swimmermom3 Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 My youngest son, seventh grade, finished Saxon 8/7 earlier this school year and we have moved into Foerster Algebra 1, where we are on Lesson 4.4. Our transition to Foerster has been smooth and my son likes the curriculum. However, yesterday I had him take the K12 math placement test, and I was able to identify some areas that need review work: 6th grade Fractions 75% Geometry 75% Statistics and Probability 50% All other categories were at a 100% 7th grade Equations 78% Functions 60% Geometry 69% Percentages 75% Number Theory 50% Statistics and Probability 60% I am not taking the results as the final word just as a guide for some review work. There were a couple of anomalies such as scoring 75% in the 6th grade fraction section but scoring 100% on the questions in the 7th grade section so I am keeping that in mind. What came out of the testing was my son's concern that without review work in Foerster's, he is afraid he will forget what he has learned in other areas like geometry. Saxon has geometry build into it. We also would like to do additional work in statistics and probability. Am I overreacting? Are these genuine concerns? What would you do to supplement Foerster's? I no longer have any math books below the Algebra 1 level except the 8th grade volume for Rod and Staff which I think would work for additional exercises. For geometry, I have the problems in Saxon Algebra 1, Patty Paper Geometry, and LoF Geometry. I also have LoF Beginning Algebra. We are taking our time with Algebra working towards mastery and I am certainly not married to the idea of finishing it by the end of 7th grade. Looking forward to your input.:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BakersDozen Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 :bigear: We'll be in the same boat next year so hopefully someone has good advice for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I used ALEKS for that exact problem when my son was doing algebra I. I think I had him work through their Essential Mathematics course (though it may have been the Foundations of High School Math). Also, how many questions on each topic were there? Since it was a placement test, I have a hard time imagining that there were that many. Just missing one or two might have completely messed up the percentages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 My eldest didn't do any geometry for three years and did fine with Geometry. She started Algebra 1 at 11, dawdled through it for 2 years because she started it off hating math, did it again starting at 13. She finally started Geometry at 14. She's the dc who did three levels of Saxon. She never forgot any of her math prior to Algebra so didn't need any kind of review through Algebra. My middle one is now doing Foerster's Algebra 1 and I'm not worried about Geometry. If necessary, she can read through LOF Geometry before actually doing it (either LOF or something else.) She has forgotten things in math in the past, which is why I think she may well review by reading through LOF first. In her case, we took an entire extra year to solidify a few things before starting Algebra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted January 15, 2011 Author Share Posted January 15, 2011 I used ALEKS for that exact problem when my son was doing algebra I. I think I had him work through their Essential Mathematics course (though it may have been the Foundations of High School Math). Also, how many questions on each topic were there? Since it was a placement test, I have a hard time imagining that there were that many. Just missing one or two might have completely messed up the percentages. We used ALEKS for an older sibling and that is certainly a possibility that I had forgotten about. They used to have a free one month trial which I will have to check into. K12's placement tests vary. There is a possibility for the child to work up to around 350 questions. I think that the more they get right, the longer they go. So ds answered 90 questions for math and around 70 for English; however, you could be right about the percentages as there are several categories. I am not panicked as it shows him to be right where he should be, but I know that he needs to speed up across the board and that shoring up some areas will help down the road. It is when I see low percentages in fractions, decimals, and percentages, that I start to hyperventilate.:tongue_smilie: My eldest didn't do any geometry for three years and did fine with Geometry. She started Algebra 1 at 11, dawdled through it for 2 years because she started it off hating math, did it again starting at 13. She finally started Geometry at 14. She's the dc who did three levels of Saxon. She never forgot any of her math prior to Algebra so didn't need any kind of review through Algebra. My middle one is now doing Foerster's Algebra 1 and I'm not worried about Geometry. If necessary, she can read through LOF Geometry before actually doing it (either LOF or something else.) She has forgotten things in math in the past, which is why I think she may well review by reading through LOF first. In her case, we took an entire extra year to solidify a few things before starting Algebra. Karin, thanks for the reminder that many students go into geometry class their sophomore year with minimal exposure. I think the fact that we spent considerable time over the years building those geometry skills with Saxon makes us loathe to lose what we have, if that makes sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 If it is practice to make fractions, percents, and decimals automatic, the Key to... books are great for that kind of practice. I used to just pull out a page or two weekly for dd. She complained about it but in algebra was grateful that she could do percents and decimals so automatically. There's also a thin workbook (and I think a sequel) called It's Alive! Math As You've Never Known It Before... which gives word problems with the same skills (Key to... does not). They're exaggerated and over the top for grossness or large numbers or the like, and might appeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 I wouldn't worry about having problems with geometry when he takes the actual course. Saxon is the only series I know of that includes geometry with their algebra (probably because they originally did not have a geometry book.) Every other series I know of, and everyone I know personally, has had algebra (without any geometry review) and then done fine in geometry. All the geometry I had (before the actual course) was names of shapes, area and perimeter. Fractions and decimals will definitely be used in Foerster's algebra, so they will be reinforced. Can you see the actual problems missed? That would help identify if he has an actual problem or was just making "stupid" mistakes. For number theory and statistics, it would really depend on the actual problem. It could simply be a different term than what he is used to. This is definitely an area where I wouldn't expect very many questions. Does functions really happen in K-12's 7th grade? I'm used to it appearing toward the end of algebra I or beginning of algebra II. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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