BarbinTN Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 We did Saxon last year at a Tutorial which proved to be too much running for my family and the teacher only completes 90 lessons of the book. She was very meticulous in requiring my boys to write out every single step and label answers etc. So, placement test last May put my Saxon Alg 1 student (90 lessons completed and not well) 2 probs shy of TT Algebra 2. So, I put him in Alg 2 TT. Yestd he bombed L 13 which was removing X from the prob. Clearly that is an Alg1 concept, and even one that I could grasp (non mathy mom). Honestly, idk what he knows😕 Should I make him take the Placement Test again since it has been 4 months since we did math😱? Should I insist that Alg 1 student and this child write out every single problem like Saxon??? I debated on having him test out of Alg 1 before we started Alg 2 but decided not to. He is intelligent but lazy imho😞 Thank you!!! Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 we started TT this year. Using Algebra. One kid placed out of Algebra, but wanted review and started with something else. But didn't like it, so since I have the TT algebra he started taking the tests to see what he needs review on. Goodness, the boy forgot almost all his algebra skills! I do think it presents some things differently. My kids are now watching the lesson, doing the practice problems, and then we do it written. I have them with the book at their desk writing out every problem line by line FIRST. Then I go input answers in the computer. I don't love TT and this allows me to see what they do/don't know. In some cases for a mild mistake they can redo on paper and I will input answer in the second try. But if they can't get the problem right or they set it wrong and had no hope, I mark it as wrong. Being this involved is a pain but DD was 100% with lots of 2nd tries and I knew something was off. DS can do algebra, but the way it was presenting things at times isn't how he learned, so he was confused on which way to do it all. He's dumping TT for this reason. DD still likes it. I don't. Short answer: my kids have to do the problems on paper line by line so I can see where their mistakes lie. One issue: if there is a sign then the answer area shows a place to input sign. Same for fraction. So my DD was doing problems but not knowing how to work it with the signs b/c if the blank is there, the answer is negative. Bad design of the program, hence my involvement and her having to do it all on paper before inputing answers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Well what have his scores been the rest of the lessons? For TT, you pretty much need to repeat the lesson if you didn't score well. Otherwise it just bites you in the next lesson. So figure out if it's a pattern of problems in *every* lesson or whether he bombed the new material in this *one* lesson. You can tell which problems he missed, so see if he's missing the new material or the spiral/review stuff. And yeah, with many months off and a borderline score, I would have erred toward the review. ;) But, really, see how he's actually doing. Have him walk you through so you can see which problems he missed and what he has been missing in previous lessons. That will help you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbinTN Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Well he has done fine with the other lessons. 87 and up. I'm gonna give the placement test and see how he does Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Did you look to see where his errors are, whether they're in the new material or the spiral review part? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbinTN Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 New material which he should know from last year or certainly from the lecture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandragood1 Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 I think math skills can get rusty very, very quickly. Your Alg 1 student needs a quick review, but things he learned before should come back easily. Use the chapter tests to pin point problems and go from there. You should remember that understanding of Algebra can be as much developmental as academic ability. Maybe the student just wasn't ready for it last year. We are in TT Geometry this year. My policy is that all daily grades must be 80 or above to continue. Even then, a string of 3 or more grades below 86 require that I sit down, look for patterns in the missed problems to pinpoint the area that is not understood, and work through that topic and those problems together on a big white board. So far, so good. I have Saxon Geometry and MUS videos as back up if necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbinTN Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 So, this is his placement test scores. Student ready for alg2 IF he scores the following: 10 or more correct on section 1----he scored 9 correct out of the 15 probs 8 or more correct on section 2--he scores 6 correct out of 15 probs *he doesn't even remember how to graph, simply etc. I am quite disappointed with what he has retained from his 90 lessons of Saxon alg 1😕. This student also informed me, he was not going back to Alg 1--So attitutde to deal with here😖 So, whatcha think? I am so ready to throw in the towel!!!! I have been lax with the last 3 due to burn out and see the fruits. Handwriting, spelling, grammar, writing are all lacking. Attitude obv makes it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Well, I wouldn't have expected him to pass into Alg 2 with only 90 lessons of Saxon. That's still a quarter of the program left to go. I would either go back to Saxon and finish (backing up), put him on Aleks for a few months to plug holes or try another Alg. program and test through the first few chapters to see where he is. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbinTN Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 So u wouldn't put him in Alg 1 TT? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 What he really needs is a review-and-finish algebra 1 rather than a start-from-the-beginning algebra 1. It doesn't matter whether it's TT or something else. But he is not ready for algebra 2. I have no real advice for the "not going back to algebra 1" issue. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 So u wouldn't put him in Alg 1 TT? Perhaps you could go through TT1 and give him the quizzes. When he stops scoring well, you know where he is having issues, and you could work from there. I agree with kiana. He doesn't need to re-do Algebra 1 in its entirety, just needs to finish it before moving on to TT2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbinTN Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 K. Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarbinTN Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 K. Ty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldberry Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Perhaps you could go through TT1 and give him the quizzes. When he stops scoring well, you know where he is having issues, and you could work from there. This is absolutely what I would do. Also, FYI, if DD got more than one lesson in a row that was below 90, she went back and redid the lesson. That was her indication that she wasn't fully getting it. It only gets worse if you keep going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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