Question for parents of college students

[graylocks]

Grace62 wrote:
Your complaints could have come from parents all over the country, Georgia isn't alone.

no but Georgia is singular in that two years ago it changed how Math is taught. aware parents are not as concerned with the plan as we are with how it is being implemented. 2012, my son's class, is the first of the sacrificial lambs to this process and the sh*t will hit the proverbial fan for sure when they take the SAT next year.

as an example of how low the bar is set in georgia: high schoolers have an end of the year test in core courses. the Math II (10th grade math) test had 54 questions. you achieved a passing grade if you answered 23 correctly. 23. that translates to a raw grade of 43%. in what universe is 43% a passing grade? well, in GA it is because the State scales that up to a 70% and voilà, you passed!! most parents are not even aware how the EOCT grade is scaled; they just think oh, my kid got at least 70% - great.

oh, BTW, only 52% of 10th graders state wide 'passed'...

[Grace62]

I can understand your frustration graylocks.

What are the key components of this new approach at the high school level?

Teaching of Algebra, Geometry, Trig, etc. should be fairly standardized, but what actually gets learned can vary greatly with the quality and experience of the teacher.

[graylocks]

Grace62 wrote:
I can understand your frustration graylocks.

What are the key components of this new approach at the high school level?

it's an integrated approach. Math is year I, II, III, and IV with each year having modules of Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, and Probability. it's also supposed to be a 'discovery' approach and students are expected to learn from each other. the problems are numerous but the major ones being the foundation for many of the concepts are being taught out of sequence so it is not making sense to the students. then the teachers fall back on 'just do this trick' and leaves the students with no understanding of the why. very little is sticking because the curriculum is a mile wide and half an inch deep. the group learning thing is also completely washing out. it's a new approach for teachers and students. last year for Math II the teachers were told here's your new curriculum. oh, by the way, we're out of money to train you how to teach it.

i'm not exactly sure what Math III covers because the state has not released a guide for the students or parents. one parent has described it as come ride this airplane while we're still building it. the plane will crash when this class bombs the SAT in large numbers next year. the State will blame the students and the teachers and take no responsibility for the mess they have created.

as i said, i think an integrated, discovery approach can work but it needed to have been implemented in 1st grade and introduced year by year rather than simply thrust upon students brought up on a more conventional approach.

one other issue that may be lurking: some parents that have checked with the admissions department of schools they want their child to consider have been told those schools have reservations as to whether Math I, II, III, and IV will cut the mustard for schools requiring conventional course designations like Algebra I, Algebra II, Calculus, etc. the Georgia Department says they cleared this with schools but these parents called the schools the State said they cleared this program with.

[JoeH]

Where my sons went to school tried that Integrated Math approach a few years ago. The last I heard they were thinking of throwing it out. One son is in college as a Math major in spite of the approach used in his high school, but it has given him a lot of catch up work in some areas of studies.

[Grace62]

graylocks,
I looked up the course titles and descriptions for Georgia high school math, and the titles do include the terms algebra/geometry/trig/pre-cal, so I would check the transcripts to make sure they are including the full course title. As a four year sequence it should be fine in preparing the student to take calculus in college, at least based on what appears in the curriculum guide. Moving to another state in the middle of high school though, as many students do, might be complicated as the sequence is twisted around a bit. Throwing something completely new at the teachers with no training is uncool, you would think they would postpone the roll-out until full funding is in place.

http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/Secondary%20Mathematics%20GPS%20Course%20Descriptions%20v3.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F6B477DA1274902202D53639A02F019A9A17EFEF8B9DC20709&Type=D

You will know more about this since it's your state, but it looks like Georgia has just this summer adopted Common Core Standards for math and English instruction. This is an attempt to nationalize K-12 standards, and these standards have been signed onto by many states. So you may be in for another big change...

[graylocks]

Grace62 wrote:
You will know more about this since it's your state, but it looks like Georgia has just this summer adopted Common Core Standards for math and English instruction. This is an attempt to nationalize K-12 standards, and these standards have been signed onto by many states. So you may be in for another big change...

yes, it all looks so good on paper. what i have learned about Georgia is that there is a tremendous, enormous, stupendous gap between the goals the department of education writes on paper and what the schools are actually achieving. perhaps GA differs from no other state in this regard. it's why i homeschooled as long as i did and continue to homeschool the areas the state requirements are lacking in. going to conventional school was something my son lobbied for. i gave in with the understanding that i would not let georgia public school hinder his education. :terror: