Saxon Math in Homeschool- Middle and High School
The main purpose of this page is to encourage you to think through your choices and have a math plan for all of middle and high school (whether you’re using Saxon or not). It’s ok if the plan changes, but have a plan, so you know where you’ll end up! Some of you are in Classical Conversations and they now have their own math curriculum, which I know nothing about. However, much of the big picture ideas here will still apply.
We’ve used Saxon Math from the big spiral Kinder book with its fun math manipulatives, to the Advanced Mathematics, and maybe Calculus soon too.
Saxon is a spiral structured curriculum, which means it constantly reviews the old material and jumps around a bit to keep all the topics front-of-mind. That means that if you want to go back and review all the lessons on a certain subject like Fractions or Functions, you’ll need to look in the index in the back of the book, mark all the pages and then skip around reading. (We actually recently did that for logarithms when we realized that my son was near the end of the Adv.Math book and still struggling with logs- see photo above) This is the hard part of a spiral curriculum. The benefit is that the student really masters the material!
The alternative to a spiral curriculum is a block curriculum (or a unit based curriculum). In these, the book will work on one subject, like the Area of Different Shapes, over several lessons. Once that unit is over, students often don’t see it again until next year. The benefit is that you get to really focus on one thing at a time. The down side is that students usually forget a lot by next year.
Saxon is old school. The man who wrote it, John Saxon, is no longer around, so it’s not being updated. This means that while it’s a super solid curriculum, it doesn’t perfectly prepare students for the SATs and ACTs. (Does any good math curriculum focus on test prep?) It’s not that there’s real gaps, as much as Saxon delays or under-emphasizes some things like functions, data analysis, and real world problems. Saxon also delays using calculators, which are now allowed on standardized tests as well. Conclusion: get an SAT or ACTs prep book/software to really excel on those tests.
In Classical Conversations?
This page used to be called “Math in Classical Conversations’ Challenge Program” because Classical Conversations (CC) suggested all Saxon Math. However, in the fall of 2024, CC started the rollout of their own MathMap curriculum. (My kids are older, graduating class of ’26 and ’28, and I know next to nothing about it! Sorry!) So, each year there are fewer and fewer CCers using Saxon Math, but my family members are still big fans! So, now, this page is just about using Saxon Math in your homeschool middle and high school.
f you’re considering outsourcing, this Schole Sisters podcast episode (#131) is an excellent resource on how to make this decision!
This page is part of our series on how we homeschool with Classical Conversations.
Check out a full list of all the resources on our main CC page here.
Let’s Talk About Math
I have a few pieces of unsolicited advice that I can’t help but give:
- Pick a math curriculum and stick with it; switch curriculums only as a last resort!! Each curriculum manufacturer covers subjects in a slightly different order, so when you switch, your students are probably going to miss some concepts. If you HAVE to switch, be prepared to sit down with the books from each manufacturer to compare, lesson by lesson, what is taught in each book so you can help your student catch up!
- Help your students understand the difference between “learning a new concept in math” and “math practice.” No one loves math practice. It’s repetitive and boring, but you still need to do it. We do LOTS of practice so the skill becomes automatic- like muscle memory. Then when we learn the next concept, we aren’t struggling with multiple concepts at the same time. We practice math like a pianist practices scales or a basketball player practices dribbling.
- If you are using Saxon Math, I HIGHLY recommend the book, Using John Saxon’s Math Books by Art Reed. It will walk you through all you need to know! A lot of what I say here comes from this book. I pull mine off the shelf and refer to it almost every summer as I plan the next year!
Create a Math Plan
Next, (whether you’re using Saxon Math or not) you need to become familiar with the different math paths your student can take. Once you know them well you can plan out your students’ math for all of middle and high school (CC’s Challenge A, B, 1, 2, 3, & 4) AND be ready to pivot if it’s not working!
What Math is Required?
Please also consider what your student plans to do after high school. If there’s even a slight chance that he/she will want to go to college, then check out your local or favorite colleges and what they require. Universities usually require more than the state requires for high school graduation. For example, the University of Arizona (here in Tucson), requires “Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Advanced Math for which Algebra 2 is a prerequisite” OR a specific ACT or SAT score. Often a consumer math or business math will work for state graduation standards, but perhaps not university requirements.
When it comes to math, you’re ALWAYS better off slowing down and really understanding the concept than pushing on and completing a book just so you can say you did. So I really like a moderate plan, especially when it works well with Science:
- Students need to have completed Algebra 1 and 2 (or equivalent) prior to most Chemistry classes (usually taken in 11th grade)
- Students need to have completed half of Saxon’s Advanced Mathematic book (or equivalent) prior to most Physics classes (usually 12th grade)
- (2025 CC Update: CC is removing Saxon Physics from the Ch 4 curriculum, which I’m very sad about. Between this and Math Map, I fear CC will soon have a reputation of being weak on the STEM side of education. Only time will tell.)
However, if your student wants to have calculus in high school, you’ll want to follow an advanced math plan. (If you don’t complete any calculus in high school it is totally ok! Many students don’t have calculus in high school.) Art Reed lays out several different plans for using Saxon Math in high school. Here’s my summary of his math plan suggestions:
You might instead choose to include a Consumer Math course for 12th grade, but Saxon doesn’t have one of those that I know of.
Algebra 1/2?
If your student has been using Saxon Math, you have a choice about Algebra 1/2 (usually in 8th grade). According to Art Reed “the content of [Algebra 1/2] is almost identical to that of Math 8/7″ (p75). If students struggled with the last 5 tests of Math 8/7, then students should go to Algebra 1/2. However, if they didn’t, then they can go directly to Algebra 1, skipping Algebra 1/2.
Some families choose to skip Math 8/7 and use Algebra 1/2 for 7th grade instead, but that’s not as ideal, because Algebra 1/2 doesn’t have the Fact Practice worksheets.
Advanced Mathematics
According to Reed, in Using John Saxon’s Math Books, Advanced Mathematics is a 3 or 4-semester program. Here’s how he suggests you use it as a 4-semester (2-year) program:
- Year 1
- Lessons 1-90
- 1/2 lesson each day: odds the first day, evens the second day
- Listed as a year of “Geometry” on high school transcripts
- Art Reed also recommends students be past lesson 90 in this book before they take the ACT.
- Year 2
- Lessons 60-125 (review is good!)
- 1/2 lesson each day: odds the first day, evens the second day
- Listed as a half year of “Trigonometry” and a half year of “Pre-Calculus” on high school transcripts
If you didn’t review those central 30 lessons, you could easily complete the book in 3 semesters, leaving room for a semester or consumer math or business math!
Calculators
If your student is using Saxon’s Algebra 1 curriculum, know that in Using John Saxon’s Math Books, Art Reed claims that John Saxon suggests students start using a Scientific Calculator starting around lesson 100. They don’t HAVE to have it until Algebra 2, but it’s nice for them to start developing some proficiency with it at the end of Algebra 1. You don’t need a fancy graphing calculator yet- just a scientific one with buttons like “sin” “cos” and “tan.” We purchased the TI-30xa for around $12 and it’s been working great.
In the middle of Algebra 2, students will need a graphing calculator like the TI-84, although they don’t appear to use it regularly until Advanced Mathematics.
What to Purchase for Math
For each level of Saxon math you’ll want:
- The Text book
- The “Solutions Manual” (which shows the steps, not just the final answer)
- The “Homeschool Testing Book” (which has both the tests (photo copy them) and the test solutions- not just the answers)
- Optional: The “Answer Key” has only the finally answers, so it’s not as helpful
Non of it is consumable and I’ve had great experiences purchasing all my Saxon materials off eBay, just pay attention to the edition numbers to make sure that your solutions manual matches your textbook. Art Reed also has recommendations about which editions are best in his book, Using John Saxon’s Math Books.
How to Scale Back Logic (Math)
Our ideal is to do one lesson of math a day (except for Advanced Mathematics, where we do one lesson over 2 days) and take a full day of math to do each test. However, each year, when life happens, we have needed to scale it back a bit.
As I talk to other CC families, Math is the subject that always seems to get pushed aside in CC. Aren’t we all always finishing the math book over the summer? (No? Just us?) Maybe this is because there’s not as much accountability in this strand? (Maybe the creation of MathMap will fix this?) Anyway, we regularly drop to half lessons of math during the school year (or one lesson every 2 school days). I know some people scale to only doing even or odd problems, but that’s not what Art Reed suggests, so we just move a little slower and finish over the summer. (Update: my son’s senior year we did evens or odds and it was much better, but I don’t know that I’d suggest that earlier in their math journey.)
When summer comes, we bump it up to 1 or 2 lessons each day! This way we stay on track with our larger math plan but have the flexibility we need.
How to Grade Logic (Math)
Since most math curriculums include tests, it’s pretty simple to assign a grade. I like to also give points for completing daily work and class participation.
What Goes in the Long-Term File?
I only keep the tests. All the daily practice gets trashed as soon as possible.
And now for some legal stuff
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