Teaching Textbooks - Number is level not grade

[J&JMom]

There have been a few posts on this and other message boards asking if Teaching Textbooks are "behind".  I was at a homeschool convention this morning and spoke with a sales rep at their booth and he explained to me as I was looking at book 6 for my rising 6th grader that this "level" is actually fifth-grade math and the progression is to have students finish pre-alg in 7th, algebra in 8th, algebra 2 in 9th and geometry in 10th to prepare for college testing. It might save a bit of confusion, if this is truly the case, to have the numbers on the textbook correspond to grade expectation, but the idea is to use a +1 level for the grade. I probably won't use the program, but hope this clears things up for someone who might.  

[KrissiK]

Hmm, i never knew that. Well, it does make sense. Although apparently my 4th grade daughter just finished 3rd grade math.

[Slache]

This was not the case last year when I visited a convention. I wonder if they've changed it because of complaints that it's not rigorous enough.

[mamiof5]

Not sure if it was meant to be like that, and I've never had it so I really don't know for sure... but yeah, have heard or read many times that they are a year behind.

[Guest]

We have been using TT for 6 years and it is on grade level. I believe many other homeschool math programs are a grade level ahead making TT appear to be behind when it is not. It is typical for an average 8th grader to be in pre-algebra.

[EndOfOrdinary]

We have been using TT for 6 years and it is on grade level. I believe many other homeschool math programs are a grade level ahead making TT appear to be behind when it is not. It is typical for an average 8th grader to be in pre-algebra.

I think this might vary by area. We live in a very STEM focused area (Hewitt Packard, InSitu, WaferTech, etc. all partner with the schools in the 75 miles of our area). It is very much so not normal for an 8th grader to be in PreA. PreA begins in 6th or latest 7th grade here. The average 8th grader takes Algebra, 9 Geometry, 10 Alg II, 11 PreCalc, 12 Calculus. Otherwise they cannot get through Calc by graduation. Without Calc, calculus based physics and AP classes would be incredibly limited. PreA actually starts spreading into curriculum by 5th and some kids test out entirely upon middle school entry. Most middle school classes here are PreAP track or considered remedial.

[fourisenough]

I think this might vary by area. We live in a very STEM focused area (Hewitt Packard, InSitu, WaferTech, etc. all partner with the schools in the 75 miles of our area). It is very much so not normal for an 8th grader to be in PreA. PreA begins in 6th or latest 7th grade here. The average 8th grader takes Algebra, 9 Geometry, 10 Alg II, 11 PreCalc, 12 Calculus. Otherwise they cannot get through Calc by graduation. Without Calc, calculus based physics and AP classes would be incredibly limited. PreA actually starts spreading into curriculum by 5th and some kids test out entirely upon middle school entry. Most middle school classes here are PreAP track or considered remedial.

This is true of my area also and we're deep in the Midwest in a socio-economically diverse suburb of a large city.

[OneStepAtATime]

I think more and more school districts appear to be shifting pre-Algebra to 7th or even 6th grade but that was not the norm at all when I was in school. 8th was pre-Algebra and 9th was Algebra I, 10th Geometry, 11th Algebra II, 12th Trig/Pre-Calculus. An advanced student could do a fast track of math and get through Calculus by 12th but it definitely wasn't the norm. We also didn't have a requirement that all students had to take a Physics class that needed Calculus or at least Pre-Calc to pass.

 

Perhaps when TT was created many years ago they were still working off that model but are changing the meaning associated with the grade/number designation to reflect their acknowledgement that times have changed.

[Entropymama]

I agree that there is a shift toward pre-algebra in seventh grade, although this wasn't always the case. I'm guessing it's easier for them to change the semantics than the curriculum to keep up with the trend. Why not? 

[sassenach]

It's not just the sequence of pre-algebra in 8th grade, it's also that TT Pre-A doesn't cover the same ground that other Pre-A programs cover. I looked at my friend's TT pre-a and other than the addition of the Pythagorean Theorem, it contained a lot of Singapore Math's level 5 and 6 material. A lot of the typical pre a concepts seem to be pushed to algebra, which leaves some typical alg 1 concepts to be pushed to alg 2.

 

All that said, that doesn't mean TT is bad, it just means that it's not going to put the student on a competitive math track. Frankly, there's no end to acceleration, so imho, we all need to just teach the kids we have. If TT is a fit, more power to you.

 

My eldest did MUS, also often slighted as being behind, and she ended up doing fine in high school math. She finished through trig. She was never going to be an engineering student, but I'm impressed that a kid who struggled with math in elementary school was able to successfully complete a solid high school math track.

[Guest]

If you go to the website and read the course descriptions, you will see that the numbers correspond to grade levels.

[AimeeM]

Hmm. If this is true, why isn't there a level 1 or a level 2?

[mamakven]

Yeah, why would they call them grades if they are really levels. It must be a recent thing.

[OneStepAtATime]

Yeah, reading further, this does appear to be a recent thing.  I guess it is easier to just change how they refer to those numbers than to reprint and redesign everything.  

[Tiramisu]

I was a conference rep for TT for several years and I hadn't heard that before.