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I'm looking into effective, *proven* home schooling programs and curricula as I come across ongoing reports on the many failings of the US school system. I have an eye toward a future family w/kids, but have a limited budget to pay for private school. Can expert Freepers out there advise me on the best home schooling programs, curricula, support groups and testing programs out there? I could also use any advice on the U.S. states most receptive to and supportive of home schooling programs. I'd really appreciate the help, especially from homeschooling parents.

Problem: Find the slope and y-intercept of the equation 10 = x ? 2.5. Solution: The equation 10 = x ? 2.5 is a specific case of the equation y = x ? 2.5, which has a slope of 1 and a y-intercept of ?2.5. This problem comes from a 7th grade math quiz that accompanies a widely used textbook series for grades 6 to 8 called Connected Mathematics Program or CMP.[1] The solution appears in the CMP Teacher?s Guide and is supported by a discussion of sample student work. Richard Askey, a mathematician at the University of Wisconsin at...

SEATTLE — For the second time in a generation, education officials are rethinking the teaching of math in American schools. The changes are being driven by students’ lagging performance on international tests and mathematicians’ warnings that more than a decade of so-called reform math — critics call it fuzzy math — has crippled students with its de-emphasizing of basic drills and memorization in favor of allowing children to find their own ways to solve problems.