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Research basis: official public information checked October 31, 2026. We did not create trial accounts, complete paid courses or measure learning outcomes. Both providers are linked ordinarily; neither link earns us a commission.
Before choosing homeschool math, picture a wrong answer on a busy morning. Who explains it? Who checks the next attempt? Who decides the child is ready to move on? Those questions make this comparison more useful than choosing whichever program appears to offer the most independence.
Teaching Textbooks is worth previewing if you want the program to handle routine explanations and answer checking. Math-U-See is worth exploring if you want to teach with physical models and take an active role in judging mastery. That is a difference in workflow, not evidence that one produces better results for every child.
Watch: how much will you need to teach?
Watch the comparison on YouTube. The video explains parent responsibilities, placement and purchase scope. Sourced, dated costs appear below.
What the parent still does
Teaching Textbooks supplies app lectures, immediate grading and solution videos. Its parent portal lets you review gradebooks and manage settings. Our recommendation: ask your child to explain an occasional solution without copying the displayed steps. Use that conversation to notice when a good score is hiding confusion. Automated checking is useful, but the family still needs to decide whether the routine is working. Teaching Textbooks FAQ.
Math-U-See describes an instructor-led sequence: prepare with the manual and video, explore the concept together, allow practice, and progress after mastery. Its model asks students to demonstrate understanding through independent application and explaining the concept back. Practice can be independent; that does not remove the instructor's role in deciding whether to reteach or move ahead. It also includes systematic review, so describing it as having no review would be misleading. Math-U-See teaching method.
Try this original responsibility worksheet
Write three rows on a sheet: explain a new idea; respond to a mistake; decide what happens tomorrow. For each, assign the first response to the student, program or parent. Then write a fallback: what happens if the explanation still does not make sense?
Use a simple problem your child already understands. Ask for an explanation as well as an answer. This is a way to discuss your preferred routine, not a diagnostic test or a reproduction of either curriculum. Notice whether your available teaching time matches the role you have assigned yourself. We have not measured how many minutes either program will take your family.
Placement comes before purchase
Teaching Textbooks offers the first 15 lessons without a completion deadline, but warns that these lessons review earlier material. An easy trial does not establish that the full level will be easy. Use its placement tests, then explore the trial to evaluate the interface and routine. Teaching Textbooks trial and placement warning.
Math-U-See uses skills rather than a child's age alone; its individual placement tool includes questions and example problems. Gamma focuses on multiplication after addition and subtraction foundations. It is an example of an elementary course format here, not a claim that Gamma equals Teaching Textbooks Math 3. For high school, check the exact Math-U-See edition: the current catalog lists both Principles of Secondary Mathematics and Legacy Algebra courses. Gamma scope and materials. Math-U-See placement.
Read the placement result by section
Placement instructions checked November 1, 2026; prices below retain their separate check date.
Use the instructions for the level you are considering, rather than one overall percentage. For example, the Math 5 placement PDF and Math 7 placement PDF each recommend at least 10 correct in the first 15 questions and at least 8 in the second 15. These are examples from two levels, not a rule for every course.
Original example: a fictional score of 14/15 in the first section and 6/15 in the second totals 20/30, but misses the second-section recommendation. Looking only at the total hides that difference. This illustrates how to read the result; it does not diagnose your child's readiness.
The PDFs suggest a lower level when scores fall below their recommendations. However, the general placement guidance says its cutoffs are rough and advises against automatically moving down for a score just below a recommendation. For an uneven or unclear result, review the current level instructions and ask provider support before buying. Use the trial to assess the routine, not to prove placement.
Compare the whole purchase
Prices checked October 31, 2026 in USD; these are listed prices, not final checkout quotes. Teaching Textbooks lists Math 3-5 at $48.95 per student and level for a year, with 90 days of pause time. An eBook is included; a printed book is optional. A new level requires another enrollment. Teaching Textbooks FAQ.
The Math-U-See Gamma Set listing shows $220.12. Its detailed contents list the manual, workbook, tests, Integer Block Kit and a year of Essential access. However, the description also mentions a Decimal Insert Kit that is absent from the detailed contents list. Confirm the selected contents rather than assuming that extra kit is included. This is a starting-from-scratch example, not a recommendation to rebuy items you already own. Shipping, tax and the chosen configuration can change the total. Gamma Set contents and price.
The separate Essential subscription page lists $6.95 monthly or $70 annually, two course credits and five student accounts. Digital access is not the physical workbook and block kit. The page distinguishes a free sample account from subscription trials and states that subscriptions renew unless cancelled. Check the chosen plan's trial, card and renewal terms before enrolling; this comparison did not create an account or complete checkout. Demme subscription options.
Which should you preview first?
Start with Teaching Textbooks if automatic checking is your main practical need, while retaining a way to check understanding yourself. Start with Math-U-See if you want a model-and-explain routine and can take the instructor role. If neither fits your child's placement or your available support, there is no need to purchase either.
For the preview, keep one question in view: when my child gets stuck, can our household actually carry out the next step? That is more useful than assuming a video lesson makes a curriculum hands-off.
Plan your next step
Use our curriculum trial checklist to record practical fit, or our understanding guide for questions beyond completion. Keep placement decisions specific to the provider and learner.