04 Sep 2005 - 04:02

trying the Singapore Math placement exam

The last two nights, I've been giving Ben the Singapore Math 4A placement exam (all the Singapore Math placement exams can be found here). I had a look at the Singapore Math 3A and 3B tests, and decided that Ben can probably do them fairly easily; but I wasn't so sure at all about Singapore Math 4A.

I've been giving the test to him in little chunks. The first day I did it -- it was several days after school had started, and I hadn't tutored him at all, and he was having an easy time of it since all they were doing was factoring numbers into primes -- he howled as though I were slipping bamboo shoots under his fingernails. That was to be expected. We always get the worst resistance after he's had a break.

At this point, I've gone as far with him in these placement tests as I plan to go -- 4A is definitely the place for him to start. What I'm finding is that in the first part of the placement exam, where the problems are computational, he is doing fine; I've taught him well in that regard (using mostly Saxon math, with some Prentice-Hall). However, after the first ten or so problems, the placement exam starts to test a kid's problem-solving ability. In Ben's case things got ugly quickly. He fell apart emotionally in the face of these problems, of a type he'd never seen before.

The first two problems involved analyzing a figure for parallel and perpendicular lines, and determining the area of a rectangle that had had a couple of rectangular pieces removed. That last is a real-world problem, by my lights, if there ever was one.

These two problems were on the placement exam as well:

A rectangular swimming pool measures 24m by 16m. A concrete path 2m wide is paved around it. What is the area of the path?

Mary bought 1m of ribbon. She used 2/5m to tie a package, and 2/7m to make a bow. How much ribbon had she left?

Ben's reaction to the second one was especially interesting. By the time he got to that problem, he was frazzled by having had to skip a few of the earlier ones. He shouted:

"What do you expect me to do, add 2/5 and 2/7?"

"Yes," I said. "Oh," he said.

Ben's confidence crumbled fast with this placement exam. I tried to assure him that it was just a pretest, and that he should skip problems he can't do; but he's just frail these days. Perhaps all kids are.

I think the Singapore math curriculum may work for us. It's challenging, but we can do it; it's not impossible. And at least the evidence says we're on the right track with it.

And the books are cheap, to boot (check them out here).

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Carolyn,

Good for you. Singapore Math is a great math program for any type of student.

Daniel is going to be using Saxon 4/5 in school and I will be continuing with Singapore math at home. I am hoping that I can get my hands on a copy of Saxon so I can study it.

I think one the things that this site can do is serve as a guide for parents. I believe it would be a good thing to study the Saxon and Singapore (the only two non fuzzy math curriculums readily available to parents) and compare and contrast what is in the program. Then parents will have a better idea of which curriculum to choose and why. When doing this, I think it important to have both curriculums. Things to look for would include: topics covered, distractability of text, clarity in introduction of new topics, amount of practice problems included. I sure ktm readers can suggest many more things.

-- AnneDwyer - 04 Sep 2005

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Hi Anne!

I know that Catherine is giving a Singapore mini-class and planning a Singapore Math series for KTM. She's going to fill us in asap, which should be any minute now.

So, regarding providing readers with a Saxon and Singapore comparative guide -- are you in? :)

If Daniel is doing Saxon 5/4 and doing Singapore -- what level -- 3A/B? -- then you can cover that ground. Ben and Christopher are testing into Singapore 4A and Saxon 8/7, and Catherine and I can talk knowledgeably about Saxon 5/6 (but we didn't do Saxon 4/5). We can perhaps get other readers to talk about other parts of these curricula.

-- CarolynJohnston - 04 Sep 2005

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I'm definitely in. I'll talk to his teacher this week to see if I can get a copy of his book. Daniel is on the second half of 3B.

But we ought to set some guidelines so that we are all looking at the same thing.

On a different note, I was talking to my next door neighbor about the math classes that I am going to give. She suggested math classes for the parents!! Math classes that would not only teach the parents the math that their children need to know, but a class that would help them navigate this new fuzzy math. (Of course, the terms are mine) I think that is something else that is needed although could become a politically explosive issue.

-- AnneDwyer - 04 Sep 2005

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I am doing Saxon 6/5 to the letter if you have any questions about that particular year. I do have a lot of the Singapore books, but I'm using those more as a supplement.

Anne, a parent class is a great idea. (I wish you lived in my area.) However, I do really like the Parker and Baldridge book that is supposed to explain how to teach the Singapore courses quite a bit. It is a very readable book for someone who has forgotten their math or never learned it right to begin with. Before I teach a Saxon chapter, I check with that book to see what else it can offer me in terms of teaching.

-- SusanS - 04 Sep 2005

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Susan,

What is the Parker and Baldridge book? I don't think I have ever heard of it.

-- AnneDwyer - 05 Sep 2005

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I have found a lot to like in Saxon Math, but getting to the 5/4 book was an eye-opener for us. The way our district did Saxon math, third grade was still worksheet-based. 5/4 was the first time my daughter had a textbook. With a book, we could page ahead and see just how many lessons were review. We're talking months! It just takes too long to get to anything new.

-- DanK - 05 Sep 2005

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Anne,

"Parker and Baldridge" is also known as Elementary Mathematics for Teachers (by, you guessed it, Parker and Baldridge). It's a thin, reasonably priced textbook for a teacher's course in primary mathematics, supporting the Singapore Math curriculum. Check it out here. It has a lot of good explanations in it, and it is designed to be used with the Primary Math series.

By coincidence, Scott Baldridge now is a professor at my alma mater, LSU, in Baton Rouge, La.. I emailed him and my former advisor this past week -- they were minimally affected by the hurricane but are being very affected by the evacuation of New Orleans. Baton Rouge has grown by half again its size in the last week!

-- CarolynJohnston - 05 Sep 2005

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Carolyn,

Thanks for the info. I'll have to put it on my book wish list.

I now have a complete set of Singapore math up to and including 5B. I also have Russian math 6. I did order one of the teacher's guides for Singapore math to get an idea of what is in it.

-- AnneDwyer - 05 Sep 2005

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Hi Anne,

I really like the Parker/Baldridge book because it seems to bridge the gap about what the Singapore series is trying to accomplish with each major arithmetic skill. That was what I felt I needed. I had ordered a couple of the other books that Singapore had suggested and I found those to not be what I needed. The Liping Ma book was a real eye-opener to me, too (when my eyes weren't glazing over) and I felt I needed more of those kinds of explanations.

It also shows more about setting up bar models and the right and wrong ways to interpret various word problems. It helped to clear up some questions I had about that. I'm trying Catherine's "bar model a day" approach with my LD son (while doing Saxon 6/5 at night) so I really wanted to be comfortable with it myself.

-- SusanS - 05 Sep 2005