One year of access to our comprehensive Pre-Algebra teaching videos. These are short, to-the-point instructional videos that cover all essential Pre-Algebra topics. The course also includes one year of access to the Pre-Algebra Solutions Video Library, where every homework and test problem is worked out and explained on video.

The spiral-bound student textbook is consumable, allowing students to easily follow along with lesson videos, take notes, and work problems by hand. This format helps prevent frustrating copying errors and makes reading and handling the material more brain-friendly.

The accompanying spiral-bound solutions manual provides step-by-step solutions for every homework problem, enabling both students and parents to easily and accurately check assignments.

The three-hole punched, loose-leaf test booklet includes two versions of each test (Form A and Form B), allowing students to re-test if needed. The corresponding solutions pages show each test problem worked out in detail. The loose-leaf format allows parents, tutors, or teachers to easily hand out and collect individual test forms and to accurately and quickly check work afterwards.

The three-hold punched, loose-leaf parent guide provides you with all the key information needed to guide your student successfully through Pre-Algebra. It includes a pacing guide, grading suggestions, and grade recording sheets.

Pre-algebra is designed to serve as a bridge between middle school math and the more abstract world of algebra. It reviews and reinforces arithmetic skills while introducing students to foundational algebra topics. All algebra concepts covered in a pre-algebra course are retaught in algebra 1, but at a more advanced and in-depth level. In other words, there are no unique “pre-algebra” topics that are not retaught in algebra 1.

The purpose of pre-algebra is to give students early exposure to introductory algebra concepts so that when they encounter them again in algebra 1, they are better prepared to understand them at a deeper level. For this reason, we generally recommended that students take pre-algebra before algebra 1 if their schedule allows.

P.S. We offer a Placement Test to help determine whether your student is better suited for Denison Pre-Algebra or Algebra 1!

If your student is in 7th or 8th grade — or otherwise at the typical age for starting pre-algebra — they are likely ready for this course. Students do not need perfect mastery of arithmetic before beginning, as the course provides ample review, reinforcement, and practice throughout. 

Students should be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide one-digit numbers. That's it! All other topics are reviewed and retaught, including basic arithmetic, integers, fractions, decimals, and percents.

To begin Denison Pre-Algebra, a student only needs to be able to add, subtract, multiply, and divide one-digit numbers. This is because by the time a student reaches 7th or 8th grade, they have almost certainly been exposed to all the essential elementary and middle school math topics needed for pre-algebra, such as place value, long operations by hand, fractions, decimals, percents, and so on. While your student may not yet be fluent in these areas, that prior exposure provides a foundation to build upon — even if their understanding was fragmented or the instruction ineffective.

In Denison Pre-Algebra, we begin by reviewing and reteaching the most basic math skills, but in a way that’s gentle and appropriate for students preparing for high school-level math. For example, we don’t require students to perform tedious calculations like 1,438 × 805 by hand. For many students, that kind of work is frustrating, discouraging, and not particularly useful in an algebra course (especially since we typically use calculators for such problems in high school math and beyond).

Instead, we focus on reteaching practical arithmetic skills that are still relevant to do by hand, such as 72 × 8, while avoiding unnecessarily complex computations that create cognitive overload and distract from the main goal: learning algebra. This approach helps students move past the arithmetic barriers that often hold them back and allows us to begin introducing algebraic concepts. It also makes it possible to offer a pre-algebra course that doesn't rely on heavy prerequisites.

There is not a Success version of Pre-Algebra, but we hope this course will be good gauge as to whether our standard or Success courses will be better fit for your student moving forward. If your student thrives with the pacing of Pre-Algebra, they are likely a good fit for our standard courses. If, however, the pacing is a bit of a challenge or your student is struggling with many of the concepts, then we recommend checking out our Success series. These courses are identical to Pre-Algebra in terms of format (i.e. daily teaching videos and physical textbooks), but they have shorter teaching videos and more compact homework assignments designed specifically for students with learning challenges.

It depends on your state and your transcript goals. If you are generally following the requirements for public/private school students in your state, then most likely pre-algebra will not count as a high school credit. So make sure you double check your state requirements. As a homeschool parent, you of course have the freedom to count pre-algebra however you wish, especially if you are not following the requirements for public/private school students.

Yep! This course is designed to take a student (even a "non-mathy" one) through an entire pre-algebra course without the need for a tutor or additional instructor.