CircleUp Planner · Math
Planning a year of Saxon Math
Saxon 5/4 has 120 lessons, but it is not a 120-day book. Add its 12 investigations and 23 tests and a lesson a day comes to 155 school days. Here is every level the Planner knows, laid out the way it lays them out.
Every level, laid out
What the Planner lays out for each level at its usual pace, before you add breaks, co-op days or days off.
| Level | What it holds | Days a week | School days | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K | 112 lessons | 5 | 112 | 23 |
| 1 | 130 lessons | 5 | 130 | 26 |
| 2 | 132 lessons | 5 | 132 | 27 |
| 3 | 140 lessons | 5 | 140 | 28 |
| 5/4 | 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests | 5 | 155 | 31 |
| 6/5 | 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests | 5 | 155 | 31 |
| 7/6 | 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests | 5 | 155 | 31 |
| 8/7 | 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests | 5 | 155 | 31 |
| Algebra 1/2 | 123 lessons and 31 tests | 5 | 154 | 31 |
| Algebra 1 | 120 lessons and 30 tests | 5 | 150 | 30 |
| Algebra 2 | 129 lessons and 32 tests | 5 | 161 | 33 |
| Geometry | 120 lessons and 12 investigations | 5 | 132 | 27 |
| Advanced Math | 125 lessons and 31 tests | 5 | 156 | 32 |
Why the day count is higher than the lesson count
From 5/4 to 8/7, every Saxon book has the same shape: 120 lessons, an investigation after every tenth lesson, and a test every five lessons from Lesson 10. The Planner gives each investigation and each test its own day, so the book fills 155 school days at one lesson a day. Over a 36-week year at five days a week, that leaves about 25 days for review, sick days and the week everything falls apart.
The upper books (Algebra 1/2, Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Math) carry around 30 tests each. Saxon does not publish where they fall, so the Planner places one after every fourth lesson. That placement is our estimate; if your book puts a test elsewhere, check it off when you give it and the rest of the plan re-flows.
K through 3: one lesson a day
The primary books are teacher-scripted, one lesson a day, and the Planner lays them out as lessons only: 112 for K, 130 for Grade 1, 132 for Grade 2 and 140 for Grade 3. Assessment placement in these books is not confirmed, so none is invented. Grade 3 at five days a week takes 28 weeks.
The first weeks of Saxon Math 5/4
As the Planner shows them, 5 days a week from a Monday start.
Week 1
- Mon
- Lesson 1
- Tue
- Lesson 2
- Wed
- Lesson 3
- Thu
- Lesson 4
- Fri
- Lesson 5
Week 2
- Mon
- Lesson 6
- Tue
- Lesson 7
- Wed
- Lesson 8
- Thu
- Lesson 9
- Fri
- Lesson 10
Week 3
- Mon
- Investigation 1
- Tue
- Test 1
- Wed
- Lesson 11
- Thu
- Lesson 12
- Fri
- Lesson 13
When the week does not go to plan
Tap “didn’t get to it” and choose: catch up on Saturday, double up, spread it out or push it back. You see the new finish date before anything moves. If your co-op runs on CircleUp, its days and breaks are planned around by themselves.
Questions
Can we do Saxon four days a week?
Yes. Set math to four days and the same 155 days of 5/4 spread across 39 weeks instead of 31. If that runs past the end of your year, the Planner says by how much and offers to speed up, add a day, or move the finish date.
What happens when we skip a test or do two lessons in a day?
Check off what you did and the rest of the year re-flows from there. Skipping a test removes its day; doing two lessons pulls everything after it forward a day.
Which edition does the Planner use?
The counts come from the current home-study editions as listed by retailers and the publisher. Algebra 1 is the 3rd edition with 120 lessons; the 4th edition (2009) is structured differently and is not the one laid out here.
Where the counts come from
- K: 112 lessons confirmed (Rainbow Resource). Primary-grade Saxon is teacher-scripted, one lesson a day; assessment placement not confirmed.
- 1: 130 lessons confirmed (Rainbow Resource). Assessment count/placement not confirmed.
- 2: 132 lessons confirmed (Rainbow Resource). Assessment count/placement not confirmed.
- 3: 140 lessons confirmed (Rainbow Resource). Assessment count/placement not confirmed.
- 5/4: 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests (checked 2026-10-17). Saxon gives Test 1 after Lesson 10, covering lessons 1–5, and one every five lessons after that (as quoted for the 2nd edition; not yet seen in a 3rd-edition book).
- 6/5, 7/6, 8/7: 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests (Christianbook, Checked 2026-10-17). Saxon gives Test 1 after Lesson 10 and one every five lessons after that.
- Algebra 1/2: 123 lessons and 31 tests (Veritas Press, Christianbook, Checked 2026-10-17); earlier entries said 30 tests. Saxon doesn't publish where the tests fall: one every four lessons is our estimate, as in its upper-level books.
- Algebra 1: 120 lessons and 30 test forms confirmed (Rainbow Resource, 3rd ed.). Test placement (about every 4 lessons) is ours. 4th edition (2009) restructured, no 120-lesson format.
- Algebra 2: 129 lessons and 32 tests (Rainbow Resource, Veritas Press, Checked 2026-10-17); earlier entries said 30 tests. One test every four lessons is our estimate of where they fall.
- Geometry: 120 lessons / 12 sections / 12 investigations / 15 labs confirmed (Rainbow). Test count not stated (weekly).
- Advanced Math: 125 lessons and 31 tests per two retailers (Checked 2026-10-17); the publisher doesn't state them. One test every four lessons is our estimate of where they fall.
Also in the Planner: Math-U-See · The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts and the rest of the catalog.
Lay out Saxon Math around your own year
Pick your school days, your breaks and your co-op, and every lesson is placed. 30 days free, no card needed.