R&S math good choice?

[Lfwfv]

Hi,

 

I have been using R&S math grade 1 for my 5 year old, but am wondering if this is a good program for us to continue long-term. I feel he needs the step by step instruction, repetition, and I love the concept of detailed, thorough teaching and the simple mastery approach. It is a little tedious with all the drill, and he is not a fan of how long all of it takes, but he is definitely retaining and gaining mastery.

 

I have lightly considered CLE, but when I look at the samples, I feel like it is so all over the map with the spiral approach, and it also seems like they cover a ton of stuff very early but at a much more surfacy level that I am not sure is going to work for my ds (or me, quite frankly....I'm all about mastering at a deep level).

 

I am concerned that R&S math is not going to lend itself to us doing well on standardized tests, and that it will not prepare our kids for a STEM focus if that's where they end up getting to. Some people say only conceptual math approaches are relevant these days. My dh is an electrical engineer and argues that the math facts are key to doing more complex math later, but I'm just not sure we don't need a more conceptual approach even at these younger years.

 

So, my questions are particularly for those with experience with R&S and moving on to high school level math or completing standardized testing....

 

1) If I plan on using R&S math one grade level ahead, will we be ok for standardized testing requirements? (IOWA etc.)

 

2) Did anybody complete R&S math through level 8 and then go onto algebra successfully?

 

3) If I supplemented with LoF (thinking we'd read through one level together during the summer. So, complete R&S1 this year, and then read the Apples book in summer...), would that cover some of the conceptual gaps in R&S?

 

thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences!

lfwfv

[2_girls_mommy]

Yes, my odd has completed through grade 8, and has moved on to high school math. She did have a bit of trouble with Algebra, but I don't think it was Algebra per se. I had trouble coming up with the right way of teaching it. We were so used to R&S's layout, that it took us a bit to find our groove. We eventually finished Alg. 1 and she is now using Mr. D's for geometry, which I think fits us just right. We will stick with it for Alg. 2. 

 

My mdd is in grade 7 at this point. She will go through R&S completely and then move into Alg as well. We just use grade 8 as our pre Alg. year. 

 

We never had to take standardized tests in our area. One thing I did was give mine the entrance exams to Saxon math occasionally, and mine always seemed to line up with their grade level as if she could go straight into it (and our PS uses it for elem, so I felt we were fine.) 

 

and if you want to use another program to supplement, I thing you should. WTM says to do just that. We did other things here and there, but never LOF. I am looking at it for next year for preAlg. alongside R&S 8 with mine actually. I have just discovered it. 

[SilverMoon]

I have not had a kid use the entire series, but I have had kids use the lower and the higher end of the series.

 

R&S *is* conceptual. Conceptual means it teaches the whys and not just the hows. The parts and pieces of a concept are taught to mastery, so they know them inside out and backwards, before they're put together in the big picture. My kids who used these had rock solid basics.

I haven't used much Life of Fred, but I have used Apples and from Fractions on higher. It is fun extra practice, but I found it less conceptual than R&S. I'd be far more likely to just keep another math book handy that has a very different approach. Like Horizons or Math in Focus. (no experience with CLE)

A kid who has finished R&S 8 is ready for algebra 1. My oldest did use the higher books and he did struggle beyond, but he struggled with math at every age/grade. If you're concerned about it being "enough" an easy, common solution is adding the Key to Algebra workbooks (alg prep, not alg itself).

My kids didn't take standardized tests until high school.

[daybreaking]

Your question was nostalgic for me, as I asked a very similar question almost ten years ago, with the same concerns about standardized testing.  I received some very helpful responses and ended up switching from Saxon to R&S.  Now, all these years later, I can say we definitely made the right decision.  My son used all of R&S Math, from grade 1 through grade 8.  He has consistently scored very well on both the CAT-E and the IOWA and has always scored above the 90ith percentile in math, with several years being 97 or 98 percentile, so yes, I would say R&S works! 

 

He went from R&S 8 to Foerster Algebra and it was a seamless transition.  He's now doing Chakerian Geometry and flying through.  It is true that the younger years of R&S are more drill based, but as the years progress, it does become very conceptual and truly helps students understand the why and how of math concepts.  I've always loved R&S, but appreciated it even more as my son worked through Foerster and I observed him easily working very difficult problems, because of the foundation R&S provided.