One of the schools we're considering is a core knowledge charter. What I like about the school is that it groups kids into 4 or 5 different ability levels per grade per subject, and seems to allow for quite a bit of advancement in math. But the math curriculum is Saxon, which I know little about. Someplace here I saw a comment that Saxon spirals, at the expense of depth (the idea of a spiraling math curriculum does not give me the warm fuzzies). The kids in question are rather visual learners, if that makes any difference.

If they're willing to skip a kid up it might work out. The only thing I know about Saxon is that it is nearly impossible for a teacher to adapt it on the fly. As far as depth, I've heard varying opinions, but it seems possible to teach it very superficially, with an emphasis on rote learning and no understanding... and equally possible that a good teacher would do it much better. With no personal experience I can't really say with certainty one way or the other on that one.

My oldest had Saxon math when he attended a public charter school. That pretty much killed his enjoyment of math. Though he was in the highest group, Saxon did not present new material fast enough and the repetitive drills drove him crazy, as his dysgraphia made it hard for him to ever finish the worksheet in the allotted time. YMMV, but Saxon was a poor fit for my ds in grades 4-7.

I do like their kindergarten math, if that's any consolation.

My DS6(1st Grade) and DD9(3rd Grade) feel Saxon Math is too slow for them. I have heard that it is very slow paced and has a spiraling effect of learning which could be very good for someone who needs this. My son could do Multiplication, Division and 4 digit addition in K. He is gifted. My DD has not been tested. I would not recommend this Math for Gifted. Although, like in our case some adjustments could help make it more tolerable. Teaching Gifted Children in the regular classroom has other suggestions with Saxon too. (I would borrow this book from the library before you decide to buy. I found it to be helpful but many ideas are too hard to impliment in our school.)

My DS in 3rd Grade has tested above grade level in Math. This year they are allowing him to skip side B of the daily worksheet and letting him go ahead of class on side A. Some of the work he is doing feels very babyish because he could do it in K. School lets him work on his Mindware Math Workbook when he has extra time. This helps a lot adding depth to Math during his day. The gifted teacher is doing 4th Grade Math wih him and another child, allowing him to skip some not needed work. This has been going very well. I do not think it would work if my DS was just skipped to 4th Grade because it would be too slow.

I have two boys that both tested with almost identical scores at > 99.9% in both the numerical operations and math reasoning sections on the WIAT. Our school uses Saxon. One child, DS12, did Saxon 8/7 for one year, for what would have been 5th grade without the gradeskip. The other, DS10, is finishing up 8/7 this term, also what would have been 5th without the gradeskip. So, simialar abilities, similar experience. VASTLY different opinions on the curricula! DS12 absolutely loathed it! Could not stand the repetion, the spiraling, the drill, the way things were explained - you name it, he hated it! DS10 loves it. Doesn't mind the repetition, doesn't mind the drill, likes the built-in review. He had a chioce to switch to a different curricula, tried the new one, and switched back to Saxon.

I think it comes down to a child's personality and they way they learn. Some kids can't stand to spend one second more on something they have learned, some like to reinforce that skill. I'm not sure that their experiences would have been any different with another curricula, so I can't really recommend or condemn Saxon. DS12 was underplaced at the time in Saxon 8/7 and absolutely cannot stand to work at a level beneath his abilities. DS10 is underplaced right now in 8/7, but is very laid back and accepting and always finds a way to make anything work for him.

DD6 is in 2nd grade and they do Saxon math. She doesn't like the repetition and it moves too slow for her. On the up side she says that she's really, really good at math.


I forgot to add that DD5 (she's in K) does love to do her older sister's worksheets, so I make copies for her before DD6 does her homework, so maybe it's just the level their doing at school that is the problem.

I taught DS7 with Saxon math for 2 weeks last year. I absolutely hated it. We gave up after 2 weeks. Lots of repetition and unchallenging are our main complaints.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, I really, really appreciate it. For other reasons, I'm now more confused than ever about what we're shooting for in terms of a school. But I'm sure I'll be referring back to these posts yet again. So much to think about....