HappyGrace Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I know it has a reputation for being "light" in the lower grades. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 They are consistent... They are not comparable to PS texts as far as what is covered in their Algebra texts-- TT Algebra 1 is a little lacking (beyond the easier problems-- but my students who have used TT Algebra 1 are usually well grounded and can catch up pretty quickly--however, their Algebra 2 covers about HALF of what a PS text does-- the other half is in their Pre-Calc text-- and the first 100 lessons of that text are Algebra 2-- leaving only 30 lessons for Pre-Calc (a 'normal' Pre-Calc text may take up to 3 semesters to complete!-- TT gives only an 'overview'). Back in the 'dark ages' (about 20 years ago) students went from Algebra 2 right into Calc-- so for SOME this 'overview' is plenty to get them ready for Calc-- for MOST it is not. TT Geometry is comparable to a PS course-- it is right on target. TT may be enough for some students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thank you, Jann! I am looking for something engaging but thorough but not TOO hard to teach dd math from 7th grade and up. Math is NOT her thing at all so I want something with good but interesting explanations. I was hoping the TT would fit the bill but it sounds like it wouldn't. Right now it doesn't look like she'd do Calc, but I don't want to rule it out for her this early in the game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 My artsy DD loves TT (my analytical younger one doesn't). We used TT Algebra 1 & Algebra 2 and are calling it Algebra 1 on her transcript. This year she's using TT Geometry and it's going great! Next year we'll switch to Foerster Algebra 2 & Trig with Math without Borders for Algebra 2. I think switching will be fine at that point since she completed TT Alg 2 and at least has a head start on the concepts. We like TT so much we'd just stick with it all the way through, but DD may go into Life Science and she tests well so I want her to be uber-prepared for PSAT/SAT to maximize her scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Maybe, Creekland will chime in. Her sons used it and have done very well in Math courses after that and in the ACT. It depends on the student. For some students, it works really well and as Jann said they get a good grounding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Thank you, Jann! I am looking for something engaging but thorough but not TOO hard to teach dd math from 7th grade and up. Math is NOT her thing at all so I want something with good but interesting explanations. I was hoping the TT would fit the bill but it sounds like it wouldn't. Right now it doesn't look like she'd do Calc, but I don't want to rule it out for her this early in the game! If math is not her thing and she might not do Calculus, then TT is definitely something you would want to look at. She can go through pre-calculus and then if you do decide to do Calculus she will be prepared. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 (edited) My two older guys did TT and scored very well on the ACT math portion (very upper 90 percentiles) and tested directly into Calc as per our local cc placement test with high enough scores to impress their adviser. My youngest did TT Alg 1 + parts of Alg 2 before going into ps for high school. He helped his peers through Geometry last year when they had Alg issues, then did more Geometry with TT through the summer to make up for ps gaps. He is my non-mathy guy. I'll know more how he's doing when we get his PSAT score back in Dec, but his practice tests (2) were well above average for the math part. I plan to have him finish TT Alg 2 as a supplement to our school's Alg 2. Part of that might come from Pre-Calc, as yes, TT does delay a few topics (I definitely don't consider that bad). I know a handful of others who have used TT personally. Each one has gone straight into Calc with no issues after Pre-Calc if they continued on in math. Most kids from our ps need to start with College Alg or lower. There is no math curricula that "works" for all students. A good fit is important (good fit determined by whether the student learns - and retains info - from the curricula or not). In our experience, TT has been a good fit. Edited to add that I consider it a major plus that TT slows down and grounds kids well in the basics. I also LIKE that they delay the quadratic formula in favor of completing the square for solving quadratic equations. Completing the square makes kids work and think more. Later they can memorize the formula and get the "easy" way. That said, I also supplement matrices in Pre-Calc as TT does not teach how to do these with the graphing calculator and doesn't do a lot with what they are used for. I added that in after my guys learned the manual method. Edited October 26, 2011 by creekland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I also LIKE that they delay the quadratic formula in favor of completing the square for solving quadratic equations. Completing the square makes kids work and think more. Later they can memorize the formula and get the "easy" way. Heh, I didn't know they did this but that's a major plus for me. One of the things I really hate about the quadratic formula is the way it's often (in algebra textbooks) presented as 'Here is this magic formula that always gives the answers', which is the direct opposite of what I want to teach. Math isn't magic. There are reasons for why it is the way it is. These might not be initially obvious, but there ARE reasons. /sidetrack :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Heh, I didn't know they did this but that's a major plus for me. One of the things I really hate about the quadratic formula is the way it's often (in algebra textbooks) presented as 'Here is this magic formula that always gives the answers', which is the direct opposite of what I want to teach. Math isn't magic. There are reasons for why it is the way it is. These might not be initially obvious, but there ARE reasons. :iagree: And I see the vast majority of students just wanting to memorize it too. They won't check to see if it factors. They don't even know how to do completing the square as it often isn't taught (esp in our school). They might graph it if they have access to a graphing calculator and realize what the solutions to the quadratic mean (something I try to teach when I'm in). But most prefer to plug numbers in hoping for a magical answer. At our school few know to solve it for zero first. Questions are just always presented that way (already solved for zero), so that, too, is a whole new concept they just aren't getting (WHY it needs to be solved for zero). Back to the OP, I did think of another comment about TT overall. I would agree that it is a year behind for average students. My oldest two did Alg 1 in 7th grade. My youngest (the non-mathy guy) did it in 8th. Putting it on the latter schedule will allow Pre-Calc to be completed in 11th. Then 12th grade students can opt for a College Alg or another Pre-Calc curricula if they think their student needs more depth. Or they can do Stats or Calc if students show they are ready to go on. For students who will need Calc in college, I HIGHLY recommend doing a Calc in high school. You don't need them to take the AP test and try to test out of it in college unless it really fits the student. However, all of the students who have come back from college to our school have told me that taking Calc in high school, just to see it first, really helped them do Calc in college (often a more intense course). If it ended up being "easy" then it helped their freshman transition, but from our school there were few of those. For most, they felt it would have been very difficult if they hadn't seen it first. I've run my idea past a few college profs when visiting colleges, and to date, every single prof has agreed with my experience (taking Calc in high school for no college credit, then retaking it in college, is the best for most students). If a student understood Calc well enough to place out of basic Calc in college (using their placement test or similar), then I'd let them move on. There are students like this, but they are in the minority. If a student only needed one semester of math in college, I'd probably let them just keep AP or cc credits and be done - freeing them up to take other courses. Just my two cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 My dd has done TT Geometry and is now working through TT Pre-Calc. She is doing really well on the Math portions of her SAT prep book. We are using the College Board's Official SAT book and on the practice tests she is only getting a few questions wrong in all of the math sections. She did use Saxon for Algebra I and II but she feels that she is understanding math much better now with TT than she ever did with Saxon. God Bless, Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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