COMMON CORE REQUIREMENTS AND SAXON MATH
As of this date, there are 12 more states states that have already voted to drop the Federal Common Core Requirements – with several more states in the process of passing legislation to do the same. That means that only 28 of the states fully follow the core curriculum requirements. Additionally, there are hundreds of thousands of students within these 28 states who have also as individuals legally opted out of the program. In the state of New York alone there were more than 200,000 students whose parents legally opted out of the Federally Mandated Common Core Program after reviewing the requirements.
You should also know that if you use John Saxon’s math books correctly – and you do not want to opt out of the program – you do not have to worry about whether or not your state has adopted the Federal Recommended Common Core Requirements. Because of the depth of John’s textbooks, your child will be parallel to – or ahead of – those standards. Certainly do not listen to the textbook publisher’s propaganda as their primary mission is not to educate, but to ensure satisfactory quarterly profit margins.
I recall when Oklahoma passed their state mandated math tests called the PASS test almost two decades ago. The test was designed to ensure that all students who completed an algebra one course in high school could pass the state mandated PASS test which was nothing more than a test of one’s knowledge of algebra one concepts. The test was given in mid-March of that year and it was advertised as an “End of Course” test – yet we were only two thirds of the way through the algebra one textbook – anticipating finishing the textbook by the end of school in late May.
I argued with the high school principal that this was not an honest or fair test to give the Algebra 1 students as we had not completed the book and therefore the students were not prepared for an “End of Course” test. In no uncertain words, he informed me that I would administer the test and that I was to make sure they passed it. He made it clear that, during the three weeks leading up to the test day, I was to teach those concepts that had not yet been reached. As I thought about it that evening, I decided to take a more honest approach while administering the test and ensuring the student’s passed it – just as he had ordered.
When the test results came back that fall, our high school had one of the four highest PASS results in the entire state (I cannot remember if we were second, third or fourth). If that principal is reading this news article, it will come as a surprise to him to learn that I had my Saxon Algebra 2 students take the state mandated “End of Course Algebra 1 PASS Test,” since – unlike the algebra one students who had not yet finished the book – these students had and they were therefore most capable – and legally eligible – to take the “End of Course” PASS test mandated by the state.
So, how does all this affect you and your homeschool student in meeting the mandated Common Core requirements for mathematics?
I realize that the founders of these requirements tout the fact that they are mandating teaching students how to solve problems rather than just learning rote memory of math facts, but as John Saxon often said,
“Understanding should follow doing rather than preceding it. If you are going to teach someone how to drive an automobile, don’t lecture them on the theory of the internal-combustion engine. Get them to drive the car around the block.”
The professional tree company sent a man out to my house several years ago to estimate how much it would cost to spray my Elm tree against a specific disease. They had to send someone who knew something about the formula needed to calculate the surface area of the trunk of the old Elm tree and thereby estimate the amount of liquid to use to spray the tree trunk – and also calculate how much to charge me?
Because you cannot change or hope to change those foolish enough to demand compliance with the Common Core – or similar “fuzzy” math standards – you can either opt out of taking the test, or you can make sure that your son or daughter is prepared to meet the challenge created by them. You can ensure that your sons and daughters are adequately prepared for those tests.
I will make you a promise. If you will follow the schedule I have outlined below, and in doing so ensure that the student truly masters each course as I have often described what “mastery” is defined as – that student will pass any fair and honest Core Curriculum Requirement in mathematics at any level. The key is to use the correct editions of John Saxon’s math books, and to not take any short cuts or allow deviations from what is required – such as weekly testing. And to make sure the student enters the Saxon Math curriculum no later than the sixth or seventh grade. Here is the schedule:
6th Grade
Saxon Math 76, 4th Ed (You can also use the 3rd Ed textbook. However, there is no Solutions Manual for that edition). The 3rd Ed is a hard cover textbook.
7th Grade
Math 87, 2nd or 3rd Ed – or – if he student grades in Math 76 indicate strength in the subject matter use Algebra ½, 3rd Ed. Entry into one or the other is dependent upon how well a student does on the last five tests in Math 76. The 2nd and 3rd editions of Math 87 are identical except that the 2nd Ed is a hard cover textbook – while the 3rd Ed textbook has a soft cover and it also has a Solutions Manual.
8th Grade
Algebra 1, 3rd Ed (I recommend not using the 4th Ed as the new owners have removed all references to geometry from that edition).
9th Grade
Algebra 2, 2nd or 3rd Ed (I recommend not using the 4th Ed as they have also removed all references to geometry from that edition.) The 2nd and 3rd editions are identical except that the older 2nd Ed does not have the concept lesson reference numbers like the 3rd Ed does. Using the 2nd or 3rd Editions authorize the transcript to reflect Algebra 2 as an “Honors Course.” Please read the Mar-2021 Newsletter for more information on the Honors Program.
10th Grade
Advanced Mathematics, 2nd Ed (Part 1). Course is titled “Geometry, with Advanced Algebra.” Note that the concept lesson reference numbers are found in the Solutions Manual.
11th Grade
Advanced Mathematics, 2nd Ed (Part 2). Course is titled “Trigonometry and Pre-Calculus.” Note that the concept lesson reference numbers are found in the Solutions Manual.
12th Grade
Calculus taken at a local university or college under “Concurrent” or “Dual Enrollment.” Or – the student can take a college algebra/trig course at a local college or university under “Concurrent” or “Dual Enrollment – or – the students can finish John Saxon’s Calculus, 2nd Ed textbook.
NOTE: To better explain how a full year’s geometry credit is awarded – and how to correctly pace the student using the very rigorous Advanced Mathematics textbook – take a moment and review this short seven minute video that describes how the courses are structured and recorded: HOW ADVANCED MATHEMATICS COURSES SHOULD BE TAUGHT AND CREDITED
Problem solving only takes place when the problem solver knows the “how” in solving them. In teaching students how to program a computer I would explain to them that the thought process was identical to what they had encountered in the two-column proofs they had encountered in their Saxon Algebra 2 and the Saxon Advanced Mathematics books. The principal to finding a solution in either course is identical.
“You cannot walk through a door until you have opened it. And you cannot open it, until you have walked to it. And you cannot walk to it, until you have identified it as the door you need to walk through.”
Every child is different and some students may be able to be successful in these courses a year or two earlier than the schedule reflects, while some may fall a year behind this schedule. However, if a student encounters difficulty along the way and never gets to calculus his senior year of high school, that is okay. Students fail college calculus because they are weak in algebra – not because they do not understand the calculus.
Some students may need both Math 87 and Algebra ½ before they are successful in the Saxon Algebra 1 course and that is okay as they are building a solid base before entering the upper level math courses. Any student who masters the entirety of John Saxon’s Algebra 1, 3rd Ed will be successful in the Algebra 2, 2nd or 3rd Ed course as well.
I will make you a promise – any Saxon math student who gets no further than mastery of John Saxon’s 2nd or 3rd Ed of Algebra 2 their senior year in High School will pass any college algebra course form MIT to Stanford. Provided they attend class each day, do the required work and – yes – make it to class on time and on test days as well!
A SIDE NOTE: Some years ago, I saw a copy of a sample Common Core test taken by a group of fourth grade students. On one of the questions, the students were told to add several numbers and record their answer. The next question then asked them “What procedure did you use to find the answer to the previous question?”
To which one bright young fourth grader had boldly written “Math” as his answer.