How do I know whether to enroll my student in Fundamentals of Math or Pre-Algebra?
By Heather Quintero, Chair of Mathematics and Science
Everyone wants their kids to love math, I think, even though many of us did NOT love the subject when we were students. Maybe your child already loves math, and you are looking for something that will challenge them! Maybe you are tired of fighting a student who is not excited about math. Either way, an online math class might be just what your child needs. How do you pick?
If you are choosing a first online math class, it can be hard to know whether to start your student in a fundamentals course, or if they are ready for pre-algebra. Knowing the different goals of each level of course can help you to make a decision that works well for your student.
Fundamentals of Math is a class that wraps up “elementary school” math. Students navigate a final workthrough of arithmetic topics so they are able to firm up their understanding of more abstract concepts, like fractions, that tend to cause students significant problems if they are not mastered before pre-algebra. Fundamentals of Math can also offer a challenge for an eager math student who is moving quickly through elementary math topics and is conceptually ready for pre-algebra but could use another year of review (and a little more time to mature) before jumping into middle school math.
At the pre-algebra level, students move away from concrete math and jump into learning abstract concepts. To be successful at this level, students must have a very good grasp of all fraction operations, and should be able to conceptualize fractions and decimals as numbers rather than just “slices of a pie.” Pre-algebra assumes that students have mastered the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) of all positive numbers including fractions and decimals and understand negative numbers on the number line. With that background, students start to explore integer operations and exponentiation.
Consider the number line below. If your student can place the numbers shown on the number line correctly, then they may be ready for pre-algebra. If they would struggle to place the numbers correctly, then Fundamentals might be the better choice.
Solutions: 1. G, 2. B, 3. A, 4. F, 5. D, 6. C, 7. E
At the Well-Trained Mind Academy we offer two types of Fundamentals of Math and Pre-Algebra courses, Traditional and Problem Solving.
- The Traditional Approach is a great course for students who like to be taught a method to solve problems and who benefit from extensive practice of that method.
- The Problem-Solving Approach is good for students who like the challenge of very complex problems and feel satisfaction in solving, even if that takes multiple tries.
Each course has a pretest linked in the course description. Click through, read about the class, and then have your student try the pre-test. You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions about how to interpret the test. We are here to help!