43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saxon does it again!, December 16, 1999
This review is from: Advanced Mathematics: An Incremental Development (Saxon Advanced Math) (Hardcover)
I used the Saxon books through all of my High school math courses, and think they are *the* best way to learn algebra and higher math. The key to the success is really twofold. 1) New types of problems are introduced with every lesson - but these are not drilled into the student by giving them 20 or more "practice problems" to do. Instead, only about 5 of the "new" problems are given for practice - letting the new ideas "sink in" over a period of days. 2) Constant review. Because the student is not burdened with lots of new ideas every lesson, the remaining homework problems are review of everything the student has done to date. This ensures that the student doesn't forget how to do the math, and makes reviewing for a test almost obsolete.
I am now in graduate school, soon to get my PhD in theoretical biophysics. Learning math so well in high school put me far ahead in college. I also tutor out of the Saxon books (and others, depending on which schools the kids attend), and the Saxon kids are far ahead of the others in terms of retention and understanding.
This book covers beginning calculus without labelling it as such so the students aren't scared off. Ah! Another clever ploy to get students to learn the "hard" stuff!
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellence in Mathematics, March 4, 2006
This review is from: Advanced Mathematics: An Incremental Development (Saxon Advanced Math) (Hardcover)
I have been using Saxon mathematics for 15 years, first as a 5th-12th grade student and more recently as a tutor. This program is excellent and like one of the other reviewers I can agree that even my "average" Saxon students have significantly better mathematics skills that those students using other programs.
I began using Saxon math in 5th grade. Prior to that I used a typical "learn and drill" method. A new concept was taught and drilled for 20+ problems and then the instruction moved on to another topic. By the time I reached an end of unit exam I had forgotten the early material.
Then in 5th grade we changed curriculums. I didn't become a "math lover" overnight. In fact, although my math skills improved, I adamently hated math all the way through junior high. Then I began algebra. By the end of Saxon's algebra 2 textbook I loved algebra and was making high A's in my homework.
A couple of years after highschool I was invited to begin tutoring math at a private school. At this point I reviewed my Saxon Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 eventually going on to study Advanced Mathematics for the fun of it. I would spend 2-3 hours a day studying math and loving every minute of it.
This independant study was 2 1/2 years ago. I recently decided to attend college as a math major. Last semester I passed Calculus I near or at the top of all the Cal I classes combined. My Saxon skills gave me the tools I needed to study well and grasp rather abstract concepts.
The one area that has concerned me is trigonometry. The Advanced Mathematics covered the topic quite thoroughly, however Calculus requires a lot of trig and it has been so long since I studied Advanced Math I've been afraid my professors will "spring" something on me I don't remember.
Yesterday my fears were alleviated. The math department held an extra credit exam for the Cal 2 students. The exam was a trig placement exam they would like to implement in the future. Because of my other classes I didn't have time to study so I decided to "wing" it and hope my studies 2 1/2 years ago would award me at least partial credit.
I'm quite pleased to say that thanks to Saxon I knew how to work every single problem on the test even though it has been 2 1/2 years since I studied trigonometry and I have not had any trig students since that time. Saxon works... Excellently.
If you are considering the Saxon texts let me encourage you to read the introductions to the texts. They are quite inspiring, imparting the vision Saxon had for math.
In addition students must work every problem. This is the whole reason Saxon works -- lots and lots of review. What most people fail to realize is that mathematics is like music; practice creates excellence.
Finally for those concerned about Saxon's lack of a dedicated geometry text, after having tutored math for 5 years I am convinced that Saxon's integrated approach is far more effective than traditional methods. Saxon teaches geometry concepts throughout the junior high and high school grades allowing for mastery of the ideas long before the formal proofs are introduced in Advanced Mathematics. This is excellent as I believe that older students have a greater capacity to grasp the rather abstract skills required for geometric proofs.
I'm very thankful for the curriculum switch in 5th grade. Because of Saxon I have transformed from a math-hating elementary student to a very succesful math major.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Advanced means advanced!, May 11, 2008
I used this book for my Junior and Senior year in high school. Even though I spread it out over two years (something they recommend you do, depending on your circumstances), I didn't find it slow at all. It teaches many challenging math concepts that are quite advanced (hence the name). I took a pre-calculus course from a community college my senior year, and at least 90% of the material in the college course had already been covered in the Advanced Math book.
On a side note, a lot of the word problems in this book are quite amusing.
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