Okay, so I finally decided that yes, I am homeschooling my daugter.  I got her transcript from school thinking it would help me figure out what curriculum to teach but ...

I had her take the switchedd on schoolhouse placement tests for math and for Algebra I (which she took year before last) she scored a 50 -- she received credit for it in school with semester grades being 76 and 89 ... how is there such a discrepancy? Also for Geometry which she took half a semester of last year it shows her semester average as a 94.

So, should I re-teach her Algebra I since she obviously did not retain it from school or should I just go ahead and teach her geometry? 

How will I combine the two transcripts if I teach her Algebra I again ?

Now I'm worried that she will not do well on the Language placement tests either and wondering what in the world she actually learned at public school *sighs*

Shan

ETA: Well she scored a 60 on the placement tests at an 8th grade level...

I'm totally lost now do I re-teach all of this (3 years of curriculum) or what?

Hi Shan!   Let me preface this by saying that I don't have a teenage (yet) but here's what I think I'd do.

I would probably do a review for the previous 3 years.  You don't have to spend a lot of time on each concept if it's clear that she has a grasp on it or if it looks like she's struggling then you can slow it down and make sure everything is comprehended before moving on.  Also, I'd look into whether or not the testing she took shows the areas that she needs work in.  Maybe you could focus on those.

Hope this helps & good luck!

Geometry is a different set of math skills from Algebra. If her basic math computational skills are good than she would probably handle it all right.

If she took the Algebra test with no review of concepts that she hadn't used in over a year, it is not too surprising that she didn't do as well as when they were freshly taught. Public schools often end up teaching to the test, so short term memory is sometimes about as far the learning goes...

If she will be taking Algebra 2 after geometry, a good review of the rules might be enough. Usually the first 30 or so lessons of a new book will review previously learned material anyway, because kids forget a lot over the summer.

I do have 2 highschoolers, but I'm not familiar with SOS, so I don't know how much they review.

At this point I think that I would just go on from where she is at. Working with her one-on-one, you'll be able to see if she is struggling with something and can give added focus and more time to it if need be. That is the beauty of homeschooling.! We can teach for mastery of the subjects, and not just enough knowledge to pass a test.

Please post here and let us know how it goes, or if we can help with anything.

When we switched from PS to homeschool, my 9th grade son completed the work for the subjects he needed before he could move on but at his own pace.  So he did some in a very short time which reviewed it for him but he didn't have to do multiple pages before moving on.  Math U See works well for this as he just watched the dvd and did the lesson.  If he needed help I helped him but otherwise he could move on to the next lesson immediately and caught up very quickly.  Alpha Omega Lifepacs worked well for his other subjects as he could take the diagnostics and we knew what he needed to do without redoing everything. He liked doing Lifepacs so he used them for many of his subjects.  He will graduate this year and has done well.

Hope this helps, it worked for us.

LaDonna 

A resource that you might want to check out is www.keypress.com . The company sells a book series called "Keys to Learning". They offer books such as Keys to Algebra, and Keys to Geometry. You can use these books as refresher books, at the same time you will be able to see if she has areas that she did not originally grasp. I would also suggest the www.mathusee.com . This will cost you more money but is an easy to use program. You can watch the lesson with your daughter, usually about 5 to 10 minutes long. Then you will have five days of review on that one topic, there are extra activities if you feel she needs more review. If you go with m.u.s. you might want to check out ebay, vegsource, amazon.

Thanks for the responses everyone... we ended up going to the local homeschool bookstore and the owner worked with us to set up a curriculum ... we are going to go with Lifepacs 10th grade math(Geometry) and supplement that with the Algebra 1 concepts that she seems to be having problems with.  As for Language, we are doing a 7-8th grade curriculum that covers language, grammar, literature, etc.  I think it was called the Gray Edition and once she completes that we go to the gold edition which covers all of highschool Language, etc.  We are also using Lifepacs for 10th Grade History and Science . 

I am feeling much less panicked now - I have been told by numerous people that when they first took their children out of public school they tested below the grade level they were in, so ... now only wondering what my other 3 children who seem to thrive in public school are actually learning.

I want to add some electives that she shows an interest in -- basically art and fashion design or something along those lines... any ideas where I can find curicculum along these lines would be appreciated.

Thanks again you guys, PBS has helped me keep my sanity on more than one occassion :)

Shan

As for fashion design, find a good 4H group that has a strong textile program. They probably have curriculum. You can call the county extension office and ask about clubs in your area. You might also see what is available as dual credit at Blinn for later down the road, when things are stable.

As for your 3 other kids, well those poor teachers have to have them pass whatever standardized test is in vogue to keep their jobs. That's what they probably were taught.