Throughout my years of homeschooling one math curriculum that kept coming up is Saxon. Saxon is not only popular with homeschoolers but many schools use Saxon as well. I had no experience with this curriculum until this year. I was looking for a change and my husband suggested I give Saxon a shot. With that I purchased Saxon for my 5th and 7th grader for this school year.
I will be honest; I took the wrong approach when selecting a math curriculum. I failed to pinpoint the issue of previous curriculum that did not work as opposed to curriculum I have seen success with. More specifically the difference between a spiral math approach and a mastery approach were the aspects I failed to consider.
Saxon uses the classic spiral approach. Math concepts are divided into increments and introduced to the students. New material is giving daily. The new material is briefly explained with a short practice. The work then consists mostly of review for the past chapters. Every day the practice set is a cumulative review of all the previous lessons.
A mastery approach is seen in curricula like Singapore or Math U See. The student is introduced to a concept. That concept is studied completely and mastered before the student moves on to another concept. This ensures confidence and true understanding of the concept.
I think a student needs the styles to be integrated for a successful year in math. A student needs the time to master a concept before moving on. However, a student also needs to practice math daily and review previous lessons to keep skills sharp. It is my assertion that if you must choose one it should be a mastery approach. Having your main curriculum a mastery approach will set the tone for the year and serve as a guideline. You can always supplement with workbooks or printable worksheets online for added practice of other skills. Personally, I find it more difficult to supplement for mastery than for review.
To be fair, my daughter does very well with Saxon math. She enjoys constantly reviewing past skills to keep them fresh in her head. She catches on fast to new concepts so not practices those concepts in great length has not caused her problems. My son dislikes Saxon because he finds the constant repetition boring and unnecessary. He also seems to forget the previous lessons because he is never really learning them as the lesson is so short. This is not to say Saxon moves quickly. It does not. It is to say Saxon is not thorough. My son is very good in math but Saxon is just not a good fit.
In the end I am completely disappointed and would not use Saxon again. My daughter’s success is only on the surface. If she is given problems in a different format or tries to tie concepts of math to real life, she tends to be missing the boat or show difficulty. I do not give my child a curriculum so she can only perform well within the confines of that curriculum. Students become dependent on the rhythm of Saxon and have trouble going outside the lines. Both my children are good in math but each have a different style. I felt that Saxon did not bring out the best in neither one of them. In fact, I found it to be something unable to advance them.