I pwn!

mikau · 2006-07-06 14:10:03

I'll be 20 next time I take this test. I wish I could have started a year or two ago but my highschool education was complicated and inefficient. Safe schools were too expensive and affordable schools were too dangerous. (shootings, drug problems, etc.) And at the time I wasn't too interested in school anways. I kind of always figured I'd go into construction but that didn't work out in the end. It wasn't untill one day I woke up and I was 18 and I thought "dang! I'd better take a course in something and move out of my parents house!" I looked through some courses and their prerequisites but thats when I realized how little I knew and how important education was. At the time, I could not have solved the equation 4x - 3 = 5 without guessing. Anyways, I picked up a saxon book and started working through it. I completed algebra 1 and 2 in maybe 6 months or so.. (Can't remember exactly) algebra 2 would have been enough to get into college with but a funny thing happened. I found I liked math! A lot! So I decided to finish the saxon math series. I got the saxon trig book and then the calculus book, and here I am finished them all and ready for college!

Anyways, I'm going to the community college of philadelphia, (since its affordable) for 2 years to earn an associates, and then transfer to another college for another 2 years to get a bachelors. The second college I've not yet selected. Hopefully I can earn some scholarships or something if I perform well at community, to help me pay for the more expensive schoo.

elite-mathlete · 2006-07-18 13:45:28

Great Job!

John E. Franklin · 2006-07-18 20:03:34

Cool math!!

John E. Franklin · 2006-07-18 20:04:57

I didn't actually type the inappropriate wording, I just typed math, plus you wouldn't know what it was anyway because it was something a kid said in my high school that he made up.

Patrick · 2006-07-20 08:59:02

Nice job, you do pwn

George,Y · 2006-07-23 18:52:49

Teachers are not always right, since they are humans, too.
Congratulations!

And do not put all your time into maths

mikau · 2006-07-24 09:52:23

what do you mean, George, Y? Recreational time or study time?

George,Y · 2006-07-25 18:13:50

study time

mikau · 2006-07-27 15:44:31

this is true! I do study other things but I was mostly intent on getting my maths in shape for college, since I felt I'd need that most. I have tried to study otherthings but I find it easiest to excell in math. Mostly I supppose because I can do the practice problems. Other subjects aren't so easy to learn without a teacher. :-(

ryos · 2006-07-27 18:03:17

So what happened with the second test?

George,Y · 2006-07-30 14:38:49

I still think it's not a good idea to study math hour after hour-you may get a dizzy head. Anyway, you just do what is important, in case math matter that much to your career.

mikau · 2006-07-30 15:11:40

Crazy stuff, ricky. I'm loath to bring it up. The n00bs missinformed me and told me the computer would continue me where I left off, it didn't. It started me way back at the begining. :-(

I think I still got very far but towards the end they started asking me some problems regarding trigonometric identities. I think its stupid to judge your math skills based on how many trig identities you can remember. I couldn't remember the identity for sin (a + b)

Overall I'm pretty dissatisfied. First I was told the computer would automatically continue me where I left off when that was not the case, I had to wait weeks to take the second test, and I found more then one incorrect problems in the test. I probably got penalized for answers that were correct. Dissapointing. I sincerely hope this is not any indication of the schools teaching quality.

ryos · 2006-07-30 19:20:20

I sincerely hope this is not any indication of the schools teaching quality.

You are far too optimistic.

Actually, tests are very hard to write. I'm not surprised that they began to fall back on "easy stumpers" towards the end. Errors also don't surprise me; tests that don't have them are about as common as those that do.

However, in the case of a standardized test, it should have to pass many reviews as will as several pilot runs before it is administered on a large scale. That's just common sense, something apparently quite lacking in American public schools.

Zhylliolom · 2006-07-30 23:06:06

Placement tests like the one you described don't sound like the best tool really. As you said, the test didn't really even probe your true talents, and you say you didn't even get to calculus-level questions? From the posts I have seen by you, you sure do know calculus and deserve to move on to a higher level, but from the sound of this test, it's like they'll just throw you in calculus I if they can't stump you on enough of the problems. But I'm certain that you deserve a higher placement than that. Perhaps you should consult the math department and ask to take some sort of challenge test? A test that would evaluate your knowledge of more advanced concepts (primarily calculus I & II) and could determine placement in a much more appropriate way for an individual as motivated and talented as you. By the way, it sounds like you are finally done with the placement test; did they assign you to a math course yet?

Monox D. I-Fly · 2016-03-01 19:11:22

mikau wrote:

I'll be 20 next time I take this test. I wish I could have started a year or two ago but my highschool education was complicated and inefficient. Safe schools were too expensive and affordable schools were too dangerous. (shootings, drug problems, etc.)

Wait, where do you live?

Math Is Fun Forum

#26 2006-07-06 14:10:03

Re: I pwn!

#27 2006-07-18 13:45:28

Re: I pwn!

#28 2006-07-18 20:03:34

Re: I pwn!

#29 2006-07-18 20:04:57

Re: I pwn!

#30 2006-07-20 08:59:02

Re: I pwn!

#31 2006-07-23 18:52:49

Re: I pwn!

#32 2006-07-24 09:52:23

Re: I pwn!

#33 2006-07-25 18:13:50

Re: I pwn!

#34 2006-07-27 15:44:31

Re: I pwn!

#35 2006-07-27 18:03:17

Re: I pwn!

#36 2006-07-30 14:38:49

Re: I pwn!

#37 2006-07-30 15:11:40

Re: I pwn!

#38 2006-07-30 19:20:20

Re: I pwn!

#39 2006-07-30 23:06:06

Re: I pwn!

#40 2016-03-01 19:11:22

Re: I pwn!

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