Saxon Placement Dilema

[DaisyMay]

I have a dilema with placing my son into Saxon math. He's 12 (almost 13) going into 7th grade. He's really good at math and has never struggled, although he does have dylsexia and attention problems. He's behind in his math because of some switching around I did :crying:, but I want to get him caught up.

 

He just finished the CLE 500 series and had no problem with any of the work or concepts. The problem with CLE is that my son doesn't take the time to read the lesson, he just skims and does the work. I would help him with it, but I'm not very good at math myself and struggle to explain things clearly. For that reason we are moving to Saxon with the DIVE cd's.

 

I had him take the placement test. He scored 2 points shy of getting into 8/7. The 7/6 samples that I saw looked like stuff we have covered, so I went ahead and bought the 8/7, thinking the challenge would be good for him, and that it would get him ready for algebra next year. Now that it's arrived, I'm wondering if the 8/7 is going to be too much for him. It looks pretty beefy.

 

I'm thinking my options at this point are: 1. Try the 8/7 for a bit and see how he does, with the thought of moving him back to 7/6 if necessary; 2. Return the 8/7 and get the 7/6 to go through quickly; 3. ????

 

Opinions or thougths on what I should do? Have I really blown it?? I really need someone to help me think this through.

 

Thank you!!

Gayle

[regentrude]

My son used Saxon Math 8/7 for fifth grade. Basically the only previous knowledge he needed in order to succeed was arithmetic (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) with positive numbers. Anything further, starting from arithmetic with fractions and negative numbers, was taught in Saxon 8/7. The book goes very slowly in incremental steps.

 

What problems on the placement test did your son miss? Did he make careless mistakes, or did he have trouble with concepts?

I would start with 8/7 and see how it is going- you can always switch back.

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

I know that Saxon has new editions now. Back when we used it I don't recall a HUGE difference between the 7/6 and 8/7 books. Saxon constantly reviews everything. I think I would go ahead and try the 8/7 book. You can always slow down and take a few days on a hard lesson.

[gingersmom]

When my daughter came out of public school I had her do the placement test and put her in Saxon 76. After about 1 month it became apparent it was way too easy for her. She did it for about 3 months before we moved to Saxon 87. Saxon 87 was very easy for her also (she is really good at math).

 

The only odd thing about Saxon 87 is it goes along at a really easy (almost review) pace till about the last 25 lessons. Then it takes a left turn and is like a different level and actually becomes hard. Very odd.

[coffeegal]

I'm thinking my options at this point are: 1. Try the 8/7 for a bit and see how he does, with the thought of moving him back to 7/6 if necessary; 2. Return the 8/7 and get the 7/6 to go through quickly; 3. ????

 

Opinions or thougths on what I should do? Have I really blown it?? I really need someone to help me think this through.

 

Thank you!!

Gayle

 

No, you haven't blown it. Go ahead and try 87 for a bit. If he runs into problems, back up to a point the lessons are super easy and move forward from there. You might do a bit of repetition, but often concepts are clearer the second time around. If he ends 87 strongly, go ahead and start algebra 1 next year. If he's doing okay, but not great (below 80% on the tests), continue with Algebra 1/2 for 8th grade and wait a year for Algebra. He'll still be in the running for Calculus in the 12th grade. :001_smile:

[Georgia On My Mind]

GingersMom,

Saxon spends about the first 30 lessons of each book reviewing from the previous year to catch any students who haven't been in Saxon up with the rest of the class. Then in about lesson 25 -30 they begin teaching the material for the new level. I have taught from 5/4 up and they do the same thing in every level. Now that I have been homeschooling my dgd instead of teaching in a classroom, we speed through the first part of the book to get to the new material. She is an excellent math student and doesn't need any reteaching of the concepts from the previous year. She remembers well the previous year's material as well.

 

On topic, I agree with the others that say to start 8/7 and take it slowly to see how he handles the material. He should be able to do it but I wouldn't pass judgement until I got to about lesson 45 to 50 because of what I previously said about the review and new material not showing up until about lesson 25-30.

[DaisyMay]

Thank you for the help and encouragement thus far. I'm thinking since I've already purchased 87 to go ahead and go for it. I just don't want to cause problems later down the road. I do think there's a strong possibility that he'll end up in a math strong field.

 

 

What problems on the placement test did your son miss? Did he make careless mistakes, or did he have trouble with concepts?

I would start with 8/7 and see how it is going- you can always switch back.

 

He missed a couple that he just wasn't thinking on, and then two on concepts that he should have known but didn't remember from having the summer off. There were a couple of things he's not been exposed to yet, and those are what gave me pause. I'm hoping that with the review component of Saxon that he'll pick up on what he's missed.

 

 

Gingersmom said:

"When my daughter came out of public school I had her do the placement test and put her in Saxon 76. After about 1 month it became apparent it was way too easy for her. She did it for about 3 months before we moved to Saxon 87. Saxon 87 was very easy for her also (she is really good at math)."

 

That's what I'm worried about. The 76 looked so much like what he's already done. He's already on the lazy side. He would be happy to skim by.

 

Thanks again & keep the advise coming!!!

 

Gayle

[gingersmom]

GingersMom,

Saxon spends about the first 30 lessons of each book reviewing from the previous year to catch any students who haven't been in Saxon up with the rest of the class. Then in about lesson 25 -30 they begin teaching the material for the new level. .

 

I started with Saxon 2 and am up to Algebra 1. I just found Saxon 87 to move very slowly/gently and then the last 25 lessons or so were out of left field.

[Teachin'Mine]

I would suggest holding onto the 8/7 and getting the 7/6 to start with. The 8/7 starts out not much different from the 7/6, but the last 30 lessons or so are packed full of new and challenging material. I would suggest, especially because he's had some inconsistency in his math in the past, that he begin with the 7/6. If it's easy for him, he may be able to do two lessons a day, or you can give him the tests, and if he gets 90 percent or higher, just move to the next test, until you find out where he needs to start in the book. But if you notice that it's the same type of problems he keeps missing, then make sure that you have him listen to the DIVE and complete that lesson. You want him to have a good understanding of both books before he moves into algebra.

 

You may find that he can work through both books in a year's time as 8/7 isn't much different from 7/6 except for the last quarter of the book.

[DaisyMay]

Does it matter what edition of 76 I get? I think the 4th is the most current, but if I can get an older one used, that would be better on the budget (especially since I just bought 87 w/ the DIVD cd!).

 

Gayle

[coffeegal]

Does it matter what edition of 76 I get? I think the 4th is the most current, but if I can get an older one used, that would be better on the budget (especially since I just bought 87 w/ the DIVD cd!).

 

Gayle

 

According to Art Reed's 'Using John Saxon's Math Books', you can also use the 3rd edition of 76.

[DaisyMay]

That's good to know about the 3rd edition being ok. I found a copy used, but I think the answer key is answers only, not solutions. I probably would need the solutions!! Oh, well... it's just money, right?!?!

 

Gayle

[Hunter]

A lot of parents have done the following when they have placed a student too high in Saxon.

 

Just redo the early lessons twice or even 3 times, until the student starts getting most of them right.

 

If the book is covering a new concept the student has not covered yet, and the book and DIVE doesn't bother to explain it, it's pretty easy to find something online to cover it, or in a yard sale book. Look for books called "Basic College Mathematics". They are remedial math books used by junior colleges that start with a review of addition.

 

The odd answers are in the back of 7/6 right? and you have the answer key to all the answers? You will have this book as backup to use if the is any area the 8/7 doesn't fix by simply doing a lesson more than once.

 

Since you have all the best stuff for 8/7 I'd start with it and see what happens. At about lesson 5 see how he is doing. If he is making too many mistakes or just working slowly and seeming frustrated, start the book over. Then reevaluate how is doing after completing lesson 5 the second time. If he is working slowly again by lesson 10, start over from lesson 5 or lesson 1.

 

Reviewing old lessons is great for days you don't have time to teach. Another idea is to make a list of tricky problems as you move through the book, and keep it handy for a bad day when you don't have time to teach.

[DaisyMay]

I appreciate all of the helpful responses. They've given me many good ideas.

 

I emailed Saxon to see what they would suggest. The person who emailed back said the do 76 with success rather than 87 with a struggle.

 

I'm thinking I'll get 76 and have him test through the lessons until he gets stuck. I'll probably end up getting the DIVE cd for 76, too, just so that we have clear & understandable teaching when we do find a weakness.

 

Thanks again to everyone who responded! This board is so invaluable!

 

Gayle

[Pam B]

I have a dilema with placing my son into Saxon math. He's 12 (almost 13) going into 7th grade. He's really good at math and has never struggled, although he does have dylsexia and attention problems. He's behind in his math because of some switching around I did :crying:, but I want to get him caught up.

 

He just finished the CLE 500 series and had no problem with any of the work or concepts. The problem with CLE is that my son doesn't take the time to read the lesson, he just skims and does the work. I would help him with it, but I'm not very good at math myself and struggle to explain things clearly. For that reason we are moving to Saxon with the DIVE cd's.

 

I had him take the placement test. He scored 2 points shy of getting into 8/7. The 7/6 samples that I saw looked like stuff we have covered, so I went ahead and bought the 8/7, thinking the challenge would be good for him, and that it would get him ready for algebra next year. Now that it's arrived, I'm wondering if the 8/7 is going to be too much for him. It looks pretty beefy.

 

I'm thinking my options at this point are: 1. Try the 8/7 for a bit and see how he does, with the thought of moving him back to 7/6 if necessary; 2. Return the 8/7 and get the 7/6 to go through quickly; 3. ????

 

Opinions or thougths on what I should do? Have I really blown it?? I really need someone to help me think this through.

 

Thank you!!

Gayle

 

This year my ds 12 and ds 11 are very close. Both are in Saxon 7/6. They will both finish before Christmas break (Lord willing). I plan to start Saxon 1/2 with both of them In January and take it slow. I'm about to post a question about Algebra supplements, so you may want to read it. :) Everyone is sooo helpful on here!