Saxon Math...what is your opinion on it?

[Tree House Academy]

Okay, now I am down to evaluating several maths at one time. LOL Today I ordered Saxon 65 for my son (that is where he placed in their testing). I also ordered Teaching Textbooks 5 yesterday and I have Calvert on hand. We have used Horizons and it was not a fit for him (or me...I need a guide that shows how to do it because I was not great in math). I have had enough people recommend Saxon that I just bought them both so I can see them, hold them, touch them, and make a decision.

 

So, if you have used Saxon, I want to know your experience with it. Does it seems to be advanced or right on the mark? My son is decent in math, I wouldn't call him accelerated, but Saxon placed him in 65 rather than 54 as I had anticipated.

 

I will make a poll at the top too - it is easier for some to click and not necessarily respond in writing and I respect that!

 

Thanks!!

[Guest]

We tried it and quit it after suffering through 16 lessons. We switched to R&S and are quite happy now.

[Laurie]

He has always used Saxon, but I was thinking about switching to something with dvd lessons for Algebra I in case I couldn't keep up with him. I ordered one program, but the solutions manual was printed in such small print that I sent it back! Then one day we were in the curriculum section of the bookstore and my ds spotted Saxon Algebra I and asked me if he could have it! So...he's continuing with his beloved Saxon, and I'll probably buy the DIVE cd just in case!

[Tree House Academy]

If it didn't work for you, was there a particular reason it didn't work for you?

[LizzyBee]

We have mostly used Singapore, but when my middle dd was in 4th grade she began to struggle with it and over the course of the year she was increasingly frustrated and falling further behind. I picked up a cheap copy of Saxon 5/4 to use for 5th grade.

 

I don't consider Saxon advanced. If anything, it's a little behind many other programs. DD needed a change, and she liked Saxon at first. She did well until we were got to about lesson 70 or so. Then just like with Singapore, she became increasingly frustrated and slow.

 

The one thing that bugged me the most was the explanations. They were often unclear or inadequate, and sometimes they simply were not mathematically correct. More than once I flat out told dd to ignore what the book said and I taught her the lesson myself. Also, I have a strong preference for a traditional mastery approach. I didn't like how the lessons bounced around from topic to topic.

 

At this point, we've discovered Life of Fred and my dd is a happy math camper. :001_smile:

[Hoggirl]

I think Saxon is a fine program if it is used one grade ahead. In other words, if your is going into 4th grade, I think that the 6/5 text is at the "right" level. We used it for 3 - most of 7/6. Ds did well with it, but eventually grew extremely weary of the format. We switched to Chalkdust Pre-Algebra after most of 7/6. Ds much prefers it, but Saxon was great when he was "little."

[Tree House Academy]

If it didn't work for you, was it because it just wasn't a good fit for your dc? Or something more?

[Old Dominion Heather]

We used it for a few years, but my son was moving so quickly through the books that it wasn't a good fit. He was looking at doing algebra in 4th grade. We switched to Singapore.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

We've been using it since the beginning and the only negatives I would give is that it can be time consuming and they put alot of emphasis on using money to solve problems. For example, instead of 4.55-2.63 they would say $4.55-$2.63. This is based on the fact that they use money as place value manipulative early on. Since my kids didn't handle money at that age it just confused things a bit.

[VaKim]

I really liked 65 and 76, but when we tried 87, it was just confusing and horrifying for us. Also, (and this is probably an individual learning thing), I discovered that though my dd had done wonderfully in it, she could not actually use the math she had supposedly learned. All she could do was plug in numbers to a formula and get the answer. And even then, she couldn't figure out which formula she was supposed to use if it wasn't laid out for her.

[Tree House Academy]

That is a very interesting observation - about your dd not being able to use the math she had learned. It sounds like what I went through in school. I did well in math, but I never LEARNED math. I definitely don't want that to happen to my kids! It is such a struggle not knowing math well.

[Melanie]

The kids have used Saxon from 5/4 to Algebra 1 and I'm working through Algebra 2 right now. So far we have not had any trouble. (We use it as described in The Robinson Curriculum.) Our only complaint is that it's dull, but then, we're the sort of people who would find math dull even when presented by eleven clowns on a roller coaster. ;) The kids can apply what they've learned in Saxon to real world situations (figuring area/volume, compound interest, gas mileage, weighted grades, etc.) so I can't fault it there, and they can solve problems in math programs other than Saxon, so I can't fault it there, either.

[Confuzzled]

We've used K and Algebra II. Neither one worked.

 

I hated that K was scripted. It was also too easy for her. She is very good at math and catches on quickly. She could have learned the concepts in the book in a very short amount of time without all the teddy bear counters and busywork. So we switched to Singapore. She is now in 4A and doing very well.

 

My son used Algebra II after completing Algebra I in public school with an easy "A". What a disaster! The explanations were totally insufficient. We couldn't figure out from the text how to get the right answer for many of the problems. The directions never told what form or how far to simplify the answer and it wasn't consistent. So when I tried to check his answers I had a very difficult time determining if his answer was right or wrong. I had to rework many of the problems myself to figure it out. And then the way I worked it was frequently different than the way it was taught in the book. (If it was taught at all.) It was one huge headache. We switched to Teaching Textbooks which he also used for Geometry and absolutely loved it.

[Ellie]

Also, (and this is probably an individual learning thing), I discovered that though my dd had done wonderfully in it, she could not actually use the math she had supposedly learned. All she could do was plug in numbers to a formula and get the answer. And even then, she couldn't figure out which formula she was supposed to use if it wasn't laid out for her.

 

We found that same thing with ABeka. :-o

[langfam]

Saxon Math = Tedium for kids. I think it can really quash any love for math. This year we switched out after 11 years of using it. Youngest used Horizons/Singapore. He'll tell you that math is his favorite subject. 8th grader used Jacob's Algebra and although he did OK in it, I did not find his math book in the waste paper bin once this year. He would frequently dump his Saxon Alg 1/2 textbook there. DD used TT geometry and really loved it. She also did well on the SAT after using Chalkdust's SAT review. We loved Chalkdust so much that all are switching to Chalkdust

[lvbeingmom]

I too am looking at TT and Saxon. My dd has done Saxon 2 through 5/4. She has learned lots but does not enjoy all the problems. Doing the research I have done Singapore math is 1 year ahead, horizon is 1/2 a year. I like Saxon a lot and don't want to switch but dd does not like doing all the problems. I had dd take the placement test for TT and for placement math 6 she scored 100%, than I had her do the one for math 7 and she missed 1 in section 1 and 3 in section 2. According to this she is ready for Math 7 in TT. I don't think she is when it come to fractions.

 

As for saxon 6/5, looking through the book it looks just like 5/4 but a little more advance. But looking at Horizon and other math programs they are the same. I think math at that age just tries to master it with bigger numbers, more place values.

 

As for math 8/7 I have heard to skip it if you child does well in 7/6 and move onto pre-alg.

 

Did you child take the placement test for TT?

 

Tami

[Mom2GirlsTX]

Saxon is not well thought upon in this household, at least by those who were supposed to use it. I started dd in Saxon after reading WTM and being on these boards and everyone loving it. Well, my daughter literally began to hate math, I was new at homeschooling and we pushed forward. By the end of the year I had a child who loathed, hated, cried and screamed through math. We tested her in Singapore, she started in 1A (we had just finished Saxon 2) and started over. Guess what? I have a child who loves and breathes math, she loves Singapore, it helps her understand the concepts, and she flies though any math she can get her hands on. I purchased TT so she has a program she can do by herself for fun, but we stick with Sinapore and LOF for our math together.

Saxon is a well respected program, but for some children, it is so tedius and boring it doesn't work. I liked teaching Saxon because it was more the way I learned math, perhaps it was good for my learning style, but not for hers or my youngest dd. Singapore, Life of Fred, and TT have all been loved in this house.

[mommylawyer]

I use Saxon with DD5 (we did Kindergarten, now we're on 1). Although, given some comments here and other critiques I've read of Saxon, I'm also supplementing with Singapore.

[Tap]

Well I voted used it...liked it. But we no longer use it. We use TT now but if it wasn't because we didn't like Saxon. We just wanted something else :)

[kls126s]

I discovered that though my dd had done wonderfully in it, she could not actually use the math she had supposedly learned. All she could do was plug in numbers to a formula and get the answer. And even then, she couldn't figure out which formula she was supposed to use if it wasn't laid out for her.

 

You know, I think this is fairly common, but I often wonder how often this is just due to an individual's strengths and weaknesses, and not only due to the relative merits of a specific math curriculum....? Just wondering out loud.

 

I voted liked it...use it... will keep on using it. We like it and although it is a bit more teacher intensive I've had good results with my dd. She's not naturally strong in math but she's learning and I've seen light bulbs going on. We do use it one year ahead - we're doing first grade now and using Saxon 2.

[LaurieinCA]

Exactly! My son finished up to Saxon 7/6... but when he took the Singapore Placement test, he tested into 4B. THAT should tell you something. Saxon is way too formulaic. My son could not APPLY what he was learning, especially when it came to word problems. Saxon is great for drill, though, which is why I continued to use it, along with Singapore Math. However, we only do the practice problems and "a few" of the exercises in Saxon each day, along with the Singapore lesson.

 

 

"I really liked 65 and 76, but when we tried 87, it was just confusing and horrifying for us. Also, (and this is probably an individual learning thing), I discovered that though my dd had done wonderfully in it, she could not actually use the math she had supposedly learned. All she could do was plug in numbers to a formula and get the answer. And even then, she couldn't figure out which formula she was supposed to use if it wasn't laid out for her."

[teachermom_7]

I voted "use it.. like it.. will keep using it."

 

We used ABEKA last year and it was a DISASTER!! Maybe my dd is not as math adept as others, but the ABEKA was too fast and did not let her learn a concept fully before beginning work on the next concept.

 

I agree Saxon is a little over done on review and drill, but it's been the difference between night and day for us. My dd went from literally CRYING when she knew it was Math time, to telling everyone her favorite subject is math!!

 

It is very formularic, but, if you strive to use math in everyday things (cooking, laundry, telling time, etc)., it helps then not to get so focused on just working a formula on a worksheet. They begin to see how it really works out in day to day living as well.

 

We plan on using it again this year and the years to come.

 

DS is beginning Saxon K. He was kind of in that "in between" area between K and 1. I figure his first year of real school needs to be more fun and enjoyable, so why not let him start out easy. He has the next TWELVE YEARS to work hard!!

 

Hope that helps!!

 

Tammie in La

[Melanie]

Okay, I finally had to satisfy my curiosity about Singapore - the one math program I never considered using! This evening I had my oldest (just started 7th grade, about 25 lessons into Saxon Algebra 1) take the 6A placement test, and he got them all right. (According to the Singapore website, levels 5B and 6A are supposed to be completed by the average 6th grade student.) This makes me think that Singapore is indeed more accelerated than Saxon, but that Saxon actually does get to all those critical thinking skills eventually. Perhaps the gap is due to all that review work in Saxon?

 

Anyway, my son liked the placement test - he said it was a nice change from Saxon - so now I'm considering supplementing with the Singapore word problems.

[mom31257]

I voted used it didn't work, because I taught it and didn't like it. I didn't use it with my own kids, but was considering it until I taught Alg 2 and Adv Math in a co-op setting. I have a math degree and love high school math, but hated teaching Saxon.

 

I found him telling kids to do things (ex. leave negative exponents in answers) that wasn't allowed when I was in school and still isn't in public. My youth pastor's wife teaches public school math, so I checked. He also used longer Algebra 1 methods to teach Alg 2 and Adv math problems instead of teaching new formulas and methods that all other programs I've seen teach.

 

So many times in class I would present his way, then the way I learned. 9 times out of 10 the kids thought his way was harder to understand.

 

As a student who excelled in math, I would have been bored to tears with this curriculum. I am thankful I had the chance to teach it to others before trying it on my own. It saved me a lot of heartache.

 

I love BJU or Glencoe, but I know I'm confident in being able to teach it myself where as some may want more instruction with the curriculum like Teaching Textbooks.

[Meljoy]

Singapore - the one math program I never considered using!

 

Well, we are happy with Saxon -(this son, the only one HS now, previous ones hated it -so I think it depends on the child) but probably will switch to TT next year. I have never considered Singapor- I will have to check it out.:) Melody