We have also been going thru something similar. My oldest dd 5 is about 2/3 of the way through saxon math 1 and, while she gets all the answers right, I do have to sit with her and really teach the lesson. Even now (lesson 82) she doesn't have her addition/subtraction facts down as well as I think she should. She still has to count out on her fingers or the blocks. She is so bright in all other areas, I am thinking it is the program and not her.
This has led me to start searching for another math program and that is all I have been doing for the last two days! But I have learned a lot!
You may already know this, but Saxon is "incremental" in it's approach so it doesn't require mastery of something before it moves to the next thing. Instead it just constantly reviews what was introduced as it keeps introducing new things. So for some kids, nothing ever has a chance to cement in their brains.
The other method for teaching math is "mastery." The mastery methods seem to be slower getting going in the first few years, but that is because they are laying a solid foundation on which to build future concepts. To me this makes perfect sense, and really fits the whole classical method anyway - learn the grammar of something first before you move on the the next stage. (anyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about any of this.)
After much research (and neglecting my poor family and staying up too late!) I finally decided to go with a mastery program. There are several different kinds out there that would cater to different types of learning styles. I chose Rod and Staff.
Some helpful articles I read that led me to make the switch from spiral/incremental to mastery are the ones below.
spiralmastery.pdf (application/pdf Object) this is a short article about sprial vs. mastery approach
Is your math curriculum coherent? discusses why US math scores are continually on the lower end of the international spectrum. has research info and charts included
there are also some very helpful threads on this site about all this.
anyway, since i am having my own Saxon woes at the moment I thought I would chime in with what I discovered. you may have already known this, but maybe it will give you something to think about. Maybe it's not the program, but the type of program.
HTH! :)
~Michaela~