You can often hear that Singapore and Saxon are the two leading math curricula on the United States homeschooling market. It is also said that the children who study under these “tutors” score the highest in the nation in standardized testing. Let us look at a few testimonies from the public school environment, which show that these statements are not far from the truth:
Singapore Math Testimonials
“North Hills Christian School in North Carolina, which implemented Singapore math in 2015, saw a 52 per cent improvement in math’s scores after just one year. Another school, Alderman Road Elementary School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, adopted Singapore math’s strategies when math’s scores started declining in 2013 and 2014. Math’s coach Andi Webb reported in 2016 that after one year of implementing Singapore math, the school clawed back the 10 per cent decline in scores. And after the second year, scores increased by an additional 4 per cent.”
(Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/singapore-maths-adds-up-for-educators-around-the-world.)
Saxon Math Testimonials
“In 2002, we bought Saxon for 5th–8th grade. In 2005, for the entire school K–8. Our scores have almost doubled in math.”
John Fitzpatrick Assistant Principal Locke Elementary School Chicago, IL
“Our AIMS/Terra Nova Math scores have steadily increased each year since we started using the Saxon Math curriculum. Our students have scored at or near the top in all grade levels over the last three years as compared with all the schools in our district. In 2005–2006, 96% of the Ocotillo fourth graders met or exceeded the AIMS test in math.”
Steve Price Principal Ocotillo Elementary School Tucson, AZ
(Source: https://www.hmhco.com/~/media/sites/home/education/global/pdf/white-papers/mathematics/elementary/saxon-k-12/report-card-130205.pdf.)
It can be safely stated that both Singapore and Saxon math programs are very well designed and not only produce good mathematicians but also excellent thinkers.
Let us now look in more detail into these two curricula and see what they have in common and where they differ:
Singapore Math
Background:
Since the foundation of the nation of Singapore in 1965 all the way through 1979, most of the textbooks that the schools used were imported from other nations. In the early 1980s, the Ministry of Education began to introduce new curricula and new learning standards. Within a short decade, Singapore students began to rank on top of international assessment tests in mathematics, science, and reading. (For example, see the TIMSS 2015 International Reports – Mathematics.) Their success led to other countries inquiring into the Singapore education system and presenting Singapore mathematics textbooks to their educators (among others, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Israel).
Features:
- Teaches children to think mathematically as well as develop critical thinking skills.
- Aimed at supporting learners with all learning styles, not just some.
- Uses a three-step learning process – concrete, to pictorial, to abstract, which is rather unknown in many math curricula.
- Covers fewer topics in greater depth.
- Every concept is presented from several angles.
- Children master the concept before moving to the next one.
- Students are taught not only to master a concept but to think about “why”.
- Includes colored pictures and graphs that may be distractive to some students.
- Requires extensive and ongoing teacher’s attention.
Saxon Math
Background:
Saxon Math was developed by John Saxon, a retired U.S. Air Force officer. Saxon began teaching math at junior college in Oklahoma in early 1970 and discovered significant gaps in his students’ math knowledge. He started creating worksheets based on his own methods, which in the future led to writing and co-writing a series of mathematics textbooks known as Saxon Math. He was criticized and ridiculed for his method by a vast majority of educators, but his success cannot be denied in the math proficiency of those who have studied from his textbooks.
Features:
- Uses incremental approach, which means that larger concepts are broken down into smaller pieces that are introduced step-by-step over time.
- Each lesson introduces a portion of a new concept which increases in depth in the following lessons and reviews previous concepts. This ensures that the students not only learn but also retain their math skills.
- Covers everything in a logical sequential manner, which aids in retention.
- The instructions are very clear and easy for students to follow and allows them to work more independently.
- Does not include pictures and colors.
- Easy to use for self-study with minimum teacher’s assistance.
As you can see, Singapore and Saxon are two very different approaches to teaching mathematics. One focuses on mastering a concept before moving to the next one, the other presents the concept in small increments and relies on continued review for mastery.
Based on the facts, can we determine which one is better? This question should probably be restated as “Can we determine which one is better for me and my family?”
If you are trying to decide which of these two curricula you should introduce to your homeschooling, it may be wise to consider several points:
- Do you and your child enjoy “digging deep” and “asking why”? Choose Singapore.
- Do you and your child thrive in continuous repetition without unnecessary stress? Choose Saxon.
- Do you have time to teach your child/children math extensively? Choose Singapore.
- Do you have several children and look for a high quality math curriculum with a minimum of your assistance? Choose Saxon.
- Does your child get distracted by colored pictures? Definitely NOT Singapore!
It is such a pleasure to know that we can make our own choices even in determining the best math curriculum for our family. Even though Singapore and Saxon maths may be, in general terms, some of the best options for teaching mathematics, let us remember that each curriculum must meet our individual family’s needs in order to be the BEST FOR US.
Which math curriculum have you used successfully? Please leave a comment below. We would LOVE to hear from you!
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