Not loving AoPS PreA - Can anyone compare/contrast Singapore Dimensions vs NEM?

[KellyMama]

In trying to find the best math sequence for DS we narrowed it down to AoPS and Singapore Dimensions math, but I somehow didn't even look at NEM! Not sure how I missed that as an option originally, but now that we're beginning to feel like AoPS isn't the right format for us, I'm back to the drawing board. There is just waaaaay too many pages of written explanation in the AoPS text and we both just glaze over. I also looked into moving more slowly through AoPS Algebra as I read that text is slightly more straightforward, but I just don't think it's right for him. After the clean and concise lessons in Singapore, AoPS just seems like drinking from the firehose every day lol Can anyone weigh-in on pros and cons of Dimensions vs NEM?

[Julie of KY]

I'm an AoPS lover here.

 

Generally NEM is considered harder than Dimensions. I've only looked at and used NEM. It is definately less wordy than AoPS. I don't like many of the explanations and I was very annoyed with all the calculator work. AoPS crafts great problems than don't use a calculator. NEM has lots of calculate this to three decimal places and always changes sq roots to decimals. I like the geometry portions of NEM much better than their algebra portions.

 

We don't do the pages of explanation in AoPS at my home. I sit with my kids and work through the problems at the beginning of each section. We discuss and point any highlights in the section. I then assign the exercise. I am capable of doing the math so I can explain without the long explanations of AoPS. I do think the first several chapters of the prealegebra book are the hardest to get through.

[lewelma]

I have the first year of NEM and the first year of Discovering Math (which I think is the same as dimensions, just aligned to common core).  Honestly, I will say that we couldn't use either of them.  NEM is just so DRY,  and as Julie said, there is a lot of calculator work which seems like busy work to me.  It does have a nice section on business math.  

 

We found Discovering Math to be very challenging if you do all the sections, not just the easy ones (they clearly split up the problems by difficulty level).  But what my younger ds and I found was that it just went too fast.  That there was not enough practice and too many advanced topics were thrown at him too quickly.  I think that they needed to align with common core and needed to move some of the material to an earlier grade, but they did not want to make the problem sets easier.  So it is just too much, too hard, too fast.  At least it was for my younger.

 

Also, you need to do the research because I think that you cannot get either of the programs all the way up anymore.  NEM is no longer made, and Discovering Math was only made for 7th and 8th grade and then abandoned.  At least that is my understanding.

 

In the end, my younger switched to MEP secondary and is loving it.

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited March 6, 2016 by lewelma

[Ms Brooks]

Dimensions Math CC makes too many leaps in thinking for us. Using Dolciani pre algebra before the same type of section in Dimensions Math helped us get through the algebra sections of Dimensions Math. The thought process was clearer in the Dolciani, but the problems in Dimensions Math were more complex. Geometry is moving much faster.  I do not think we will continue with Dimensions Math for 8th grade.

[SevenDaisies]

My oldest will complete Singapore 6AB this year and I had been debating between NEM, Dolciani PreA and AOPS PreA. I don't think AOPS is a good fit for her. She's good at math but works very slowly and makes lots of careless mistakes. I had been planning to use NEM because we have loved SM, but after reading these posts maybe that is a bad idea. My plan is to use Foerster in 8th. Given that, any thoughts on what to use in 7th? Would Dolciani work or is there something else I am missing?

[KellyMama]

My oldest will complete Singapore 6AB this year and I had been debating between NEM, Dolciani PreA and AOPS PreA. I don't think AOPS is a good fit for her. She's good at math but works very slowly and makes lots of careless mistakes. I had been planning to use NEM because we have loved SM, but after reading these posts maybe that is a bad idea. My plan is to use Foerster in 8th. Given that, any thoughts on what to use in 7th? Would Dolciani work or is there something else I am missing?

After looking at the samples online we picked Dimensions over NEM because to me it seemed most similar to the Singapore series we'd been doing. He already loves the look and layout of the text but we don't officially start using it until next week after spring break. We used Lial's Algebra for our girls but I'm not sure if we will do Algebra I with DS - we will most likely go straight into Geometry (Jurgenson) in 9th because of the material covered if we stick with 7A-8B.