Saxon Algebra 1 AND TT Algebra 1 question

[wehave8]

My 2 boys are 3/4 the way done in Algebra 1. One uses Saxon, the other TT.  For a high school credit for the diploma we use they only have to complete 3/4 of the book.  They would like to stop and work on some well needed English lessons to finish up our school year.  IF they do not finish their Algebra in these 2 programs, will they be able to pick up with Geometry and then Algebra 2 and be good?  Is the last of Alg. 1 in TT and Saxon reviewed in the following texts?

 

Pam

[wehave8]

1 hour ago, square_25 said:

 

I'm not familiar with the programs, so I can't tell you right off the bat, but what's left to cover? 

Haven't looked.  I don't know what's in the next texts either to compare.

 

Pam

[8filltheheart]

5 minutes ago, wehave8 said:

Haven't looked.  I don't know what's in the next texts either to compare.

 

Pam

Well, a google search brought up this table of contents for TT.  (you can equally find the TOC for Saxon, but the TOC differs based on ed.)

http://156.110.241.75/ttassets/Table of Contents/Algebra 1 TOC 2.0.pdf

 

 

[hollyhock2]

The topics from the end of TT algebra 1 are also at the end of their algebra 2, but I'm not sure it reviews them as much as it covers the topic again with more depth. It's not like those ending topics are reviewed at the beginning of algebra 2. I'm not sure what to tell you on whether that would work or not.

[Jann in TX]

I would not recommend it. 

Saxon Algebra 2 picks up right where Algebra 1 ends-- so the last skipped lessons will be a part of the initial review problems after the first lesson but no instruction will be included.

For Teaching Textbooks the last three chapters are introductory--the Chapter on statistics will not be taught in Algebra 2, however that material is on the ACT test.

There is no standard for publishers to make the last 1/4 of a text optional (very few are set up this way and none that I can name)--in high school math the last part of that book pulls all of the other lessons together--they're usually the most valuable chapters.

[Zoo Keeper]

1 hour ago, Jann in TX said:

I would not recommend it. 

Saxon Algebra 2 picks up right where Algebra 1 ends-- so the last skipped lessons will be a part of the initial review problems after the first lesson but no instruction will be included.

For Teaching Textbooks the last three chapters are introductory--the Chapter on statistics will not be taught in Algebra 2, however that material is on the ACT test.

There is no standard for publishers to make the last 1/4 of a text optional (very few are set up this way and none that I can name)--in high school math the last part of that book pulls all of the other lessons together--they're usually the most valuable chapters.

^ What Jann said.  🙂

Algebra builds.  And if you are missing 1/4 of the foundation, you can't build the next level very well. 

Shave off a bit in the history or the lit books, but finish the math books.

[wehave8]

4 minutes ago, Zoo Keeper said:

^ What Jann said.  🙂

Algebra builds.  And if you are missing 1/4 of the foundation, you can't build the next level very well. 

Shave off a bit in the history or the lit books, but finish the math books.

Sounds good!  Thanks

 

Pam

[kiana]

Jann is right and I'm just going to add some reasoning.

A PS textbook is frequently not designed to be completed in its entirety, but rather the teacher or school would choose the "core" sections and then add in other sections as required. They often include what would be more than a year's work for an average student. An excellent example would be alg 2/trig, where the trig chapters need not be done if the student is going into a standard one-year precalculus class the next year, but a student who was going to take an accelerated precalculus class that actually got through a significant amount of calculus (a friend of mine teaches at a school where the accelerated track is alg 2/trig, precalc/calc a, calc bc) would need to complete the whole thing. The flexibility in textbooks allows different courses at different levels to be run using the same text, which is a strong consideration for a text that is expected to be adopted widely and taught by a teacher who is experienced with the material. 

Many textbooks designed specifically for the homeschool market are designed for self-study, for video learning, or to be taught by someone who does know the material but is not necessarily at a level where they would know what is "core" and what is "advanced/optional". As such, they are designed to include a year's worth of material and maybe a little extra. If material is extra, it is usually indicated. TT is designed for the homeschool market (and specifically for standard-level classes) and as such does not include all of the extra work, and again should be completed. Saxon, while not designed for the homeschool market, is designed to be completed in its entirety and includes a standard year's worth of work; the review at the beginning of the next course may suffice for a bright student, but I would recommend against it.

I hope this adds a little bit of clarification as to why your program would say it's okay in general.

I'm not sure if summer schooling is an option, but one good option would be to cut math back to three times a week (distributed through the week, not mon/tues/weds) and just spend more weeks on it. This would help reduce summer "brain-drain" as well. You may find that you can move more rapidly through the review at the beginning of next year as a result. It is generally better to move more rapidly through the review than to rely on the review to introduce new material. 

[SoCal_Bear]

I don't think I would make a tradeoff between math and English. I would cut back on something else or drop elective stuff. Alternatively, you can carry on with math through the summer like Kiana suggests. Algebra is fundamental to all higher math. You do not want to shortchange them on this.