Kendall Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I noticed "Are You Ready" tests on the AoPS PreAlgebra page. Do you think these accurately gauge whether or not your child is ready? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 My son passed the Pre-A one and the Algebra one, but advice on this forum told me to place him in Pre-A. It seems to be a good fit: he's challenged by the problem solving and amount of writing, but it is taking a reasonable amount of time and is experiencing success. He had previously finished Singapore 5 Intensive Practice. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 The "are you ready" tests don't accurately gauge. However you can take as short or as long a time as your child need with the prealgebra book so doesn't matter if your child is not ready. If there is too many holes/gaps, you can always take a break from the book and patch the holes before coming back to the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 No. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I tend to think of them as having two components, math skills and problem solving skills. The math skills in the prealgebra placement test are bare-bones. I would not want to start that text without mastery of all operations with fractions/decimals and negative numbers. Problem solving skills are another matter in that kids who haven't had much experience with problem solving would be in for a big change with AoPS but for the right kid, I'd be willing to give it a try with a healthy dose of patience in allowing those skills time for development. I'm not sure I'd describe the prealgebra placement test as inaccurate, but it does not reflect the challenge level of the program. It's about prerequisites rather than a reflection of the text. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 I'm not sure I'd describe the prealgebra placement test as inaccurate, but it does not reflect the challenge level of the program. It's about prerequisites rather than a reflection of the text. I agree with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted October 20, 2015 Share Posted October 20, 2015 No. They are accurate as far as mathematical knowledge, but there is so much more to the AOPS method than that. They do not account for the level of challenge or the necessary amount of failing and trying again in the books. Many many kids are used to the explain, example, practice problems of the same type method of teaching in other books and find the discovery method to be horribly defeating. They struggle with the fact that the problems are hard and can not be solved by just applying the method previously taught. Some kids live for the thrill of figuring out hard problems. Some kids just want math to be done so they can do what they really want to be doing. AOPS is definitely for the first set of kids. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 No. They are accurate as far as mathematical knowledge, but there is so much more to the AOPS method than that. They do not account for the level of challenge or the necessary amount of failing and trying again in the books. Many many kids are used to the explain, example, practice problems of the same type method of teaching in other books and find the discovery method to be horribly defeating. They struggle with the fact that the problems are hard and can not be solved by just applying the method previously taught. Some kids live for the thrill of figuring out hard problems. Some kids just want math to be done so they can do what they really want to be doing. AOPS is definitely for the first set of kids. This is probably most accurate imho. DS (then 8) did just fine without all the "prereqs," but already had the necessary patience ingrained in his nature. He has always liked the idea of creating his own mathematics, so the style fit well. Our older one had all the prereqs, but didn't take to the style as well. He does much better with traditional methods. So, I'd say consider the readiness tests, but also consider your child's temperament and readiness for the challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 Thanks for all of the input. After years of being intrigued by AoPS I finally purchased it- PreAlgebra. I don't know who I will use it, but given that I can't find it used for much cheaper, it should have good resale value if it doesn't work for us. I haven't received it yet, but hope to use it to review concepts and promote problem solving skills for my current Alg1 and geometry children, and maybe use it as the math text for my 6th grader at some point She is zipping through MEP 5, and I don't want to move her ahead to Algebra 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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