Problems with Saxon Algebra?
By Heather Idoni
Added Sunday, September 02, 2007
"I have to say I have never been more frustrated with a math book in my entire life. My son, who has done well in math until 7th grade, now dreads it... I see my son giving up."
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While counseling parents at the Homeschool Encouragement Center for the past 3 years, I have listened to the discouragement of countless parents over the Saxon Algebra curriculum.
Are you frustrated with Saxon Algebra... and did you think the problem was just you or your child? The problem isn't you... and it isn't your child (who probably has done just fine in math to this point, right?) The problem for many families are the inherent flaws within the curriculum itself.
The following comments were excerpted from HomeschoolReviews.com. After reading these, I hope you will not feel so alone! And even if you have sailed along just fine with Saxon till now, you may want to consider a different curriculum for your child when you reach the level where Algebra is recommended.
Comments on Saxon Algebra:
"We are using the Algebra 1/2 book this year and my son is very frustrated. We've not had a problem with Saxon before, but this one had been a bear! .... I don't want my son to hate math."These comments are very typical of what I have heard in counseling.
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"The book itself is confusing. It makes simple concepts really difficult to understand, and gets you in such an algebra twister that you find yourself slamming it in the wall. What could be easy is made hard in this textbook, and the answer key workbook that we were provided with is useless."
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"I strongly dislike the Saxon curriculum. Despite my strong math skills, I am always extremely confused by the skimpy explanations offered by Saxon. In 7th grade, I struggled to teach myself Algebra One. The Saxon text is obviously not meant for the average person to understand. Whenever a new concept was introduced (every day!), the instructions were given in wordy math lingo that no thirteen-year-old could easily understand. The practice problems did not always address the kinds of equations that would come up in later lessons, which forced me to pore over old lessons in a futile attempt to find the procedure with which I should attack the new concept. I hate the incremental approach! Rather than giving time to thoroughly learning each concept, Saxon rushes through the concepts. Supposedly, practicing old concepts every day will drill the formulas into one's head. However, how can a person PRACTICE concepts that they never understood in the first place? Saxon jumps from subject to subject far too quickly. The number of problems in each set is ridiculous. Rote repetition of concepts does not help with understanding; it only causes frustration, boredom, and a dislike of math."
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"I have to say I have never been more frustrated with a math book in my entire life. My son, who has done well in math until 7th grade, now dreads it. We sometimes just both stare at the questions! Even when we go back over the explanation of the concept, and go over the practice questions, the questions in the problem set are just alittle bit different so there is no way to figure them out... We usually end up with my son flopping his head down on the desk and me completely stressed... I see my son giving up."
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"At first, I really enjoyed the math texts by Saxon. The actual book introductions are strong and they tell you some great tips for teaching math in the classroom. My very favorite thing was the mental math in the texts and we had a lot of fun with this section. However, I do not suggest this curriculum because it is very hard to teach from. The practice problems are not always enough to work through the concept and then only a few of the sets problems include that topic. I understand that this is because they are constantly reviewing and that does help provide a solid foundation, but to get that solid foundation is sometimes a struggle with their problem sets. It especially was a struggle with the Algebra 1/2 text as it introduced stuff really poorly. I found myself searching the web for better information and it was quite frustrating! Try something else."
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"Neither my son nor I could retain all these concepts with such a flimsy introduction to them, and had to keep going back to find the lesson and relearn them so that the review problems could be completed. He is totally discouraged about his ability, even though he is very bright. I am exhausted after my second year of this, flip-flopping through the book seeking where a concept was originally taught, figuring out how to do it using the solutions manual which doesn't always show every step, trying to explain it to my son... My other two children have been somewhat neglected because of all the time just this subject has taken me, even though I was quite good at Algebra in High School."
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Many students who have switched to Video Text Algebra are doing well now, although I have no immediate experience using this program. Another program to consider is Uncle Dan's Algebra. Some parents have expressed greater success with Saxon when using the DIVE CD or a tutor. But why go to the greater expense trying to work with a flawed curriculum when there are better choices out there?
My son has had great success self-teaching with Harold Jacobs' Elementary Algebra. Ben began Jacobs Algebra early (at age 13) with very little formal math preceding his "formal" high school education. Our family adheres to the Moores' philosophy of Better Late than Early, delaying formal education until 12 or 13 years old. Ben has done fantastic in the Jacobs Algebra book. As an author, Harold Jacobs reads more like a "living" book, and less like a dry text. He leads the student through the text as a "live and present" teacher would. We are looking forward to his Geometry text as well as Mathematics: A Human Endeavor.
There is an excellent review of Harold Jacobs math textbooks posted online by Susan Richman. Susan also goes on to give an in-depth comparison of Saxon to Jacobs. You can find her review here: PA Homeschoolers Site. PA Homeschoolers also has a store where they sell new and used Harold Jacobs textbooks.
Another "plus" is that Harold Jacobs math books stay in print and don't need to be continually revised and updated!! Spend $35 to $40 on a good used copy now and you can still get your money back out of it 5 years from now. An excellent investment! But my guess is, your child will love his books so much they will want to keep them for their own children. It isn't often you can say that about a textbook!
(If you have feedback or comments to share about this article, please email: Heather@ChristianHomeschooling.us.)
Heather Idoni is a homeschooling mother of 5 boys, and originator of the website HomeschoolingBOYS.com. She is also co-founder of the Homeschool Encouragement Center. In addition to a myriad of other web projects, she owns and operates a children's bookstore in Michigan. You can find out more about her bookstore at the online version, Beloved Books.