Math Without Borders

Math Without Borders is David Chandler's no-frills high-school math video series, built around the Foerster and Jacobs textbooks, and it is what families recommend to each other when they want rigorous textbook math taught by a veteran teacher who works every problem on camera.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist / video-course paired with published textbook
Worldview	Secular
Grades	9-12
Formats	Streaming video, download, DVD archive
Cost tier	Budget
Parent intensity	2
ESA-common	Varies
Accredited	No
Established	Early 2010s, per mathwithoutborders.com
Website	mathwithoutborders.com

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	5	Uses Foerster and Jacobs, among the most rigorous high-school math textbooks available
Ease of teaching	5	Video instruction by a veteran teacher; minimal parent involvement required
Content quality	5	Chandler works every problem; no gaps, no hand-waving
Flexibility	4	Textbook-plus-video model works with any pacing
Value for money	5	Inexpensive video licenses; textbooks sold separately
Worldview scope	5	Secular; works for every worldview family
Visual/design	2	Video is functional, not cinematic; pencil-and-paper aesthetic
Support resources	2	Small one-teacher operation; no call center, no live teacher

Who the publisher is

Math Without Borders is a one-person publishing operation run by David Chandler, a retired physics and mathematics teacher with more than three decades of classroom experience. Chandler built the program in the early 2010s out of a conviction that rigorous high-school mathematics could be taught at home if a student had a good textbook, a pencil, paper, and access to a competent teacher working examples in order. The program's central format is exactly that: the student buys the relevant textbook (Chandler does not publish the textbooks, only the video instruction), pairs it with Chandler's video for that textbook, and works through the course at their own pace.

The Math Without Borders catalog is built around two textbook authors. Paul Foerster's Algebra I, Algebra II with Trigonometry, and Precalculus with Trigonometry are widely regarded as among the strongest high-school math textbooks published in the past fifty years, and they are the backbone of Chandler's Algebra I, Algebra II, and Precalculus courses. Harold Jacobs's Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding is the text for Chandler's Geometry course. Chandler's Calculus course uses a different text (Howard Anton or a similar standard calculus text depending on current edition).

The program's audience is specific: homeschool parents who want their high-schooler to work through the actual Foerster or Jacobs textbook, books that Chandler argues are genuinely better than contemporary public-school math textbooks, with video support from an adult who has taught the material for thirty-plus years. Math Without Borders does not compete with platform-based online academies like Thinkwell, Derek Owens, or Mr. D Math for polish; it competes on the strength of the underlying textbook and Chandler's teaching. Homeschool Math Comparison Review sites and forum discussions consistently describe Math Without Borders as the program to choose when a family wants rigor without cinematic production.

The core pedagogy

Math Without Borders teaches by example. Chandler opens a video for a chapter section, reads the problem aloud, and works it through from start to finish on a pencil-and-paper overlay or digital whiteboard, narrating his reasoning as he goes. He does not skip steps. He does not make the work look effortless. He works it the way a student working at their desk should work it, explaining the choices and the pitfalls. A typical video runs ten to twenty minutes per problem set section; a full textbook chapter might represent several hours of video.

The student's workflow is: read the textbook section, watch Chandler's video for that section, then work the textbook's exercises. Chandler does not re-teach the textbook; he assumes the student has read it. His videos extend, clarify, and model problem-solving for the specific problems in the textbook's exercise sets. Answer keys for the textbooks are available separately (Foerster's answer keys from the publisher; Jacobs's from Master Books), and the student or parent checks work against them.

Scope and sequence follows the textbooks. Foerster's Algebra I is a standard first-year algebra sequence with a stronger-than-typical emphasis on functions and problem solving. Jacobs's Geometry is a classical Euclidean geometry course with a distinctive emphasis on proof and historical context. Foerster's Algebra II and Precalculus extend into polynomial, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions at a register that prepares students for college calculus at a selective university. Chandler's Calculus course covers single-variable calculus through techniques of integration and applications.

Signature mechanics: (1) Textbook-centered, the textbook is the course; the video is the teacher. This inverts the platform-based model where the platform is the course and the textbook is optional. (2) Every-problem format. Chandler works problems as a student would, which models not just the answer but the process of struggling toward the answer. (3) Minimal production, the videos are pencil-and-voiceover; there are no graphics, no animations, no cinematic moves. This is a feature for students who find polish distracting and a liability for students who need it. (4) Teacher presence. Chandler's voice carries the course. Students who warm to him tend to complete the sequence; students who don't should try a different program before committing.

A day in the life

A tenth-grader working through Math Without Borders' Algebra II course typically has math scheduled five days a week, forty-five to sixty minutes per session. A Tuesday session opens with the student at a desk with Foerster's Algebra II textbook, a notebook, a pencil, a laptop or tablet, and the answer key within reach. The student reads the current chapter section in Foerster, perhaps three to four pages on logarithmic functions, and works through the worked examples in the text. The student then opens Chandler's video for the section, watching for fifteen to twenty minutes as Chandler works several problems from the exercise set in real time, pausing when the student wants to try a problem first. The student then works ten to twenty problems from the exercise set independently, checking answers against the key and returning to the video for any problem they missed. Total session: forty-five to sixty minutes; three or four sessions per week to complete a typical chapter.

The parent's role is minimal. Math Without Borders is designed for a self-directed high-schooler who can open a textbook, watch a video, and do problems without an adult hovering. Parents who themselves took through calculus can provide occasional help on stuck problems, but the video is the teacher. Parents who are uncomfortable with math can step entirely out of the loop; the student and Chandler handle the instruction.

What they do exceptionally well

Textbook quality. Chandler's choice of Foerster and Jacobs is the program's single most important design decision. These textbooks are rigorous, well-paced, and among the best high-school math books ever published in English. A student who works through Foerster Precalculus with Trigonometry, problem by problem, is genuinely prepared for calculus at a selective university, in a way that is not guaranteed by completing most public-school precalculus sequences. The textbook is doing real work, and Chandler's pedagogy respects that.

Teacher presence. Chandler has taught high-school math for more than three decades, and it shows. His pacing, his patience with difficult material, and his willingness to work problems in full rather than skip the algebra are the defining features of the video instruction. Students consistently describe him as someone they would want as their teacher, which in a video-only format is high praise.

Price-to-quality ratio. The video license prices are modest. A full year of Algebra I, II, Geometry, or Precalculus video runs in the low three figures. Paired with textbooks that retail in the $40-$90 range used, a full high-school math course costs a fraction of what platform-based online academies charge. For families who want rigor without the platform price premium, Math Without Borders is uncommonly well-positioned.

What they do poorly

Visual presentation. The videos are pencil-and-voiceover with minimal graphics. Students who rely on polished animations, dynamic visualizations, or multi-color production will find the program austere. This is a design choice, not an oversight, and it works for many students; but for students who have been weaned on Khan Academy or iXL-style polish, the adjustment can be jarring.

Small-publisher infrastructure. Math Without Borders is one teacher and a website. There is no call center, no LMS, no grade tracker, no discussion forum, and no live teacher backup if the student is stuck on a problem neither Chandler's video nor the textbook's answer key resolves. Families who want that infrastructure should choose Thinkwell, Derek Owens, or a platform-based academy.

Textbook availability. Foerster's textbooks are in print but selectively available; Jacobs's Geometry is available through Master Books' classroom edition. Families must sometimes source used editions and verify edition-specific page references against Chandler's video list. This is a minor friction that online-platform math does not have.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Math Without Borders if: you want rigorous high-school math at a budget price; your student can work independently with a textbook and a video; you value textbook quality and teacher experience over cinematic production; you are preparing a student for college STEM and want textbook work that will stand up to that preparation; you are price-sensitive.

• Skip Math Without Borders if: you want a platform-based experience with grade tracking, forums, and teacher email access; your student struggles without visual polish and animated instruction; you want a curriculum that includes its own textbook (Chandler does not publish texts); your student needs live-teacher interaction; you are not willing to source the specific textbook editions the videos follow.

Cost honest assessment

As of April 2026, Math Without Borders video licenses run approximately $50-$90 per course for the download or streaming license depending on the specific course and any current promotional pricing. DVD archives are available at a similar price. Textbooks are purchased separately: Foerster Algebra I, Algebra II with Trigonometry, and Precalculus with Trigonometry are available new from the publisher at approximately $50-$100 each; used copies are commonly available at $20-$50. Jacobs Geometry (Master Books edition) runs approximately $60-$80 new.

A full-year Algebra II course. Foerster textbook plus Math Without Borders video license, lands at roughly $100-$170 total. Compared to Thinkwell Algebra II (roughly $150-$260 per course), Derek Owens Algebra II (roughly $300-$450 per course), and Mr. D Math Algebra II (roughly $300-$500 per course), Math Without Borders is among the cheapest rigorous high-school math options. The tradeoff is platform polish and infrastructure, not content depth.

An all-in annual math budget for one high-school student using Math Without Borders: $100-$180. For a student taking two years of courses (Algebra II one year, Precalculus the next): roughly $200-$360 over the two years.

ESA eligibility notes

Math Without Borders is not a featured vendor on most state ESA marketplaces as of April 2026. Families in Arizona, Florida, Utah, and Arkansas typically purchase the video license and textbook directly and submit receipts for reimbursement. Approval is generally straightforward for the textbook component; video licenses are sometimes classified differently under state rules, and some states require the license to be attached to a documented course plan in the student's portfolio. Because the content is secular, religious-materials restrictions do not apply. Families should verify eligibility in their state before ordering, particularly for the video component.

Alternatives

• Thinkwell Math, a family would pick Thinkwell over Math Without Borders because Thinkwell is a full platform-based course with its own textbook-equivalent materials, automated quizzes, and more polished video production, at a meaningfully higher price.
• Derek Owens, a family would pick Derek Owens because his courses include live-grading turnaround by the teacher, individualized feedback, and a stronger accountability structure than a self-paced video.
• Mr. D Math, a family would pick Mr. D Math for its live-class options, cohort-based pacing, and broader subject coverage across high-school math and other disciplines.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed Math Without Borders course descriptions, pricing, and sample videos on mathwithoutborders.com in April 2026, cross-referenced against Foerster and Jacobs textbook publisher pages and independent homeschool math review sites. Pricing for the video licenses and for the underlying textbooks was pulled from live vendor listings in April 2026. Program history and David Chandler's teaching background were confirmed from the mathwithoutborders.com About page.