6packofun Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 After my math-loving dd "bombed" the math section of the ACT (her words, lol) after earning straight A's in Teaching Textbooks through high school, we are dropping the program and considering CLE for the next 3 kiddos who are math-average. :p (Our daughter's main complaint was not enough practice on word problems as they appeared on the ACT. No idea if that's true and I'm sure some kids do swimmingly on the test after having used TT. She's doing more test prep to retake and I'm sure she will be fine. Poor girl was my guinea pig with high school math programs. :( ) Anyhow, will CLE prepare my other kids well for testing or can you recommend another middle of the road math program (in terms of difficulty, with plenty of practice and word problem or test prep and CLEAR explanations)? I know opinions on this vary a lot from person to person, but hit me with them anyway!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 My oldest is only in 9th so take this with a grain of salt. I'm not sure there is an easy answer to your question. I would not overturn what you are currently doing simply based on the ACT score. I would however suggest periodically giving an alternate test from another standard Alg 1 or Geometry curriculum to see how your child does on that. Especially with student-directed programs like Teaching Textbooks, I think it's possible for the student to do well and still not have full understanding. Either because they can repeat the tests or they get used to seeing the same kinds of problems. Of course, this problem is not unique to these programs as many public school students have to take remedial math after getting good grades in hs math. Some students just need extra help with word problems and test prep. I am currently using CLE with younger students and have used all levels through Algebra I. I think it's a great program but even so I would say it's somewhat weak in word problems (except for Alg 1) relative to Singapore. Its word problems are realistic and straightforward but do not provide the complexity you might find in some other programs. However, I think this can easily be fixed by doing some supplementation and additional work along the way. I think CLE's lessons are very clear and it can be done largely independently but I always make sure to review any new concepts and to periodically ask them to explain certain problems so I can assess their true level of understanding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Keep in mind that math actually developed by CLE stops at Algebra I. The higher programs are Alpha Omega with Christian Light guides. We switched to Saxon after CLE pre-algebra. My older one did very, very well on the SAT. My younger one didn't do as well after Algebra I and is in a class with a friend now doing geometry with Jacobs. She hasn't taken the SAT yet, so we'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Keep in mind that math actually developed by CLE stops at Algebra I. The higher programs are Alpha Omega with Christian Light guides. We switched to Saxon after CLE pre-algebra. My older one did very, very well on the SAT. My younger one didn't do as well after Algebra I and is in a class with a friend now doing geometry with Jacobs. She hasn't taken the SAT yet, so we'll see. Oh! I was not aware. Sheesh...thank you, that saves me a lot of trouble. Maybe I will look at Saxon. I'm considering Lial's, too. It's so hard for me to evaluate math programs for my kids...they are all over the place in ability so one thing works for one kid and not so much for another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted October 14, 2015 Share Posted October 14, 2015 I have heard from many math teachers and professionals how awful Teaching Textbooks is. Saxon is easy to implement and is a great base for elementary and MS but Im not a total fan of upper math. However many have used it all the way through with success. We switched to Jacobs and. Derekowens for upper grades. So sorry to hear of the trouble you had. It is a wise decision to switch I think and then stick with it through MS. I have heard CLE is similiar to Saxon but have not used it. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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