making strides daily.

 

CLE Reading....similar spike in reading level. While I don't really like reading programs, this one offers reading instruction, interesting stories from many famous authors and teaches students to think a little' deeper without overwhelming them. (I don't have them do all that writing ...we do much of it orally.)

 

~~Faithe

:iagree:

 

This was our experience with CLE also.

 

We also saw huge results on standardized testing from CLE LA. We've used LOTS of things over the years, but had the best 'results' testing-wise with CLE.

[blessedmom3]

:iagree:

 

This was our experience with CLE also.

 

We also saw huge results on standardized testing from CLE LA. We've used LOTS of things over the years, but had the best 'results' testing-wise with CLE.

 

 

 

Another fan of CLE . :)

Edited September 23, 2010 by blessedmom3

[rafiki]

.

[Jeanine in TX]

Saxon math

Rod & Staff grammar

Rod & Staff reading (5th grade & up)

[Vida Winter]

CLE math here also. No more gaps! It is thorough.

 

Also, for advanced phonics, Toe-By-Toe.

[SBP]

It's been a while since we've used these, but I saw obvious results on the language mechanics sections after a year of using Daily Grams, and DD's reading comprehension scores improved after working through a couple of the Reading Detective books from Critical Thinking Co. I don't think that there was ever anything really wrong with her reading comprehension, but having never done a "reading curriculum" (we've always just used whole books a la TWTM) may have put her at a disadvantage on the standardized tests. The Reading Detective books seemed to help with that.

 

Best,

 

SBP

[mystika1]

Hi,

I saw immediate results with Singapore Math. I had used RS, MUS, CLE, and MM and nothing clicked like SM. She really gets it now. Learing style plays a huge factor in this. What works fabulously for some kids may flop for others.

 

HTH,

 

Penny

[mom2agang]

These are great!

Saxon math

R&S English

 

but Spelling Power did an AWESOME job here!!!! I had a son who could guess any spelling test but couldn't spell to save my life. But Spelling Power has helped him to stop guessing.Also my girls are stronger spellers with this program.

A big thing with math is knowing their facts. I mean REALLY knowing them. I agree with SWB in the WTM about knowing your math facts. Also my kids memorize EVERY English rule. I put them on note cards and pratice them. I also make games with our flashcards. We play "Mother May I" a lot. They will ask " Mother May I take 2 steps forward?" I reply " You may take two steps forward, if you can tell me the 3 kinds of sentences." I don't spend hours drilling them with flashcards. We just do 5 minutes and I say them too. I agree with pp learning style is a big thing. Any great curriculum that works with the childs learning style will do a great job. But sometimes with a struggling child the basics need a little more drilling.

[Mom0012]

My daughter went to the 98% with CLE math. My son, who has a language disorder, scored in the 50th percentile (which was a huge leap) for the first time in mechanics and usage with CLE LA, and that was with using the program a year below grade level.

 

Also, my daughter scored in the 99th percentile in reading comprehension with Reading Detective. I'm not so sure how directly related her score was to that program, but I had expected her scores to fall in that area since she was an early reader and I thought by 2nd grade, others would be catching up but her scores actually increased. Both of my kids are using Reading Detective this year.

 

Lisa

[catz]

Hi,

Learing style plays a huge factor in this. What works fabulously for some kids may flop for others.]

 

:iagree: I think it's easy to get wrapped up in the newest and the greatest on this board, but no one curriculum is going to work great for every kid. My son last year as a 3rd grader tested 3-7 grade levels ahead in everything (up from the previous year). But that is just him. We could do little to nothing and he would still test way ahead. We use the Peabody achievement so it tests K-12 level and stops at their working level. It's not a perfect test, but it has given us good information.

 

That being said, my 2 favorite curric. I used with him were Singapore Math (finished PM last spring) and MCT. Those were the only 2 things I used with him "as is". Everything else is quite ad hoc at our house. I don't think those 2 curriculum are going to be a great fit for everyone. My son is very much a whole picture, conceptual learner who doesn't need extra practice or reinforcement.

[Guest TheBugsMom]

Wordly WIse. My oldest son's score's were near perfect in this category and he used it through out high school. My youngest son actually will use the words he is learning across the curriculum and incorporates it when he speaks.

[Mallory]

I do think CLE is a good program and many years I do use it for a subject here and there. I wonder if it really helps homeschoolers test better as much because it covers lots of little things we might miss as well as be set up so much like tests.

 

Especially for younger kids (say 1-3) it is often the only class we would take tests and quizes in and was also one of the few classes they did mostly independantly.

 

Of course, I also think testing in general is somthing you are good or bad at irrespective of what you really know about that subject. We happen to be good testers. For what ever reason, my kids and I (and my siblings and parents) can sit down at a standardized test and score well. For example my sis scored over the 95%ile on everything they tested her on last year during the AR required tests. We had skipped her up a year, she lived with dad and did no school for a year or two and also we hadn't done school in Feb and Mar and the test was in April. But we are good at tests!

 

I happen to think it is more because we good at that one skill (figuring out what the test takers want) then that we are so good at any particular subject. And it sure doesn't correlate to how well we do in college or school otherwise- which is really the whole point of those tests right?