Help comparing Saxon and AoPS

[jenniferp8]

I'm familiar with Saxon but can anyone tell my how AoPS compares? I've heard good reviews but don't know much about it.

 

My situation:

I have a daughter who is in 6th grade at a charter school this year after homeschooling for 4 years. She is doing Course 3 (equiv to 8/7?) and is needing more practice to really understand the logic behind the beg algebra topics they are covering now. She would be going to Algebra next year if we can get her the right extra practice to be comfortable enough with it. Would you get her another Saxon text (which one?) to practice over the summer or would AoPS be fun and help her understanding (the logical thinking processes - the why - behind the problems) better? I want something that really explains the why behind the math... Or any other suggestions?

Thanks!

[wapiti]

Well I'll give you my two cents, though I think you could use the opinion of someone who used both (regentrude? :)). My experience with Saxon was very limited.

 

AoPS will give the why behind the math, but its organization and style is the polar opposite of Saxon. It is organized as mastery and instruction is via the discovery method (the student tries problems first, which bit by bit lead the student to "discover" the lesson; detailed solutions to the lesson problems follow, and then the exercises). AoPS was written for top students to learn by doing hard problems. It is challenging.

 

I would not go to AoPS Intro to Alg if prealgebra has been a bit on the shaky side. Assuming your dd is otherwise a very good math student, you might consider AoPS Prealgebra, which is fantastic (and there are the videos, which can be viewed by anyone, without the book).

 

As another matter, I have questions about whether additional practice improves understanding of concepts or simply leads to better retention of something already understood for certain students. If the concept is being practiced but is not completely understood, I would tend to question the instruction.

 

If you are looking for very straightforward instruction of prealgebra topics, you might look at a text like Dolciani's Prealgebra, An Accelerated Course (mid-80s).

[jenniferp8]

Thanks for your thoughts. I looked at the videos over on the AoPS website and looking at the chapter list in the pre-algebra book I'd say she's probably comfortable with 85-90% of it. She may be able to use the videos to fill in the gaps or I could get another text to supplement with and see if a different teaching method will help.

[regentrude]

As wapiti already wrote: Saxon and AoPS are on the two opposite ends of the spectrum.

AoPS definitely teaches the why behind math, by using a discovery based method, and is a great program for strong math students who are interetsed in, and excited about, math.

If your DD struggles with the prealgebra concepts in Saxon 8/7, she might benefit from AoPS Prealgebra, but should absolutely not attempt Intro to Algebra without a thorough prealgebra grounding.

For simply additional practice, AoPS is not the right resource.