This book is being used by my grandsons 6th grade, and I am helping him with his homework. I have three university degrees, including Bachelor, Master, and Doctorate in science, business, and economics. And I have taught at the university graduate and undergrate level for more than twenty years. I was astounded at the efficient and advanced technique used by the author, Stephen Hake, to gradually introduce most basic concepts of logic, arithmetic, alegebra, geometry,and other subjects to my 12 year old student in this book, in a practical manner with practical every day applications, so that he absorbed them as by osmosis, without actually knowing it. This will provide him with a solid foundation for the four years of mathematics he will receive in high school, and for his later studies at university level. Hake does this without muddying up the young students mind with such distracting technical terms as "algebra, geometry, solid geometry, trigonometry, logic,and other subjects," by introducing the basic concepts of each subject with practical problems that require the student to, unwittingly, apply them.

My 12 year old son has used Saxon materials at home for 4 years. His younger sister is currently using 8/7. It can be challenging, but they've been very successful! It's nice as a mother of 5 to have confidence in the Saxon program as it frees me up to deal with other things. If they have a question, it is easy just to review the short lesson and find the answer! If I could give it 6 stars, I would. Now my third child is also in Saxon. Thank the Lord for this effective curriculum. The results have been great!

I HAD THIS BOOK IN SIXTH GRADE, AND IT WAS A GR8 BOOK. THE AUTHOR EXPLAINS EVERYTHING IN DETAIL, BUT THINGS CAN BE A BIT CONFUSING =)

My children have been using Saxon Math for 3 years. I love how the book uses the repetitive form to insure they do not forget the things they have learned. I also love that the book uses small steps each day so as not to overload the childs mind. Each lesson teaches one step which they master before going on to the next step. Also Saxon lists the chapter reference in parentheses under each number in the practice problem sets for each lesson so if they still don't understand they can go back and refresh their memory. If not for Saxon my children would not be doing so well in Math.

I started using this book with reluctance, not flashy, no color... blah, I thought. But I got it for free (from my niece) so I said what the heck, let's give it a try. My 7th grade daughter has always struggled with math and I felt this book might be too much, but surprise! She has improved greatly, math is no longer a chore, she finishes quickly, and she finally gets it. Whee!! The book introduces new concepts but at the same time gives practice in old concepts, in that way the child does not forget the previous concepts, she is constantly reviewing.

Seldom before have I ever seen such a horrible example of 'experimental' education forced upon the minds of innocent children as this supposed tome of learning. Some have described it as 'proved,' however, it is nothing more than useless tripe that is guaranteed to hold back homeschoolers from acheiving any satisfaction and success in math. Much brighter people than Saxon have spent thousands of years teaching math, and, guess what, they already know the best, easiest, and most logical method for teaching the subject in a manner to prepare the student for higher concepts. While I am not an advocate of book-burning in any way, I must declare that this series of math errors and misconcepts should for the good of all students be tossed on a bonfire, perhaps with purification ceremonies to accompany, so that future generations will not suffer the consequences of Saxon's ill-conceived concepts.

Some of the major problems with Saxon's books that will eat away at a child's comprehension of what should be a simple, straightforward, and enjoyable subject are:

• The use of SCT problem solving strategies. SCT is my own acronym based on Saxon's love of acronyms. It means Stupid Cheap Trick. Rather than exposing a child to different concepts of, say, fractions, and then moving on in a logical progression to teach them the correct way to perform math operations and apply math properties to fractions, Saxon likes to teach them incredibly wrong ways to solve problems. The method he instills in them is then used for a few months before he moves on to another wrong way to solve the problem, forcing the child to unlearn the previous wrong method. Result? A kid with no trust for learning a math concept because they don't know how long they'll use it before they have to learn something else.

One particularly bright method of this book is to teach subtraction not as a number line operation, then a math operation, which is the standard and millenia-proven method for teaching the concept and will be used as a consistant operation throughout all levels of math, but rather to teach the LSD pattern of subtraction. A brilliant choice of letters as it seems to denote what one must be on to think this is intelligent. In Saxon's world, LSD stands for 'Larger-Smaller-Difference,' an entirely useless concept when one deals with negative differences. Saxon seems to deem his readers too dim to understand the concept of right and left movement on a number line, however, and so forces children to dumb down their understanding of how to solve a subtraction problem, or the very concept of what subtraction means in the first place.

• Jumping around between math concepts. I sometimes think the table of contents of this book was decided using a dartboard rather than a human brain. Math is a progressive, logical, and straightforward subject, but with Saxon you'll find your child leaping with no apparent continuity between integers, fractions, operations, decimals, number sense, and problem solving, giving them no time to become confident with one subject before they're asked to tackle something else. It's rather like reading a book by sorting the chapters randomly: it makes no sense whatsoever.

• A complete ignoring of the basic rules (properties and operations) of math. This is completely unforgivable, as it's the equivalent of asking someone to learn French without understanding conjugation of verbs or nominal genders. There is no foundation set for the concepts the student will learn. Properties and operations are not incredibly difficult and are the very basis of the magic of making numbers obey your every whim, but you won't find them in this book.

• Repitition without understanding or confidence. See the notation above about jumping around between concepts. When teaching a concept, this book completely fails to then follow it up with enough practice problems to make the concept concrete. Rather, it will give a few practice problems from the lesson, and then repeat the last several incoherent concepts, apparently in the misguided thought of reinforcing what it failed to teach well enough in the previous lessons to make a child confident enough not to have to repeat the same problem. Of course, each time the child comes across the repeat concept, they have to switch mental gears, violating the tenuous repetition exercise of the brain to instill what they were trying to learn this lesson. Bah. Words fail me to describe the ridiculous nature of this method of learning.

Let me give some positive advice to other homeschoolers who are looking for a math program. Find another publisher. Try McGraw-Hill, a truly proven publisher with absolute excellence and consistancy in the subject of mathematics, from arithmetic all the way through calculus. The lessons are just as easy to understand in and of themselves, but are presented in a logical, progressive manner that will ensure math confidence and enjoyment for your children. Don't push them into the Saxon system, where they'll only learn math in spite of the style of teaching rather than because of it.

The Saxon books are some of the best that I have ever used. I used Saxon books throughout all of my honors classes in highschool. Considering my scores on placement tests, I was place into Calculus III at the beginning of my freshman year at the University of Iowa. These books did wonders for me. The methods employed by Saxon books are sound. The books get students to examine all sorts of different ways to attempt problems. With the progressive method of learning, students learn the formulas, equations, and ideas by heart. Two thumbs way up for Saxon!

Have used Saxon Math for 3 years. I have a gifted math student in public school. He is in accelerated math and at the top of the class. Saxon math helped him to get an edge. I would highly recommend this book.

As a homeschooling mom and someone who understands math, I give you this advice. Do NOT under any circumstances force your child into this method of 'learning' math, as it will doom them to slow, painful understanding of what should be a very enjoyable subject and will leave them unprepared to deal with higher math concepts. Saxon's misguided and experimental method of teaching math concepts is a spell of doom to any student who wants to then move on to an understanding of the principles and properties of math, or to apply them in science or engineering. Arithmetic has been around since the Arabians, and many brilliant people have figured out over thousands of years the easiest and most effective way to teach the subject. Saxon's new ideas are not an improvement in the least and in fact make math confusing, boring, and tedious.

If cost is an issue, I would recommend that homeschooling parents instead check out McGraw-Hill's excellent interactive textbook subscription service for inexpensive access to an exciting and interactive presentation of well-proven methods for teaching math concepts.

Excellent math program for homeschooling students. I have used various other titles and found the Saxon math program to be the best for all 3 of my children. The best part is the step by step approach to learning. Each day, a new topic is introduced as well as a review of all the previous topics. Students retain more and do better on achievement tests. For example, when studying fractions, you learn a little at a time and always review from before. You don't just do fractions for a chapter and never see them again until your annual achievement test.

We did this series starting with Math 3. It is SOOOOO good, nothing compares. My son, who is deaf, had an easy time learning math with this.

This book, and the other Saxon books, are macabre specters from the educational Dark Ages. Please note that none of the reviewers recommending them are math educators. In the Saxon world, math is a set of mysterious numeric incantations that, followed by rote, produce a correct answer. (As if anyone cared.) There is not the slightest effort to explain WHY anything works, nor is there any discovery involved. Math is something invented by people smarter than you, something that must be "mastered" by merciless drill. (So shut up and get to work.) The last 50 years of educational research on "best practices" math instruction simply do not exist. Avoid these books at all cost -- unless, of course, you want American children to fall even farther behind their European and Asian counterparts.

My school uses these brutal insturments of torture with great glee. It is utter terror to stare, long hour after hour, at those unforgiving pages, sinking slowly and painfully into a vacuam of the utter doom and pain that is Math 6-7. Indeed, the reapetive lessons, the boring structure, and the idoitc ''real world math'' all unite to prouduce a terror of the most hideous form. A 12 year old......at realms of inquiry

We started using the Saxon Math 76 book when we began homeschooling our son this year. The flexibility of the book allowed us to skip lessons until we reached my son's level; which was about a third of the way through. From that point on my son, independantly, went through two lessons per day. When people ask him why he likes being homeschooled, he says "Well, for one thing, I'm finally learning new things." Saxon 76 allowed us to go at his pace, sometimes slowly, sometimes skipping entire lessons. In September we will be starting with Saxon Algebra 1/2.

I highly recommend the Saxon series for any student. It is a great review and would be a great help to parents working with their kids on their homework. John Saxon makes the major concepts easier to grasp by breaking them down into their component parts and teaching each a step at a time. (Even I am finally understanding some of these concepts!)

With all that said and as noted in previous reviews, make sure you know which edition you are getting and, if you are also obtaining the answer/test booklet, make sure it is for the same edition.