Saturday, March 07, 2015

Doin' the Math

Euriel just paid his entrance fee into Preparatoria (High School) and he got this prep test for the test he'll have to take some time this summer. I think it's only to give him an idea of what the test will be like so memorizing it (20-25 pages) is out of the question. That "simplify" the equation was the first that really stumped me and even though they have answers in the back, it made no sense. It's been too long since I've done the kind of math you only run into in school. I'll have to look for examples on the Internet.


This test has a some reading comprehension but also conditional situations very much like Math but not really. Like logic I guess. Some of those made my head spin but partly because they were in Spanish. Also two very difficult pages of English. The English they teach here is very limited and I doubt they get much conversation or heavy reading experience. Don't know how they are going to read a long paragraph, understand it and answer questions ??? Students put up little English sayings on Bulletin Boards at the school and all are humorous and they had time to research those.

Front page of study guide from Internet
College Board - Puerto Rico y America Latina

As I go through this test and make notes I have to make sure he can't just shake his head YES and move on. He has been a little lazy in school and has not asked me for English help or much of anything else unless it needs the Internet. I mark the multiple choice questions but he is going to get a WHY and EXPLAIN IT. Within the next week I'll sit down with him and see if his brain is a total vacuum or has absorbed some of it. Crossed fingers. What is a disabled kid gonna do if he can't finish school.

2 comments:

Steve Cotton said...

Are our local Mexican students exposed to trigonometry by the eighth grade? Is that what this entrance examination is measuring? My experience in talking with secondary school students is that their reading and mathematics skills are not very good.

sparks said...

Well the test thinks they have been because there are a number questions about equal angles and degrees in a triangle. I haven't seen any of his homework and his sister is only in first year. I will know within a week or two

The construction of the house finished in April 2011 and I'm pretty much settled in. As of March 2014 I'm in preparation for rain mode for this coming summer. That includes sealing and painting things and dealing with drainage issues from last year.

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