Math help please

[kwg]

 I am wondering what others would do in this situation. I am pretty sure no one else has let things get this far but....if you were talking to someone you knew and cared about...... what would your advice be for a next step?

I began homeschooling starting first grade.  We used Miquon and Math Mammoth then the Key To series. We also used Life of Fred and read a lot of math books, did projects, played games etc.  He took supplemental math classes at co op and such.  Math was not his favorite subject; what he loved was reading.   He read all. the. time ! !!!! lol. But we could make math fun and play games and he was okay about it. 

In high school, we took Algebra 1 with the WTM Academy and though he needed help, he did okay, 82% which was a B-. Same thing with Alg 2 though the end was even worse. (I just checked and he got an 84- B. But I remember it as being brutal, and really questioning if he was keeping up....) Anyway, He did not receive an F so I felt weird making him redo it but was very worried about Geometry.........in the end, he did not pass that one.  I was not sure if we should go back further than Geometry though since Algebra had been hard. We took something online that made me REALLY QUESTION so then I took him to Mathnasium ( not sure if it just local? but a math center) for that free test to see where he was. Well, he scored low. I do not remember exactly but middle school math--fractions and decimals.  I knew I had taught him that, but obviously not well enough.

I signed him up and over the year, they caught him up to Algebra. He has a favorite teacher and works mostly with her 2-3 times a week. He really likes it! He went through the Algebra curriculum with them but I was not sure how far he had gotten when the govenor closed the state. I had him take a placement test for math for the community college to see what we should work on. He was really nervous so I assured him it was just to see what he needed to work on before college math. He finished about half of it and got a 79 percent in all.  This was a huge improvement but still clearly not ready for college work.  

Mathnasium opened back up -online -and he was scheduled to take his assessment to finish Algebra and move on to Geometry. He took the assessment and made a 3% improvement.  Three. Percent. Since October.

I went back and scored each section of the Placement Test. He scored a 72% on the first section -Operations with Positive Fractions. Shouldn't he do better than that?.......The actual test gets longer as you do better and it was unclear whether that score would allow him to continue........ but even if it would, I would like him to be more competent before I send the kid out into the world. 

Thank you for reading this far. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them!  I am not sure if I should try a different curriculum or a test for learning difference? if so, what curriculum would you try or where would you go for testing? I am also open to other ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[LJPPKGFGSC]

Hi KWG,

I teach high school math at an in-person coop.  (Well now I teach virtually, but anyway...)  I would like to assure you that you are not alone.  Many other moms have told me exactly what you said here.  There are lots of teenagers who get stuck on fractions.   Be kind to yourself.  You don't mention your son's age, but if he is still in high school, it is not too late.

You don't mention what curriculum he used at WTMA, but there is nothing wrong with getting a B (either Saxon or AoPS are challenging courses).  If he has finished Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II - it okay now to use a calculator. If he is a cooperative kid, who listens to his teachers and does his homework, you might want to go in another direction.  Unless he is planning on a STEM major in college, the math that he will have to take in college is not any harder than Algebra II.  And they will most certainly use calculators (or other mathematical software).  Even if you don't want to purchase a graphing calculator, there are free options online such as Desmos.

But, what does his Mathnasium teacher think?  She probably has some good insights on his skills and abilities.  What does he want to do after high school?  Not everyone has to take advanced math.

But most of all - HUGS to you.  Anyone who homeschools long enough has these feelings sometimes.  We are here to help!

[MamaSprout]

I agree talking to the Mathnasium tutor, but also maybe consider having him work through Key To Fractions, Key to Algebra and maybe Key to Geometry over the summer. If he's lacking foundation concepts, nothing else is going to matter. After that maybe test with the DOMA algebra test to see where he's at and work specifically on gaps.

Have all of his tests been computer-based? Would he do better with a paper test?

https://www.rainbowresource.com/hSearch.jhtm?keyword=key to math series