Saxon Advanced Mathematics Books

TITLE: Saxon Advanced Mathematics

PUBLISHER: Harcourt Steck-Vaughn

GRADE LEVEL: Grade 11 or 12

PREREQUISITES: Saxon Algebra 2 (see placement test)

REQUIRED MATERIALS: None

GENERAL APPROACH: Lesson-practice-problem set; incremental with spiral review

 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Saxon Advanced Mathematics books are available in several different homeschool kits. The most basic set contains two books, the student text and the tests and answer keys book. There are also other items available, including a DIVE CD-ROM and a solutions manual.

 

This upper level high school textbook is intended to follow upon Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 math books in the Saxon math sequence. It delves into more depth in geometry concepts, as well as other pre-calculus topics. There is no separate geometry text needed in this sequence; students who complete all three books will have completed the equivalent of a year of geometry, integrated with their other work.

 

Special supplementary DIVE CD’s contain video of a teacher explaining the topic of each lesson. The explanations go into even more depth and detail than the Saxon lessons.

 

TOPICS AND METHODOLOGY

Saxon Advanced Mathematics books cover permutations and combinations as well as trigonometric identities and inverse trigonometric functions. Students examine conic sections, graphs of sinusoids, rectangular and polar representations of complex numbers. They unpack De Moivre’s theorem as well as matrices and determinants, the binomial theorem, and the rational roots theorem. Additionally, a rigorous treatment of Euclidean geometry is presented.

 

Saxon Advanced Mathematics books follow the tried and true Saxon methodology. There is a lesson that explains the concept and gives example problems, then there is a set of practice problems to practice the lesson. Then comes the bulk of the day’s work, the problem set consisting of 30 or so review problems. The methodology is successful because the lessons break down the concepts into easily assimilated increments, and the daily problem sets constantly reinforce past problem types in students’ minds.

 

STANDARDIZED TEST PREPARATION

Not only does Saxon in general have a good reputation for helping students do well on standardized tests, the Saxon Advanced Mathematics books actually include conceptually oriented problems specifically for the purpose of preparing students for college entrance exams such as the ACT and SAT.

 

TEACHER REQUIREMENTS
Even without a background in math, it is possible to teach your student Saxon Advanced Mathematics. Each lesson has several pages of explanation designed to facilitate independent learning. A detailed solutions manual helps parents grade students work without having to work each problem over for themselves. For parents who do not feel confident answering student’s questions, there is the DIVE CD or Saxon Teacher. You can also call Saxon with a question.