05 Sep 2005 - 04:15

on Singapore Math and Saxon Math, again

We've been talking on this thread about doing a parent guide to Singapore and Saxon, which are the two most readily available "classic math" curricula available to homeschoolers and parent tutors (I want to avoid the use of the phrase "traditional math", since progressive experiments in education were the norm for most of the last century).

We have used both curricula, and will continue to talk about both of them frequently in these pages.

However, different kids need different curricula, and we wanted to help parents make a choice that benefits their child best (and also matches best their own ability and willingness to support their kids' math learning; Saxon is probably a lighter-maintenance curriculum than Singapore).

Along those lines, I've been planning to post these links to Saxon and Singapore word problem comparisons at Paula's Archives for a while. Have a look. Although it's not really an accurate comparison to pull word problems out of each book and compare them at random, I think it's generally true that Singapore has exceptionally good word problems. Any kid reared on these problems is going to be mathematically in darn good shape.

Here, too, are Paula's Archives on Saxon Math and on Singapore Math individually.

When assessing your kids for their placement in Singapore Math, you'll almost certainly find that their placement level doesn't agree with their grade level. Somewhere on this site, though, someone posted that the Singapore math levels through 6B are actually completed when Singapore kids are in the 8th grade (or the age-equivalent grade in Singapore, whatever it is) -- something to tell your kids if they refuse to back up and do something they think is meant for younger kids (I sure wish I could find the post where that comment was).

Here's a post Catherine did on a price comparison between the Saxon and Singapore product lines.

And let me say, once again (repetition is key!), that if you have a kid who is getting lost or has gotten lost in math, and needs to make up lost ground and rebuild their confidence, I still don't believe anything beats Saxon math's approach.

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Carolyn,

I read the posts on Singapore vs Saxon math. There is some info there but most of it I already knew. For example, that Singapore word problems are better and that Saxon reviews a lot. But the posts do not tell me everything that I want to know as a parent teaching my child.

For starters, I want to know:

Do they cover the same topics with the same depth in the same time period?

Are the explanations clear, concise and in mathematically correct language?

Are explanations visual as well as in written form?

I'm sure that I will think of other things. I just think that a comparison should be well thought out and address the needs of a parent who has been involved with the topic as well as a parent who is just getting started.

-- AnneDwyer - 06 Sep 2005

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This post wasn't going to be the whole comparison by any means!

Plus, remember that I am just getting started with Singapore myself (and Catherine is just getting ready to focus on it). It will be a while before we can come up with a valid in-depth comparison from our own knowledge.

-- CarolynJohnston - 06 Sep 2005