Let me start this post by saying what WON’T be in it. I will not be bashing other math curricula, homeschool or otherwise. I’ve worked with many other textbooks and everything has strengths and weaknesses, but I’ll put forth my case for why I think Saxon is the best. If you’d like my personal opinion about a particular curriculum, I’ll simply say, “Do Saxon if you can!”. I’m going to discuss the Saxon curriculum as if the reader is unfamiliar with it. If you’ve used Saxon or at least flipped through a textbook, you’ll know a lot of the “what”, but perhaps not the “why”. Hopefully this post will be helpful to readers from any camp. Also, one slight caveat: I’m discussing the homeschool version of the high school Saxon curricula; that is, Saxon 1/2, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Mathematics, and Calculus. I’ve not used the younger grade materials, and the “new” editions that are more like traditional textbooks (including the separate Saxon Geometry) are not what is being discussed here. Now, on to the goods…

     Saxon has a unique style of teaching that many aren’t familiar with. There are some marked differences that can confuse and even aggravate those who don’t understand the “why” behind it. The major points of difference have to do with (1) the ordering and pacing of the concepts taught, (2) the number and type of problems in the homework, and (3) the testing frequency and design. Let me try to briefly yet clearly explain what these differences look like and why they are so valuable.

First, spiral concept arrangement and structure.

     Saxon uses what is called a “spiral” or “incremental” approach. Big topics are broken into smaller concepts and taught in bite-sized pieces. I usually explain it like this: Imagine a traditional math book that has an entire chapter on everything you want to know about fractions. Adding them, subtracting them, multiplying and dividing, reducing fractions, proportions…you get the idea. The next chapter is all about graphing. And the next is all about algebraic equations. And so on. So the table of contents might look like something like this:

Chapter 1
1. Fractions, lesson 1
2. Fractions, lesson 2
3. Fractions, lesson 3
4. Fractions, lesson 4

Chapter 2
1. Graphing, lesson 1
2. Graphing, lesson 2
3. Graphing, lesson 3
4. Graphing, lesson 4

Chapter 3
1. Algebraic equations, lesson 1
2. Algebraic equations, lesson 2
3. Algebraic equations, lesson 3
4. Algebraic equations, lesson 4

Saxon curriculum might arrange it something like this

1. Fractions, lesson 1
2. Graphing, lesson 1
3. Algebraic equations, lesson 1
4. Fractions, lesson 2
5. Graphing, lesson 2
6. Fractions, lesson 3
7. Algebraic equations, lesson 2
8. Graphing, lesson 3
9. Fractions, lesson 4
10. Algebraic equations, lesson 3
11. Graphing, lesson 4
12. Algebraic equations, lesson 4

     Now, before you throw something at the screen in frustration, follow along with the logic. Instead of spending 4 lessons in a row studying fractions and then moving on to never look back, you take it a piece at a time. You don’t have to master everything about fractions in the time it takes to do one chapter; instead, its spread out over twice as many lessons. You start with most basic steps of a particular concept and review it for 3 lessons before you move on to the next level of difficulty. Meanwhile, you’ve also already learned the easiest thing about graphing and algebraic equations as well. This pattern concentrates the “easier” steps for all concepts in the beginning of the year, with everything getting progressively complex together when the student has more math under his or her belt. This also prevents students from hitting hard topics so early in the curriculum that they get overwhelmed. Hopefully this is starting to make sense, but it works even better when you see how the homework is styled.

Second, simple homework problem sets with constant review.

     In light of the spiral learning method, it hopefully makes sense that the homework would be designed to reinforce the simple steps learned in recent lessons. As opposed to a traditional math text, with 30-40 progressively harder problems covering a single skill, Saxon only includes between 2 and 4 problems of the new material learned in that day’s lesson. The other 26-28 problems (for a total of 30 problems every lesson) are review of the previous 10, 20, 30, or more lessons, always reviewing a mixture of concepts, helping students build mastery of multiple skills at once. This is EXCELLENT practice for college entrance exams (ACT/SAT), since this is how those tests are designed as well. One problem usually has little to do directly with the problems before and after it. This also is how the real world works, for how many situations do you find that only require a single type of math calculation?

     I’ve tutored many students who are ready to bang their head against a wall when they don’t understand the lesson and yet are expected to complete 30-40 problems using the new skill, and in problems that range from basic to advanced. Yet in a lesson where only about 10% of the new stuff is being practiced, it’s okay to make mistakes and not master it on the first try. That being said, there are usually a few practice problems before the homework set, so realistically, every lesson gives 4-6 problems in which students can try their hand at the new skill they’ve learned. And that skill is only slightly more advanced than the last step they learned (ump-teen lessons prior, with lots of practice in between).

Third, test often and test everything.

     One of the scary components of Saxon Math is the testing frequency: a test every week. Since the book doesn’t have “chapters”, just about 120 lessons ordered 1-120, the testing pace is set to follow every four days of lessons. A regular week would be one lesson a day for 4 days, and a test on the 5th day. The exams are setup like the homework, with 20 problems all mix-matched of the concepts covered in previous lessons (but not the 4 most recent; the test after lesson 24 would only cover material up through lesson 20). This can be very intimidating for someone coming from a book that only tests once per chapter for 10-15 chapters in a year. Now there are upwards of 30 tests?! But there are so many advantages to this setup: more tests make each one a smaller contributor to overall grade; students can get higher grades since they have just a few problems of any one problem type that they may struggle with (in lieu of half the test being the huge concept they didn’t grasp); and instructors and students get weekly feedback on if the student is able to solve problems without the help of the textbook or notes.

Bonuses to using Saxon

     A few awesome extras that come from using Saxon curriculum. First, if your student completes the Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Advanced Mathematics (pre-calculus) sequence, they get a full credit of Geometry as well! That’s 4 math credits for the cost and time of 3! This is possible because Saxon teaches geometry throughout the three texts, breaking it up and sneaking it into the algebra. Second, students who take Saxon Math are usually MUCH stronger at word problems (everyone’s favorite part of math anyway!). Saxon has a method of teaching the algebra and arithmetic long before the word problems that need those skills are introduced. By the time those type of word problems are encountered, students have been solving the algebra part of them for many lessons. The only missing step is to turn the words into an equation they recognize! And the breadth of the type of word problem templates that Saxon uses are applicable to a wide range of problems that might be encountered in real life or on a placement test. Take it from someone who’s done it: I’m a math nerd already, but I’m so much stronger with my depth and breath of comprehension because of Saxon Math!

Summary (or TL;DR)

Pros

• Spiral approach guarantees regular review of multiple concepts
• Learn all the easy parts of everything first. This slow approach builds confidence in students and gives them harder stuff when they are ready for it.
• The integration of algebra, arithmetic, and geometry for each homework lesson (and within individual problems) is similar to the type of questions a student will experience on college placement tests (SAT/ACT).
• If a student completes the Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Advanced Mathematics sequence, they get full credit for Geometry as well (4 courses for the cost and time of 3!)
• Real mastery of problem types, especially word problems.

Cons

• Spiral approach doesn’t allow for many practice problems of new skills per lesson.
• Extremely difficult to jump in/out of Saxon with other curricula.
• Textbook is rather “plain”, with few pictures and no color.
• Lessons are very short, with usually 2-4 examples demonstrating the new concept.
• Students don’t “master” a concept until almost the end of the book, since it has been broken into pieces. This is a disadvantage if they get tested against their peers who have already covered concepts in entirety.

     I pray this has been enlightening for you, and will help you as you consider if Saxon is right for you and your student. I’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment! God bless you as you navigate the murky waters of high school math!