Susan in TN Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 In response to a question about earning high school credits, our umbrella counselor mentioned that ds's Algebra work could not receive actual "Algebra I" course credit because "the text is not a high school level text". If any of the NEM books were called "Algebra I" or "Geometry", credit could be given, because it's assumed that any text with those titles would be high school level. I guess it's true that NEM 1-4 are labled for 7th-10th grade, but I always assumed that the algebra and geometry work taught was considered at least on the level of "regular" high school algebra and geometry texts. So what do you think? I'm allowed to give credit where I think credit is due, but if I have to fight them on this, I need something to give weight to my argument. Is there a chart anywhere that compares topics covered in NEM to traditional texts? FWIW, I was intending to give the following credits NEM 1 + Keys to Algebra = Algebra I NEM 2 + study of Euclids = geometry NEM 3 + Gelfands = Algebra II (I know they're not broken down that way, but I figured by the end of NEM 3 we'd have covered enough of everything to count as full credits.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 It's been a couple years, but I thought NEM 1+2 was closer to a one-year algebra-1 course? ? ? Good question for the SingaporeMath forum too. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 But I'm not sure what it would take to convince the umbrella school. Do they have any allowance for a high school level "integrated math"? or is there any way to (sort of) design your own curriculum to hit specific topics and call it Algebra? We did the algebra chapters of NEM 1 and 2 (about half of each) and I threw in one or two other things (completing the square and the quadratic formula... I think that was all...) and called it Algebra 1. We're taking a year for a statistics rabbit trail right now and next year I plan to go back and do all the geometry chapters and call it Geometry. I've not spent as much time looking at NEM 3 but I think it is more-or-less Algebra 2. It's certainly no less rigorous than any other high school text (and from what I've seen tutoring, it's much MORE rigorous than many), but the scope and sequence isn't exactly like what you generally see in US texts. So it will really depend on what they're looking for. The tables of contents are on www.singaporemath.com ...Do you think they'd be convinced if you took a more "standard" US textbook (like Jacobs Algebra) and matched up chapter for chapter? I think between NEM 1 and 2 you'd get enough to make pretty good match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 It's been a couple years, but I thought NEM 1+2 was closer to a one-year algebra-1 course? ? ? Good question for the SingaporeMath forum too. ;) Between NEM 1 and 2 they cover nearly all the topics covered in U.S. Algebra 1 (there are a couple Singapore doesn't cover until later and a couple that most US books don't cover until later -- but overall very close) but at the same time NEM 1 and 2 also cover a year of Geometry. So it's not just a year of Algebra spread over two years, but Algebra and Geometry alternating through two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 That's completely stupid. It's an algebra text, as can clearly be seen from the index. Print a copy of the index to show. It's more rigorous than a lot of U.S. high school texts. Just because other countries do higher maths at an earlier age does not make this an "inferior" text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Yes, so at the end of two years, you've covered both Algebra I and Geometry. Then level 3 and 4 cover Algebra II, trig and, I believe, some precalc work. I think they cover more trig than most high schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 (edited) Here's the answer to a similar question asked on the Singaporemath.com forums: Question: "does NEM 1 & 2 completely cover Algebra 1?" Answer: Yes, pretty much, depending on what syllabus you are going by. The quadratic formula is in NEM 3, but other topics considered algebra 2 are in NEM 2. Here's another breakdown from the Singaporemath website: Pre-algebra: PM 6 and NEM 1, Ch. 1-4 Algebra I: NEM 1, Ch. 5-8; NEM 2, Ch. 1-7, 12-14 Geometry: NEM 1, Ch. 9-14, NEM 2, Ch. 8-11 Algebra II: NEM 3, Ch. 1-6, 14; some of NEM 4 Advanced Math/Trig: NEM 3: ch. 7-13, NEM 4, ch. 1-4 (precalculus) The sequence is slightly off from standard US programs. FWIW, my son worked through NEM1 - NEM 4A (skipping the geometry portions of NEM 3). Edited February 3, 2009 by CynthiaOK more information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I would direct them to the table of contents on the Singapore site. I always, when I listed these texts for the school department, put in parethesis "Despite the name, this is an algebra and geometry text." Singapore uses the term elementary to mean "before advanced", not elementary to mean "to be done in elementary school". Their lower schools may not even be called elementary school. They may be called primary school or lower school or something else. I have heard that first grade in Singapore is 7yo, which also might be something to tell them, if you can confirm it. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 I have heard that first grade in Singapore is 7yo, which also might be something to tell them, if you can confirm it. I've heard that from about everyone, but if you check the official Singapore Ministry of Education website it's not true. Kids who start 1st grade in January of 2009 are the kids who were born in 2002 and will turn 7 in 2009. Some right away and some not until December. So when they start 1st grade they're still six, and some of them just-barely. It's almost exactly the same age as US first grade. Age Requirement Children born between 2 January 2002 and 1 January 2003 (both dates inclusive) may be registered for Primary One Classes in 2009. But NEM is still high school level. If you wanted to focus on the timing, you could point out that they go to (junior) college after 10th grade instead of 12th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Everyone has given good suggestions. I had another. You could give them a couple of problems to work from an NEM Alg I topic chapter and a traditional Alg I book chapter of the same topic. Ask them to work both and then decide if it is high school level:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted February 3, 2009 Author Share Posted February 3, 2009 Whew! Thanks everyone! Those charts/breakdowns are helpful. Looks like I'd better re-register at the Singapore forums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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