Dolciani Algebra I vs. Saxon Algebra I HELP!

[Jen in DE]

Hello,

I am trying to decide which way to go with math next year. My daughter has done a variety of math programs. We are about halfway through Saxon Algebra 1/2. She has done very well with this. Our biggest problem is that 30 problems take about 2 hours to complete. However, I'd rather take more time to finish a book and teach her excellent math skills than have it take only an hour. I am really stuck between Dolciani and Saxon. I am NOT a math person, so I love the Dive CD's and detailed solution book for Saxon. She has adjusted well and is maintaining an A average. However, I hear wonderful things about Dolciani. My daughter would like to be a vet, so math is very important. I would appreciate any feedback.

Jen

[Storm Bay]

My dd did Saxon for 3 years, but I am not personally a fan of Saxon because there was too much review for my eldest & it did not suit my teaching style at all (I only taught it for a while to my middle dd,) although there are many Saxon fans around.

 

We love the old Dolciani, but there are no DVDs or CDs. Have you considered Lial's with the DVTs or Chalkdust or VideoText? My dd liked Lials, but we didn't have the DVTs (she didn't want them, but in hindsight they would have been helpful) so we didn't finish it because she got stuck and hates my way of doing Algebra.

[LinRTX]

I have only known Saxon. But my son majored in electrical engineering (very math heavy) after going through Saxon Calculus and did just fine.

 

Linda

[In The Great White North]

Our biggest problem is that 30 problems take about 2 hours to complete.

 

Have you tried to figure out why it takes so long? Does she not like it or not understand it?

 

Really, as algebra books go, 30 problems is not a lot. Most algebra books have 50 - 100 problems per lesson. If you want fewer, try LoF or AoPS, but I wouldn't use either of those alone unless she had a quick understanding of the actual math.

[Brenda in MA]

Personally, I love the Dolciani series. We are currently using the ones copyright 2000, so not the older ones. We just like how the lessons are short and to the point and how the book sticks with one concept and develops it in depth. The Algebra 1 book also has many short review lessons to keep things fresh.

 

That said, there are no video lessons, and the problems from the last 1/3 of the problem sets are quite challenging. You can skip those and still get a solid course, but you might need to either work through the book with her or find someone who can give her some help when she gets stuck.

 

Saxon seems to work for some kids, but my oldest used it for many years and simply learned to memorize algorithms. He completely missed the conceptual side. He got all the way to PreCalc before we realized there was an issue. We switched to Chalkdust, and he did much better.

 

HTH,

Brenda