If you are using Chalkdust PreCalc, I need to know how to (what to) test?

[74Heaven]

Hi, we bought the Houghton Mifflin PreCalc DVDs and all the Larson PreCalc textbooks,TMs and the only tests I see are the end of chapter tests and the practice test in the Study & Solutions Guide?

I am wondering what Chalkdust does for the chapter-end tests. I used CD algebra for a few weeks and don't remember them including tests either?

Also, I am int. in advice on pacing. We took 2 months to go thru the 5 prerequisite lessons (from 3rd ed. TM) and now the first chapter of the 4th edition book - that is about 12 lessons - over about 40 school days -so, over 3 days per lesson. There have been tons of corrections and in fact, we have spent 2-3 hours a day. It has been really hard and slow for my "mathy" dtr and me, the non-pre-calc mom. I am still trying to figure out how to structure tutoring but the last few days have been better.

Another poster helped me greatly by sugg. that Chalkdust usually assigned the examples in the book with sugg. exercises on day one w/the video; Day 2-3 have been about every 4th exercise from 1-100 - so dtr ends up doing about 28 assigned problems over 3 days per lesson and watching the DVD and writing/semi-memorizing vocab.

There are 9 chapters in the precalc book and my goal is to finish precalc in about 1.5 yrs of school.

Thanks for any help - pls post here or if you really want to let me ask a few more pacing/assignment questions, please email me direct - ljdeerpark@aol.com

Lisaj

[SusanAR]

I use the chapter tests that are included in the solutions guide.

[AngieW in Texas]

I also use the chapter tests that are included in the solution guide.

I was having my dd do the practice problems along with reading the text and watching the video on the first day and then doing every-other-odd over the next two days. My dd is mathy, so the pace isn't a problem. We weren't quite done with 3 chapters by Christmas break though. I have bumped up the pace. Now she does the reading, video, and practice problems on day one and does all of the every-other-odd problems on day 2. If she has a lot of difficulties, we take a 3rd day.

My dd doesn't like watching the video, so she usually tries to do the problems based just on the textbook. She only watches the video when she doesn't understand.

My dd is going to be doing math at the cc next year, so I need her to finish precalc by the end of summer.

[74Heaven]

All your sugg have been incredibly helpful. Sometimes at the beg. of some new program or text, I always feel "we'll never" find a pace or approach and then with lots of WTMer's advice, and IRL HSers, we do.

So thanks so much. Our 3 days per lesson pace seems a pretty good fit.

My daughter is doing much better with our current plan/pace - thank you all so mcuh.

And one more question, some of the exercises in the latter part (say exercises 80-100+ - NOT the "Review" problems.) THey usually have names like: business, exploration, environment, profiit, data analysis etc...
-------- Any thoughts on how important it is a for a high school precalc student to be able to do these - on most of these, my dtr does not figure it out until we've reviewed the answer key and went over the whole problem/answer key with all its 3-5 steps, maybe helping thru the first step...) on the lessons seem incredibly involved real life math probblems. Any thoughts on "how important are those?". Some of them - say

Thanks again - I truly am appreciative!
Lisa