Book Description

"Saxon Elementary School Math," published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, is a core curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade 5. A distinguishing feature of "Saxon Elementary School Math" is its use of a distributed approach, as opposed to a chapter-based approach, for instruction and assessment. The program is built on the premise that students learn best when instruction is incremental and explicit, previously learned concepts are continually reviewed, and assessment is frequent and cumulative. At each grade level, math concepts are introduced, reviewed, and practiced over time in order to move students from understanding to mastery to fluency. For grades K-3, the "Saxon Elementary School Math" curriculum emphasizes hands-on activities and teacher-directed math conversations that engage students in learning. The curriculum for grades 4-5 also uses math conversations to introduce new concepts, and shifts the focus to student-directed learning. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviewed 20 studies on "Saxon Elementary School Math" for elementary school students. One of these studies meets WWC evidence standards; two studies meet WWC evidence standards with reservations; the remaining 17 studies do not meet either WWC evidence standards or eligibility screens. Based on the three studies, the WWC found mixed effects on mathematics achievement for elementary school students. The conclusions presented in this report may change as new research emerges. Appendices include: (1) Study characteristics; (2) Outcome measures for the mathematics achievement domain; (3) Summary of study findings included in the rating for the mathematics achievement domain; (4) Summary of subgroup and subscale findings for the mathematics achievement domain; (5) "Saxon Elementary School Math" rating for the mathematics achievement domain; and (6) Extent of evidence by domain. (Contains 7 footnotes.).