When shopping for a math curriculum, every homeschool mom has a list of things she wants the potential choice to meet. Is it s spiral or mastery based curriculum? How much teacher preparation does it require? Is it colorful or not? How do kids using this curriculum fare on standardized tests?
There are enough choices available to make one's head spin and add to this the fact that not every advertisement for any given curriculum is accurate. Choosing a math curriculum can be frustrating for any homeschooling parent.
I have successfully used Saxon math with some of my children and Rod and Staff math with others. The reason behind our family having two curriculums are in another post titled My Experience With Saxon and Rod and Staff Math. Today, I would like to address the last question mom's and dad's might ask if they are considering the excellent mastery based math curriculum published by Rod and Staff. How do kids using this curriculum fare on standardized tests? While I do not have a definitive research based answer for you as I am not aware of any studies done on this specific question. I can tell you what my experience has been in this area after using Rod and Staff Math in my home for grades 1, 3, and 4 over the past 2 years and counting.
How did my kids do on their standardized test for third grade after using this curriculum? They did okay but they would have done better had some things been included in the curriculum that are absent. Like what? Well geometry concepts like symmetry and congruence, perimeter and area. Things like rounding numbers to the nearest 10, reading graphs and calendar word problems.
So, does that mean that Rod and Staff should not be used for third grade math? I don't think so. I will not be posting this curriculum on EBay and searching for another. What I realized after looking through the curriculum to use again with my next child is that some of the concepts missing in the pupil text that are on the standardized test like rounding numbers and even some basic adding of fractions with like denominators are in the worksheets I failed to use the first time around. I know better now, and I will use them with my son who is now a second grader when he does Exploring Arithmetic 3 next year. A word of caution: Do not confuse worksheets with blacklines. They are not the same. Blacklines are more review of facts and concepts taught in the textbook for kids having a hard time getting the material presented. Worksheets are a separate book covering extra concepts that are not included in the textbook. They are very different. I will also supplement Exploring Arithmetic with either Spectrum Math 3, which has a section on calendars and geometry and measurement which is expected to be covered on standardized tests, or the Kumon Geometry and Measurement workbook for 3rd grade. I think that doing one page a week in the Kumon book or a couple of concepts once a week in the Spectrum book would keep their exposure consistent enough to be sure they aren't lacking in this area on their ITBS or CAT. Spectrum covers graphs, but we already use and like Modern Press Curriculum's Maps Charts Graphs workbooks for geography and map reading skills. All graphs covered in any standardized test are included in these books.
Am I worried about the test scores? Not at all. My boys did well even though some things were missing in geometry. I know my boys will have all of the skills they need by sixth grade to do well in the geometry portions of their next standardized test. Rod and Staff covers area, perimeter, rounding and graphs in their Progressing in Arithmetic 4 book. However, testing was frustrating for my boys when they saw questions about things they were never exposed to. This is understandable. Who wants to have problems about things they've never seen on an important test? That won't happen next time. Spectrum or Kumon workbook supplements will fill in the gaps for testing. Meanwhile, Rod and Staff will continue to provide my children with a solid, systematic foundation in arithmetic so they can succeed in higher math.
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