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Introduction
The three programs compared here are Saxon Math, Teaching Textbooks, and Singapore Math. One community video review comparing the three programs side by side had more than 48,000 views on YouTube as of October 2026 (community review on YouTube, retrieved October 2026).
In our assessment, the three programs are not interchangeable. They run on three different teaching philosophies, they ask very different amounts of parent time, and they price very differently. This guide compares them on method, independence, rigor, cost, and fit, with the product facts drawn from each publisher’s own pages (retrieved October 2026).
Key takeaways
- 01Different methods, not different brands of the same thing. Saxon is incremental and spiral, Teaching Textbooks is a self-grading app course, and Singapore Math is concept-first with bar modeling. In our assessment, the method gap is the real decision.
- 02In our assessment, parent load is the fastest way to narrow the field. Teaching Textbooks is, in our assessment, the most independent of the three; the publisher says the program does the teaching and the grading (teachingtextbooks.com).
- 03Singapore Math prices per component. Individual Dimensions Math PK-5 textbooks and workbooks run $14.50 each and teacher’s guides $32.50, with kindergarten through grade 5 sets listed at $137.50 to $169.00 depending on grade and guide type (singaporemath.com, retrieved October 2026).
- 04In our assessment, Saxon’s method is its identity. The publisher describes an incremental approach that adds one small concept at a time, skills distributed across the year, and cumulative practice and assessments that revisit earlier lessons (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, retrieved October 2026).
At a glance
| Saxon Math | Teaching Textbooks | Singapore Math | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core method | Incremental spiral: small concepts added step by step, cumulative practice | Self-grading app course: interactive lecture, automatic grading, step-by-step solutions | Concept-first: concrete-pictorial-abstract, bar modeling |
| Format | Teacher CD-ROM packages and kits listed in HMH’s homeschool shop | A series of apps, one for each grade level (publisher) | Textbooks, workbooks, and teacher or home instructor guides (publisher) |
| Parent load (our assessment) | Moderate to high (teaching and grading) | Low (program teaches and grades) | Moderate to high (parent teaches the concept) |
| Grades covered | K through Algebra 2 | Math 3 through Pre-Calculus | PreK through grade 8 (Dimensions Math) |
| Cost basis | HMH names Rainbow Resource Center as its homeschool partner | 12-month enrollment per student; Large Family Discount for 4 to 8 students | Per-component or grade-level set |
| Price | See HMH's homeschool shop and its homeschool partner | $48.95 to $83.95 per student for 12 months, by course | Dimensions Math PK-5: $14.50 per textbook or workbook; kindergarten to grade 5 sets $137.50 to $169.00 |
Method: how each one teaches
Saxon is incremental and spiral. The publisher describes an incremental approach that gives students time to practice a small concept before the next step is added, skills distributed across the year so students have time to master them, and cumulative practice and assessments that cover ideas from earlier lessons (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, retrieved October 2026).
Teaching Textbooks is a self-grading app course. Each course does all of the teaching and all of the grading, every lesson begins with an interactive lecture, and parents can view the student gradebook through the Parent Portal (teachingtextbooks.com, retrieved October 2026). In our assessment, the pedagogy is closer to Saxon than to Singapore, but the delivery is what sets it apart: the program teaches and grades, and the parent reviews the gradebook rather than the worksheet.
Singapore Math is concept-first. The publisher lists the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) progression, number bonds, bar modeling, and mental math among the key features of its approach, and describes bar models as a way to determine the knowns and unknowns in word problems (singaporemath.com, retrieved October 2026). Its homeschool programs include Dimensions Math PK-5, Dimensions Math 6-8, and the Primary Mathematics editions (singaporemath.com, retrieved October 2026). In our assessment, where Saxon distributes practice to build retention, Singapore concentrates on understanding the structure of a problem first.
Independence and parent load
In our assessment, the deciding factor is not theory but time. The three programs sit at very different points on the parent-load scale.
- Teaching Textbooks asks the least. The publisher says the program does the teaching and the grading, and that parents receive a daily email showing their students’ progress (teachingtextbooks.com).
- Saxon asks for moderate-to-high involvement. In our assessment, someone has to teach or supervise each daily lesson and grade the daily problem set, and the daily grading is real work.
- Singapore asks the parent to teach the concept. In our assessment, the bar-model method and the concrete-pictorial-abstract sequence work best when a parent guides the student through them, especially in the early grades. A parent who is comfortable teaching math gets a lot from Singapore, in our assessment, and a parent looking to hand math off will find it the most demanding of the three. Singapore Math sells grade 1 through grade 5 sets with Home Instructor’s Guides (singaporemath.com).
Rigor and sequence
The three programs differ in method and do not all go the same distance. Singapore Math’s Dimensions Math homeschool program runs from PreK through grade 8 (singaporemath.com). Saxon’s program page lists courses through Algebra 2 (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and Teaching Textbooks lists courses through Pre-Calculus (teachingtextbooks.com).
On depth, in our assessment, Singapore demands the most conceptual reasoning per problem, Saxon demands the most sustained practice, and Teaching Textbooks trades some problem difficulty for accessibility and independence. None of that is a verdict on outcomes. It is a description of what each program asks the student to do day to day. A student who needs the structure and relentless review of Saxon may stall in the more open conceptual work of Singapore, and a student who thrives on Singapore’s problem-first reasoning may find Saxon’s mixed sets repetitive.
Cost
Singapore Math and Teaching Textbooks price on different models, which makes a single sticker comparison misleading. Here is where each program’s price is listed.
Singapore Math prices per component and per set. The Dimensions Math PK-5 line lists textbooks and workbooks at $14.50 each and teacher’s guides at $32.50 each, so the four student books for one grade (two textbooks and two workbooks) come to $58.00 before any guide. Grade-level sets are listed at $137.50 for kindergarten and, for each of grades 1 through 5, at $152.00 with Teacher’s Guides or $169.00 with Home Instructor’s Guides (singaporemath.com, retrieved October 2026).
Teaching Textbooks sells a 12-month enrollment for each student. Each course page lists its own price and states that access to the course lasts 12 months. The listed prices are $48.95 for Math 3, Math 4, and Math 5; $63.95 for Math 6 and Math 7; $79.95 for Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1, and Geometry; and $83.95 for Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus (retrieved October 2026). The publisher’s Large Family Discount caps the total annual cost at $239.95 for an individual household with 4 to 8 students, and each free trial includes the course through Lesson 15 (retrieved October 2026).
Saxon is listed among Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s homeschool programs. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt lists Saxon Math among its homeschool programs and names Rainbow Resource Center as its homeschool partner, offering an extensive listing of HMH’s homeschooling titles (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, retrieved October 2026). Its own homeschool shop lists Saxon Homeschool Math items with prices (retrieved October 2026). Families should price the specific kit and edition they need at the point of purchase.
Who each one fits
The cleanest way to choose is to match the program to the household, not the household to the program.
- Choose Saxon Math when the student does well with routine and constant review, when a parent is willing to teach and grade daily, and when the family wants a single sequence that runs from the early grades through Algebra 2. In our assessment, Saxon’s incremental, distributed-practice design rewards consistency and suits students who benefit from ongoing review; the publisher describes cumulative practice and assessments that cover ideas from earlier lessons (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt).
- Choose Teaching Textbooks when independence is the priority: a parent juggling several students, a student who can work at a screen, or a household that simply wants math to run without daily parent instruction and grading. In our assessment, the automated teaching and grading are the point of this choice; the publisher says the program does both (teachingtextbooks.com).
- Choose Singapore Math when conceptual depth matters more than independence, when a parent is comfortable teaching the bar-model method, and when the family wants a problem-solving foundation in the elementary and middle grades. In our assessment, it is the most demanding of the three for the parent and the most rewarding for a student who takes to its problem-first approach (singaporemath.com).
The right move is the one that matches the student in front of you this year.
For the wider field, the math curriculum guide compares math programs by method and price, including Singapore Math, Saxon, Beast Academy, JUMP Math, and Math Mammoth, and Every Homeschool’s Teaching Textbooks review covers that program in depth. Each program’s directory page carries the current details and links: Saxon Math, Teaching Textbooks, and Singapore Math.
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