I am concerned about how I have been teaching percents this year. The district I work in no longer wants us to use the cross product method of finding percents. The preferred method is for students to use benchmarks when solving consumer application type problems. I have tried the Singapore method and some of my students really take to it and like it, but many students say they find it tedious and refuse to use it. I currently teach Pre-Algebra at the 8th grade level and from diagnostic testing a large percentage(about 40%) are at a 4th or 5th grade level of math proficiency. During testing we have done at our school, the teachers who have ignored our districts recommendations about how to teach percents have achieved significantly better (30 to 40 percent better)results in student achievement, making students write out the steps necessary to solve percent type questions using the cross products method. My concern, and I would like to hear any input and advice I an get on this, is that perhaps since so many of my students are 3 to 4 grade levels behind where they are supposed to be, does it make more sense to try and drill them using cross products type solutions or should I continue forcing the students to use benchmarks. What have other teachers seen as the learning curve for students using this technique?