Comments on: CLASS Christian Liberty Press Academy Homeschool Review

By: Karla

Karla — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:48:33 +0000

Regarding their Bible curriculum….CLASS will allow you to use another Bible curriculum…if you choose.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:35:17 +0000

Cynthia, at the 5th and 6th grade level, the student is still mastering a lot of skills. At that level, Saxon is perhaps one of the best choices. We use it ourselves.

At the 7th grade and beyond, however, a more organized naturally flowing curriculum might be a better choice. See my most recent post at http://www.schoolinyourhome.com/homeschool/teaching-math/saxon-math-homeschool-math/

By: Cynthia Peek

Cynthia Peek — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 02:27:34 +0000

It seems people are of two opinions for Saxon Math which leaves this homeschool mom still guessing as to the best math course available for a very non-self-disciplined, strong willed, artisticly inclined student. My child currently studies Rod and Staff math, and when I looked at Saxons’s on-line placement for 5/6 grade my student would have faired very well. Is it wrong to require oddly placed math questions anywhere if that should be a mastered skill? I think not. If a student knows the material well he or she should be able to answer it no matter where it is placed in a test.

Cynthia Peek

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 23:24:18 +0000

Art I agree that Saxon is a better choice than any “reform” type math curriculum like “Investigations by TERC” in lower grades and “Core Plus” in higher grades. What these reform curricula have done is near a crime! Students using such curriculum will indeed not be able to do fractions, decimals, or percents as well as algebraic operations such as factoring and combining algebraic fractions.

But Saxon, at the higher levels, departs from the hierarchical and logical structure of mathematics. For example, in the Saxon 8/7 book, they list LESSON 58 Line Symmetry & Functions, LESSON 59 Adding Integers on the Number Line, and then LESSON 60 Fractional Part of a Number, Part 1. So a student skips around, rather than devoting some time needed to develop a concept. This is at the 7th and 8th grade level. At the 12th grade level, where it can take considerable time to systematically and deductively develop such notions as natural logs or functions, such skipping around does not make for the best math education. That said, I feel Saxon will still suffice as a curriculum for the student not pursuing courses beyond calculus and will indeed be far superior to any “reform” curriculum. And it lends itself well to homeschoolers. But I feel a better curriculum at the higher grades (7th and above) is a good traditional algebra/pre-calculus series, with none of the rigor removed.

By: Art Reed

Art Reed — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:09:12 +0000

Having taught Saxon math from algebra 1/2 through calculus in a public high school for more than a dozen years, I can assure you that students fail algebra because they cannot do fractions, decimals or percents. As mathematicians all agree, students fail calculus not because they cannot “reason,” but because they did not master the basics of algebra.

John Saxon’s application of Dr. Benjamin Bloom’s concept of “automaticity” was responsible for my high school math student’s ACT math averages going from 13.4 to 22.2 in just three years by them mastering the basics and not by me teaching the test. At that time, the national average score was only 20.0. Not bad for a “shotgun” textbook.

Art Reed
http://www.usingsaxon.com