Wind-in-my-hair Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I had a conversation via e-mail with a RS representative. This was her explanation of why my son did not place comfortably in RS2 Level B: We did recently change our placement quiz questions to make it a little more 'exact'. Since we now have two versions of RightStart Math (Edition 1 and Edition 2), some tweaking to the questions was needed. The questions that you initially answered could easily have placed your son in Level B First Edition. However, there is so much more that is being taught in the Second Edition Level A, that your son will benefit from working through Level A Second Edition. In Level A, your son will learn place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, fractions, measurement, geometry, time, money and even being division. The beginning of Level A might be a little basic for him, but you can quickly move through those lessons so as not to bore him. You definitely want to keep him challenged. So the 2nd Edition was made to be more challenging from the beginning, with some differences in scope and sequence that matter for early placement. Most of the reviews I had read before purchasing it, said Level B could be started in most cases by any first grader, but that was in reference to the older edition (RS1). This is important information in case you are wondering what level or edition to purchase for early learners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Revising the placement test is such a long time coming! IIRC, the only question they had before recommending A over B was whether a child had an understanding of Kindergarten math. My DD did when we started RS, and the sample pages of A looked very basic so I considered starting her in A last year just as you did...until I got info. from the RS Yahoo group on the scope of the 2nd edition of A, and realized we'd be much better off starting there. (We did go very quickly through the first half, but that was fine because it gave my DD confidence and made her very comfortable with using the Alabacus.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind-in-my-hair Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 The first edition is more budget-friendly. I wish I had entered RS through the Level B, first edition starter kit instead of having to buy ALL the manipulatives in one bundle for the Second Edition. With the RS2 manipulatives kit costing $180 and the book bundles $89 per level, it is very expensive to enter the Second Edition of RS compared to the older RS. There will be no starter kits for RS2 because every revamped level requires all the RS manipulatives from the very beginning. So, in some ways I think RS2 is just a more expensive version that is driven by the market created by Common Core, just like SPM's Common Core edition is more expensive than the older versions. I resent Common Core for making it twice as complicated for me to choose a math program. :willy_nilly: Wow, I didn't realize there was such a substantial difference between the 1st and 2nd editions. This is definitely good to know. I'm currently working through the first edition of B with my 2nd grader. I think we'll finish around February and then move into the 1st edition of C. Goodness! I hope they keep supporting both editions for a while. I was hoping to continue with the 1st edition in all levels as long as I can since I already own B and C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Eh, according to what the RightStart people said around the time version 2 was being released, the majority of rewriting A and planning the sequence for all the new levels was done before Common Core. They made only very small changes to the revamp in order to meet Common Core, moving a few items between levels. They did also state that they have no intention of ever not supporting version 1. Given that they have continued to support the original program (Activities for the ALabacus), I don't foresee them discontinuing version 1 either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind-in-my-hair Posted November 13, 2014 Author Share Posted November 13, 2014 Eh, according to what the RightStart people said around the time version 2 was being released, the majority of rewriting A and planning the sequence for all the new levels was done before Common Core. They made only very small changes to the revamp in order to meet Common Core, moving a few items between levels. They did also state that they have no intention of ever not supporting version 1. Given that they have continued to support the original program (Activities for the ALabacus), I don't foresee them discontinuing version 1 either. That's good to know Jackie, and thanks for correcting my understanding of the intent of the re-write. It is very frustrating to have CC become a factor when comparing different editions by different companies. SPM has three editions, and RS has two. It's kind of hard to know if I am comparing apples to apples between programs and publishers. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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