Mr. D Math or Derek Owens for Precalculus?

[redquilthorse]

My ds will be a sophomore next year, and we need precalculus. My question is this: is Mr. D Math solid enough for a kid who wants to do computer science in college? I want something online that includes grading starting next year for a number of reasons. In the past, we used Chalkdust for Prealgebra, Foerster for Algebra 1 (this was hard but we finished), Thinkwell for Geometry (he thought it was maybe too easy), then we started Foerster for Algebra 2 but hit a wall in chapter 3 and switched to Chalkdust, which has been a much better fit. But I just can't do the grading next year, and from what I hear, Chalkdust precalc can take longer than a year. So, I am looking at either Mr. D Math or Derek Owens. I know Derek Owens is solid from everything I read on the forum, but Mr. D Math is significantly less expensive (we would do the at your own pace option). I haven't seen as much about it, though. My main question is whether Mr. D Math is rigorous enough for a student who wants to pursue a computer science degree in college. If so, then I'm leaning toward using Mr. D. We don't need the MOST rigorous available (AOPS would make his head explode, I think); it just needs to be a solid foundation for a STEM kid. 

 

 

[SebastianCat]

My kids have used Mr. D. math (live co-op class) for pre-Algebra through Algebra 2 (so we haven't done pre-Calclulus).   One of my kids wants to pursue a STEM major, while the other does not.   I feel that it's rigorous enough for a STEM student, but you will need to log in with your parent account to make sure the work is being done, since you'll be using the at-your-own-pace option.   With the live classes, the teacher usually assigns 3 lessons per week, plus the class session, so I would say 3-4 lessons per week is a good pace.

Have you looked at the sample lessons online?   They are a good representation of the rest of the course.   What I love about Mr. D. is that they have live teachers available for help sessions twice a week, regardless of whether you are using the curriculum at a co-op, through a live online class, or at your own pace.

[TarynB]

It looks like Mr. D math only goes up through pre-calc. Derek Owens' program includes calculus (AP Calc AB). Progression/continuity might be one thing to consider in your decision-making process. . . Although some folks outsource upper high school math to dual/concurrent enrollment for calc and above, so continuity maybe not an issue for you.

[redquilthorse]

30 minutes ago, TarynB said:

It looks like Mr. D math only goes up through pre-calc. Derek Owens' program includes calculus (AP Calc AB). Progression/continuity might be one thing to consider in your decision-making process. . . Although some folks outsource upper high school math to dual/concurrent enrollment for calc and above, so continuity maybe not an issue for you.

Hmm. This is a consideration. I don't know for certain whether we will do DE, although it is an option where we live and it would be free. It's possible we would do it. But if we don't it would be nice to not have to switch teachers yet again. I feel like we have done that a lot. But I guess that's normal for high school. I don't think I had the same math teacher twice at my public high school. 

[TarynB]

2 hours ago, redquilthorse said:

Hmm. This is a consideration. I don't know for certain whether we will do DE, although it is an option where we live and it would be free. It's possible we would do it. But if we don't it would be nice to not have to switch teachers yet again. I feel like we have done that a lot. But I guess that's normal for high school. I don't think I had the same math teacher twice at my public high school. 

 

True, I didn’t either. But within a math dept at a school, there’s (hopefully) someone with oversight monitoring to make sure there aren’t gaps in coverage, or too much overlap, from one class level to the next. That’s a concern for me with switching providers. 

[Wendy Inman]

I have been struggling with this same exact question. But I am definitely leaning toward Derek Owens because he also offers Calculus. 

[Homeschoolmom3]

I am glad you asked this and debating the same question.  For my stem kid we did Owens because it went through Calculus and he liked working at his own pace.  But contemplating switching up my middle son just for PreCal with Mr. D.  since they offer a live component and we are switching to Statistics his senior year anyway.  Thanks for the insights!

[Mom0012]

My dd used DO for precalculus.  We used the option with self-grading, which is half price.  He provides the answer keys.  I feel like the answer keys up through precalculus were fine for us for self-grading.  I did wind up having Derek grade my dd’s Calculus for a good part of the year, but it takes awhile for the grading to happen and immediate feedback is so much better with math, IMO.  As much as I like DO, I really wasn’t as thrilled with calculus when he was grading, just because it really took awhile and slowed us down.

Edited March 25, 2019 by Mom0012