The curriculum and textbook in this eighth grade class prepares students for the transition into the high school math curriculum for Pre-Algebra or Algebra 1. This is a class for accelerated 8th graders. We look at their past math grades, ITBS scores, and an algebra aptitude test to determine who will be in the class. We use a book by Scott Foresman called UCMP Algebra. A typical class period consists of students asking questions over their homework, checking their assignment, talking about the new material, and work time at the end of the period.
Extra help is available before and after school.
We encourage these students to participate in our Math Counts program to give them an even greater math challenge. I focuses on the uses of variables and techniques for solving equations with variables in them. Exponents, quadratics, polynomials, and factoring are also introduced but are not developed completely. I is to develop problem solving skills for use in the real world. Matrices, systems of equations, and variation are also discussed in-depth.