SKILL-ORIENTED ALGEBRA, VERSION IV and MATHEMATICS, BASIC SKILLS Historical Note Educational software is rarely commercially successful; serious stuff; almost never so. For this reason and because I am a man of advanced years, I have decided to place "Skill- Oriented Algebra," (SOA), and "Mathematics, Basic Skills," (MBS), on line as freeware. Both program groups produce printed exercises designed for direct use by classroom students. Teachers may use photo-copies to supply exercises for an entire class. Answers are provided and reflect accep- ted, in-class formats. Both packages have been very useful. "Skill-Oriented Algebra," grew out of the repeated failure on my part and on the part of my associates, to teach elementary algebra to normal, public high school students. In each school -- and I have taught in many -- only a small handful of students could absorb the text-based course. It is a problem that is substantially universal, and until now, knew of no rational solution. I am a retired military officer with a background in engineering and contract management for development and test programs. When a problem exists, I automatically make the attempt at analysis first, followed by a proposed rectifica- tion, and then test. I determined that modern public school students are unprepared for the concepts and techniques of algebra. Most could not even perform satisfactorily in elementary school arithmetic. I proposed to tackle both problems simultaneously with a course specifically designed for our "substandard" students. Course content was pared to the essentials and sequenced in such a manner as to avoid overwhelming students at the start; then gradually -- in degrees -- "upgrade" their arithmetic skills while instructing the concepts and drilling the techniques of algebra. Four years of test followed in a minority populated public school in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. This proved -- or at least, demonstrated conclusively -- the efficacy of the proposed "solution." "Mathematics, Basic Skills," (MBS), grew out of a similar situation encountered during a brief sojourn in a small junior high school. This school was a "low socio-economic unit" and rated 29th in basic arithmetic skills in a district containing twenty-nine schools. My first year there, another school joined the district, after which we were rated 30th. It was an insupportable situation. Fortunately, there was a benefactor; Honeywell Corporation of Phoenix, Arizona. Recognizing that we had a programmer aboard, they contributed equipment, communications, and central processor time on their new series 2,000 computer. A few abortive attempts were made at "interaction" programs, after which MBS was developed and through the use of Honeywell- provided Western Union teletypes and Ditto facsimile, a program of directed drill and practice was employed to upgrade our stu- dents. Using the techniques of Operant Psychology, involving black stars and gold stars and eventually candy; there was produced a student body so adept at arithmetic and elementary mathematics, that they rose in that one year to the virtual top of the district. Standardized tests produced no final "victor;" but our school rated "second" in one category and "fifth" in the one other. I don't believe more than one or two other schools had overall ratings as high as ours. Over the years, both SOA and MBS have undergone many modifications as students and associates offered suggestions and improvements. Programming progressed from Time Share Basic through Commodore Business Systems programming, to "Apple" and now, finally, to IBM PC & Compatibles. A. D'ATTORE Compuserve 75222, 1254 Alfred D'Attore 1300 South Farm View Drive Apartment B-21 Dover, Delaware 19904