Students taking the course can be given a placement evaluation to determine the level at which they should begin. Placement examinations are in the back of the workbooks, and also in the Instructor’s Guide. They are both the same. After the evaluation, students can start with the appropriate workbook.
The placement evaluations are divided into two sections. The first relates to books 1 through 8, and the second is for books 9 through 12. Books 1 through 8 cover addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals and percentages, calculator achievement and life-skills math power. Books 9 through 12 teach algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Although students may be able to work addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems, they may be unable to solve the practical word problems. This is critical for math understanding. Doing math in a rote manner does not equate to understanding mathematics. Solving word problems requires students to use critical thinking skills. If students can do the math work, but are unable to do word problems, let them solve just the word problems. Encourage students to begin in the workbooks at the point where they have difficulty.
In the back of the placement evaluation there is a “Student Progress Report.” Instructors can fill in the information to record the progress of each student. Instructors are permitted to make as many copies as they need.