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Summary: We have used Saxon Math for years. . .
Review: . . .and have been entirely pleased with the results.This series presents a proven and successful methodology for teach mathematics in a homeschooling setting. Essential facts are drilled into the student through short, easy-to-digest lessons -- and lots of repetition of essential concepts. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: We have used Saxon Math for years. . .
Review: . . .and have been entirely pleased with the results. This series presents a proven and successful methodology for teach mathematics in a homeschooling setting. Essential facts are drilled into the student through short, easy-to-digest lessons -- and lots of repetition of essential concepts. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Excellent Math Book
Review: Have used Saxon Math for 3 years. I have a gifted math student in public school. He is in accelerated math and at the top of the class. Saxon math helped him to get an edge. I would highly recommend this book.
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Summary: This book is a good one for children stuggling with Math
Review: Saxon provides a good instrument for learning math if the student is not very good at math. It provides a lot of review and does not shock the student with too much, too fast. The only drawback to Saxon is that the child gifted in Mathematics may soon tire of the repetition that is so vital for the average student. This book may turn on a marginal math student and may turn off a brilliant one. One must also note that this text is a minimum for 7/6 grade. It is not an advanced textbook.
Rating:
Summary: This book is a good one for children stuggling with Math
Review: Saxon provides a good instrument for learning math if the student is not very good at math. It provides a lot of review and does not shock the student with too much, too fast. The only drawback to Saxon is that the child gifted in Mathematics may soon tire of the repetition that is so vital for the average student. This book may turn on a marginal math student and may turn off a brilliant one. One must also note that this text is a minimum for 7/6 grade. It is not an advanced textbook.
Rating: 
Summary: Enough to doom a student to a career in food service
Review: Seldom before have I ever seen such a horrible example of 'experimental' education forced upon the minds of innocent children as this supposed tome of learning. Some have described it as 'proved,' however, it is nothing more than useless tripe that is guaranteed to hold back homeschoolers from acheiving any satisfaction and success in math. Much brighter people than Saxon have spent thousands of years teaching math, and, guess what, they already know the best, easiest, and most logical method for teaching the subject in a manner to prepare the student for higher concepts. While I am not an advocate of book-burning in any way, I must declare that this series of math errors and misconcepts should for the good of all students be tossed on a bonfire, perhaps with purification ceremonies to accompany, so that future generations will not suffer the consequences of Saxon's ill-conceived concepts. Some of the major problems with Saxon's books that will eat away at a child's comprehension of what should be a simple, straightforward, and enjoyable subject are: • The use of SCT problem solving strategies. SCT is my own acronym based on Saxon's love of acronyms. It means Stupid Cheap Trick. Rather than exposing a child to different concepts of, say, fractions, and then moving on in a logical progression to teach them the correct way to perform math operations and apply math properties to fractions, Saxon likes to teach them incredibly wrong ways to solve problems. The method he instills in them is then used for a few months before he moves on to another wrong way to solve the problem, forcing the child to unlearn the previous wrong method. Result? A kid with no trust for learning a math concept because they don't know how long they'll use it before they have to learn something else. One particularly bright method of this book is to teach subtraction not as a number line operation, then a math operation, which is the standard and millenia-proven method for teaching the concept and will be used as a consistant operation throughout all levels of math, but rather to teach the LSD pattern of subtraction. A brilliant choice of letters as it seems to denote what one must be on to think this is intelligent. In Saxon's world, LSD stands for 'Larger-Smaller-Difference,' an entirely useless concept when one deals with negative differences. Saxon seems to deem his readers too dim to understand the concept of right and left movement on a number line, however, and so forces children to dumb down their understanding of how to solve a subtraction problem, or the very concept of what subtraction means in the first place. • Jumping around between math concepts. I sometimes think the table of contents of this book was decided using a dartboard rather than a human brain. Math is a progressive, logical, and straightforward subject, but with Saxon you'll find your child leaping with no apparent continuity between integers, fractions, operations, decimals, number sense, and problem solving, giving them no time to become confident with one subject before they're asked to tackle something else. It's rather like reading a book by sorting the chapters randomly: it makes no sense whatsoever. • A complete ignoring of the basic rules (properties and operations) of math. This is completely unforgivable, as it's the equivalent of asking someone to learn French without understanding conjugation of verbs or nominal genders. There is no foundation set for the concepts the student will learn. Properties and operations are not incredibly difficult and are the very basis of the magic of making numbers obey your every whim, but you won't find them in this book. • Repitition without understanding or confidence. See the notation above about jumping around between concepts. When teaching a concept, this book completely fails to then follow it up with enough practice problems to make the concept concrete. Rather, it will give a few practice problems from the lesson, and then repeat the last several incoherent concepts, apparently in the misguided thought of reinforcing what it failed to teach well enough in the previous lessons to make a child confident enough not to have to repeat the same problem. Of course, each time the child comes across the repeat concept, they have to switch mental gears, violating the tenuous repetition exercise of the brain to instill what they were trying to learn this lesson. Bah. Words fail me to describe the ridiculous nature of this method of learning. Let me give some positive advice to other homeschoolers who are looking for a math program. Find another publisher. Try McGraw-Hill, a truly proven publisher with absolute excellence and consistancy in the subject of mathematics, from arithmetic all the way through calculus. The lessons are just as easy to understand in and of themselves, but are presented in a logical, progressive manner that will ensure math confidence and enjoyment for your children. Don't push them into the Saxon system, where they'll only learn math in spite of the style of teaching rather than because of it.
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Summary: the BEST of the Best math books around
Review: The Saxon books are some of the best that I have ever used. I used Saxon books throughout all of my honors classes in highschool. Considering my scores on placement tests, I was place into Calculus III at the beginning of my freshman year at the University of Iowa. These books did wonders for me. The methods employed by Saxon books are sound. The books get students to examine all sorts of different ways to attempt problems. With the progressive method of learning, students learn the formulas, equations, and ideas by heart. Two thumbs way up for Saxon!
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