Saxon Math vs. Math Mammoth

People sometimes ask me of my opinion or review of Saxon math. What I've written here applies in particular to Saxon Math's middle and high school courses. (The grades K-3 are by a different author and are quite different; more on that below.)

Saxon Math uses an "incremental approach" where math concepts are studied in little pieces over several lessons, and those lessons are strawed over a long period of time, intermixed with lessons about other topics.

In other words, if one lesson is on some particular topic (say, percentages or inequalities), it's almost guaranteed that the NEXT lesson is NOT on that topic. It jumps around from topic to topic constantly, and this is by design. It is in a stark contrast to Math Mammoth, which stays on one topic for several lessons (for a chapter).

Saxon's method also includes a feature where after a lesson is taught, there are very few practice problems about the topic of the lesson. Most of the problems are mixed review problems, and they practice concepts from earlier lessons, not the concept or skill of the lesson. This PDF file contains three entire lessons from Saxon Algebra 1 so you can see for yourself how each lesson mostly has exercises about OTHER topics.

This type of arrangement helps students to MEMORIZE the content, since they get to practice any particular topic for quite a few days (though just a few problems per day). The downside is, it encourages many students to simply use rote memorization, and it does not guarantee nor promote conceptual understanding. Also, this approach can be very confusing to some students, and worse yet, turns some of them to math haters.

In Math Mammoth, each lesson comes with practice problems that practice the topic of that lesson, ensuring that students can understand and master it. Some of the problems in a lesson (especially the latter ones) often do involve other math skills also, tying in the current topic with other math topics. (Download over 400 sample pages from Math Mammoth.)

So, in a nutshell, Saxon Math is about constant review. Each lesson focuses on review of previous concepts, but does not give adequate focus on the new concept or skill. You might ask if there is any review in Math Mammoth. Yes. The curriculum includes mixed review lessons, plus the word problems in the curriculum constantly use concepts and skills from previous chapters.

The instruction in Saxon Math lessons seems adequate as do the individual exercises and problems. And I know many people like Saxon Math and many students have done well with it. It's possible to learn math well using Saxon Math, no doubt about it. But Saxon math can also be be disastrous. Personally I would rather see some sort of middle ground between constant review and the need to focus on new concepts.

If you do use Saxon, and notice that it's starting to turn your child against math as a subject, please consider other options. Also check that the child is not simply using rote memorization to get through, but that he/she does gain understanding of the CONCEPTS also.

Critical reviews

I'm not the only one who feels critical of Saxon Math's approach. I've read plenty of other opinions along the same lines... here are two I found on Amazon:

Read how professor Hung-Hsi Wu has worded it (emphases and the additional note are mine):

Some more left on my website:

Early grades of Saxon Math

The early levels of Saxon Math aren't written by John Saxon but by Nancy Larson. She believes in conversation between the parent and the child, and that shows in the materials. The early courses are fully scripted, which I know some parents like and some don't. The suggested conversations seem good overall. Manipulatives are emphasized, which often is very good, but not all children need a lot of them. And in the early grade levels, the very tight spiraling works better than later on, so it's much less likely that the early grade levels of Saxon Math (K-3) would cause a child to start hating math because of the curriculum. Those levels of Saxon can work perfectly fine (depending on the child).

The middle grade levels are written by John Saxon and Stephen Hake. Here is where the tight spiraling can become a stumbling block.

Final thoughts about Saxon Math for homeschooling

I feel that homeschooling parents need to be aware that Saxon is not necessarily the "gold standard." It works for some children, and not for others, like all the other curricula out there... but over the years I've gotten the impression that for some reason (maybe because of its popularity), many parents, especially those starting to home school, tend to think of Saxon a bit higher than necessary. They just automatically choose Saxon because "everyone uses it." So then there is more of a chance of real damage being done than with most any other math curriculum. It seems that people tend to have the mindset that it should work (even when it isn't working) since so many other people use it.

So, I'd like to bring some awareness to the potential pitfalls of Saxon Math from 4th grade onward, and the main potential problem is the tight spiraling. The instruction is good but the organization of the material can cause trouble.

But no matter what curriculum you use, remember that the TEACHER (you) is the most important part of the whole experience! You can try to adapt the curriculum, such as do less problems or use it in a different order than the table of contents indicates (though with Saxon that would be challenging). The TEACHER is what can make the biggest difference in how and what the student learns. Don't be a slave to any curriculum, not to Math Mammoth either!

By Maria Miller