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For use by fourth graders who have completed Math 3 or who are doing well in math, or for average fifth graders. Covers review of 4 basic math functions, estimating, 2- and 3-digit computation, decimals, fractions, rudimentary geometry, word problems. 3rd edition.

Customer Reviews

 
Elizabeth M. from RI wrote the following on 11/19/2004:
Our family has tried Saxon at three different levels and for us, each attempt was unsuccessful. In Math 5/4 students are told to "use a some and some more" problem instead of just using the word "addition". We found the program totally boring and difficult to implement. I have two boys with entirely different strengths and styles and it did not help either boy. This program evidently works well for some, but if it does not work for your child, look for another option.

 
kathy c. from florida wrote the following on 11/28/2006:
I ABSOUTLY LOVE all the Saxon math products! I've found them to be well planned and thorough programs! I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a complete math program!! I homeschool two children; one who according to the public school time line would only be entering 1st grade this year and another who is in 3rd grade. My "1st" grader has done all the programs along with my older daughter since day one. I am going to order the Math 5/4 for my older daughter, not because this program is too easy but because this is such a thorough program, they learn so much and so well! this program is worth every penny and more!!

 
Lynne D. from Massachusetts wrote the following on 01/08/2007:
Over the last three years, I have found the Saxon Math program to be extremely helpful in my homeschool program. The repetition, exercises, and additive nature of the system worked well for both my older daughter, who was behind typical grade level, and my younger daughter, who is above typical grade level. I agree that the "some, and some more" approach to mathematics is a bit unnerving at times, but I just explain that there are clue words in mathematical problems to help you solve them. I am ordering Math 5/4 for my 8 year old now, again, not because it is too easy, but because she has been able to systematically advance at a great pace. I really like this program.

 
Crystal R. from Hardy, AR wrote the following on 11/29/2008:
I've been homeschooling my girls from the very beginning. My oldest is now 14 years old. We started out using Modern Curriculum Press Math and it worked fine for my oldest, but I found that the next two girls did not comprehend and sustain what they had learned. I decided to try Saxon because of the repetition. I’ve found that all of my girls are doing much better in their math skills. I like the order of teaching each skill and how it builds upon every skill taught. It’s a bit intimidating or overwhelming at first because it looks like a lot of work for one year, but it’s not as bad as it looks. It’s well worth the extra money.

 
LaToya L. from Chicago wrote the following on 01/08/2009:
I have been homeschooling for two months, and my oldest daughter was really having a tough time with math. Saxon is great because you can see the difference in such a short time; you would never know she struggled at all.

 
Cheryl P. from Vancouver, WA wrote the following on 02/21/2009:
I am a certified teacher as well as a homeschool mom. There is a something you need to know about SAXON math before deciding on it for your child(ren). It offers just a "bit" of some math concept each day, and the lesson practices a small bit of that & then reviews previous material covered in the 25 problems following. IF your child needs a full chapter of practice and instruction to learn a new concept, then SAXON should NOT be your math choice. I have seen children fail miserably with SAXON and others do just fine. Some kids think mathematically and pick up concepts fairly easily. Others struggle to understand and need plenty of practice and explanation to fully "get" what is being taught. Editor's note: While the comments here are technically correct, they tend to be a little misleading. Saxon does provide practice on concepts but it does it through the daily review problem sets that are continual and comprehensive review.

 
Leigh O. from Nichols, SC wrote the following on 05/30/2009:
My son and I are thrilled with Saxon after an end-of-the-year switch. My son says (and I quote), "Can I do math first, Mom? That Saxon book makes it fun." We have struggled with A Beka math all year, and while A Beka is a very solid program, he comprehends concepts better with Saxon. The review problems are more "mixed," with more variety of problems and fewer of each type. No preparation is required. I don't even read ahead. I don't find a solution manual necessary at this level. I let my son handle "easy" topics on his own, while we learn "hard" topics (ie. fractions) together. The products are very reasonably priced for full curriculum, and fetch a good resale price, too, I have noticed. If you have any doubts about Saxon, I suggest you give it a shot.

 
Heather C. from Louisville, Ky wrote the following on 07/17/2009:
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Saxon Math! My daughter is now going into the 4th grade and we have used it since the beginning. The repetition is awesome, the concepts are well laid out, easy to teach and learn. She learns complex math concepts without knowing they are complex! We couldn't be happier!!

 
Anita B. from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania wrote the following on 06/27/2010:
We have used Saxon 1, 2, 3 and are now using Saxon 5/4. I have never been able to do math very well. I do not like math but, I do like Saxon. Saxon has given me everything I need to teach math to my children. I am even learning things I didn't know. I told my daughter that if I would have learned math the way that Saxon is presenting it, that maybe I would have done a better job with it in school and could have even liked math. My daughter was struggling with Saxon 3 a little bit but, she has been enjoying her new Saxon 5/4 math book. She reads the lesson aloud and I help her with the practice session problems. We go over anything that she doesn't understand, if necessary and then she goes off on her own to do the Mixed Practice work. Afterward, she checks her work with the solutions manual and I go over any problems that she did incorrectly, if needed. She said, "Momma, I LOVE my new math book!" I think she enjoys the freedom & responsibility that she is earning with the more independent format. It also allows me to teach Saxon 2 to my son while my daughter is doing her Mixed Practice.

 
Angie M. from Ohio wrote the following on 05/19/2004:
I do like Saxon Math 54 better than many of the other math books simply because it seems to encompass the learning abilities of a larger arena of children in the 4th or 5th grade. It seems to be more of a mid-range math book. I have tried Abeka, Horizons, and other math books, and I do miss the colorful pages. Saxon tends to have only black and white everything. I am glad that they are changing their cover. I cannot yet tell whether that means that they are adding more color to the inside as well. That would certainly be a welcome change. With all the colors surrounding us in this world, why would a child want to look at only a black and white page day after day? I am continuing to search for other math books and what they have to offer, but Saxon seems to be one of the better ones thus far. So, unless I can find something better, this is it for now. Ed. Note: The 2004 revisions of Saxon's middle school math (5/4, 6/5, 7/6, & 8/7) do include a highlighting color.

 
Lori B. from Los Angeles, CA wrote the following on 01/26/2008:
I tried a number of math programs with my daughter beginning in second grade when I began homeschooling her. She despised math at that point and did so until we found Saxon. Now math is her favorite subject. The program is clearly written and because it only introduces a small piece of a concept in each lesson (so that there is time to master that piece before adding another) it allows mastery of the concept without any struggle. I particularly appreciate how the answer book doesn't just give the answer but shows how it was solved. This is extremely helpful for homeschoolers. My daughter is 11 and we just ordered our fourth Saxon book (8/7). I appreciate the discounted cost Rainbow Resource offers for this program. It's worth every penny.

 
Ruth S. from DC wrote the following on 05/07/2008:
We have used Saxon Math since 6th grade. The girls have enjoyed it from the get-go! In the past 2 years we added the D.I.V.E (Digital Interactive Video Education) to the grade kit and have benefited greatly from the whole Saxon Math Curriculum.

 
JoAnna B. from Cordova, Tn wrote the following on 08/26/2008:
I am currently using Saxon 65 with both my 5th grade level son and 6th grade level daughter. Each day we start our math lesson by setting the timer and doing the drill worksheets. The children compete with each other to get the best times. We then do the warm-up exercises and go over the lesson. The children then complete the mixed practice on their own. I love how Saxon is both student friendly and teacher friendly. I appreciate that skills learned in previous lessons continue to be included in subsequent lessons. For years I have been afraid to use Saxon because I have heard remarks from others that Saxon was too repetitive and boring. I asked my children if they liked Saxon better than the other math curriculums we have used they emphatically stated that they did. I asked how they felt about doing the same drill sheets over and over and was told "It helps us memorize the math facts better!"

 
Tracie M. from FL wrote the following on 09/03/2008:
My now 13 year old daughter has had a very bad relationship with math throughout her life. We have tried so many programs (a new one every year), but she just could not seem to retain even the simple things. This past year for 7th grade, we gave Saxon 87 a try. I am so impressed with how well she is now doing. She doesn't cry when we sit down to math now, and those things that she couldn't master before have become a little enjoyable for her. Depending on your child's math "ability", it may not require teacher prep. If your child is like my dd, it still only takes minimal preparation, which is awesome when you have three or more that you homeschool simultaneously. It isn't very expensive compared to other programs, but Rainbow Resource has great discounted prices which makes it even better.

 
Nancy C. from Midlothian, VA wrote the following on 01/18/2009:
Saxon is not the program that I thought would be a good fit for my twins, now 10. They are both fairly creative learners, active, and what I had always heard about Saxon Math was that it is "drill and kill" and repetitive--in short, it seemed exactly not the way I saw my children learning. I have been very pleasantly surprised with just how well Saxon has met our needs and how eager my boys are to do the work. For K-middle of 3rd grade, we had used a combination of programs: primarily Math-U-See, supplemented with Singapore Math and DK workbooks. I've never been a single-curriculum user; I tend to use most materials as "resources" more than a single program to meet all of our needs. I was very happy with what we did in those early years, but what motivated me to try Saxon was wanting to cover more areas of math to better prepare for testing in the middle grades. The spiraling approach was appealing to me. I'm now using Saxon 1 with my 1st grader, and it's a better fit for her than it would have been for her older brothers. She enjoys the many drawing activities ("There were 5 turkey sandwiches on the picnic table and 3 peanut butter sandwiches. Draw a picture and write a number sentence to tell how many sandwiches were on the table altogether."), whereas they would have felt overwhelmed by the amount of pencil work involved. My daughter looks forward to the varied activities for each day. As the parent, I do find that Saxon at those early levels (up to 2 or 3) does require more involvement from me and is simply more time-consuming if you choose to do many of the daily activities like calendar work, writing the date, charting the temperature. My daughter loves this stuff, but I'll admit, some days it just makes me tired and I long for the simplicity of the other math curricula I've used! What my 5/4 and 6/5 children like about Saxon is that it is straightforward. It's no frills (though I think many of the word problems are rather creative and fun!). They wake up each morning and know exactly what they need to do, and this routine is comforting. They both approach math in different ways. One of my twins is much more confident about his math abilities, and he has liked Saxon because there is such a variety of problems that he doesn't get bored doing the same concept over and over day after day. His brother has seen his confidence grow because things move in this program at a manageable pace. And I have been pleased because I feel that Saxon prepares them well for testing. It is more tied to standards than some of the other programs we've used, and I don't approach testing time wondering if we should have taken some time to at least acquaint ourselves with probability or some other topic that may not have been covered in some of the mastery-based, single-topic programs. With all that said, I am still supplementing Saxon a bit--throwing in a bit of Math-U-See for some extra practice on some concepts (fractions, for example), and I'm also having them use some of the "Key To..." series to reinforce some things. But overall, Saxon has definitely surprised us in that it turned math into a confident, no-more-tears situation and into a subject that my boys want to now do first. It feels right on for poising us well to be prepared for moving into pre-algebra, and after researching other curricula as they have finished their Saxon book, I see by looking at placement tests for other programs that they are might even be able to skip some levels of other programs based on how well-prepared they have been from using the middle-grade saxon books.

 
April F. from Middle Tennessee wrote the following on 03/26/2009:
As a former "math-phobic" I was extremely apprehensive about teaching my children mathematics. I knew how I dreaded this subject in school and did not wish for my children to have the same experience. Then I found Saxon Math and after using it for several years I can say I am very pleased with this curriculum. My oldest is in the sixth grade and never has struggled with math in the way I did. My second grader loves math also. Saxon takes tricky topics such as borrowing and carrying and finds sensible ways to explain the process so that it all logically makes sense. When a student sees the logic behind a process, it is easy for them to remember the steps. Even all those "Math Facts" (basic math) are organized and presented so the mathematical patterns are obvious. The teacher's manuals tell you exactly what to say and "Voila!" you've explained a difficult concept with no tears and confusion. In the lower grades, 1-3, there may be a little pre-lesson preparation (typically involving common manipulatives, money, or household objects), but after grade three, most of the time my daughter could simply read the explanations from the lesson and figure out what to do from there. When she does approach me with a question, I can easily figure out the process from the lesson. Saxon Math is a great value, since a student has a firm grasp on the basics before needing to apply them to more complex problems.

 
Rachel S. from Leicester, NC wrote the following on 04/14/2009:
All I can say is WOW! I changed mid-year to Saxon Math 1 (also using Phonics as well!) and it has been the best math curriculum I have ever used. My son has been learning effortlessly. The lessons are set up in a way that he is learning and he doesn't even realize it! There are drills and I was nervous that he would struggle through. I gave him his first one and helped him with the first one, I got distracted for a few minutes and when I went back to him he was done and this was his first drill! The kit is great, it comes with everything including flash cards. The price is much less than other math I had looked at and even if it was more the material is worth it. The teachers manual is great. At this level you don't necessarily need it to teach the math but the manual has excellent ideas on how to play to learn and reinforce what they have already learned. My son loves doing the activities. I wouldn't have tried to teach it just with workbooks alone, I like having the Teacher's Manual to guide me. There is very little preparation needed between each lesson and at one glance at the next lesson you can see what you need if anything. My daughter is using Saxon on a different level and I have found the same for her. She isn't struggling but yet is challenged. The level she is at has "Mental Math" which is great! It exercises the brain and gets her in the "math zone" there are also drills which they can time themselves on and try to beat their time with the next one! The lessons for her are set up so that they are only introducing one concept at a time, then in later lessons they will refer back and expand upon the previous concept. I was a bit dismayed to find out that there is no Teacher's Manual to her grade but once I got the book and looked at it I realized that I didn't need one. It is easy enough to understand that an additional Teacher's Edition wasn't needed and just would have been an unneeded expense. I won't be using anything else for math but Saxon!

 
Nita S. from Russell, Iowa wrote the following on 07/07/2009:
My daughter was left behind in the second grade, she was in fourth grade when it was discovered that she was still only doing second grade level math, not only could she not do the problems, she had no concept of what the numbers represented. She might know that 2+2=4 but then might guess that 2+3=12. They put her in special ed for two years and made no progress. I pulled her out of public school and began to home school her, I started her out with Saxon math 3 we worked at an accelerated pace and throughout the summer, she completed Saxon 3, 4/5, and half of 5/6 in one and a half years then took the Iowa basic skills test, her score? Grade level equivalence 12th!!! Saxon doesn't just teach how to do the problem, it explains the logic behind it. Even I who minored in math in college can thank Saxon for finally explaining to me the reason for and logic behind exponents and square roots. I truly believe that any child who uses Saxon Math in the lower grades will be able to easily learn algebra and other higher math.

 
Kendal B. from Oklahoma wrote the following on 02/23/2010:
Buying Saxon has been the best decision I have made for math since I started homeschooling! My daughter struggled with math until we started using Saxon. She is in the 5th grade and is doing the level 7/6 with ease now! The value offered by Rainbow makes the decision to use Saxon even better! With this program there is basically NO teacher prep. She just sits down and goes to work each morning. If your kid is a good reader they will have no problem with this program in the middle grades. A friend with younger children says there is a lot of teacher prep for the elementary level, but the middle school levels are written to be almost self teaching. [Editor's note: there is a lot of teacher involvement in K-3 but actual prep is minimal.] I feel that both of my kids have progressed rapidly since we started using Saxon. (My son uses 8/7 in 7th grade.) Comparable with A Beka in work for student, but a lot easier to understand in my opinion. And cheaper when ordered through Rainbow for sure. Also don't be afraid to order Rainbow's bargain books! I ordered the teacher's guide separately from the bargain books and it was in fine condition!