100% on Iowa. Should DC take a summer math class?

[Anonymous]

DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

FCPS reports the IAAT using percentile ranks. 99th percentile is the highest score your child could have obtained.

Summer geometry is a horrible idea for any kid. Instead, take a number theory class or a counting and probability one (AOPS offers both of these). Both of these areas are not normally taught in school in any real depth.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the pp who recommended Number Theory or Counting and Probability. It's a good idea for several reasons.

1. A math lover will find the material interesting and as already mentioned it is not really covered in school.
2. Those topics are necessary to know for contest math.
3. It keeps problems with post-calc math in high school smaller.
4. There is no reason to race through geometry.

https://artofproblemsolving.com/school/course/intro-counting

https://artofproblemsolving.com/school/course/intro-numbertheory

[Anonymous]

I want to add that AOPS classes teach proof writing which is very valuable and also not taught in schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

Why don’t you wait and see how your poolside actually does in Algebra in 7th first before deciding. 100% on one test doesn’t mean much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

Why don’t you wait and see how your poolside actually does in Algebra in 7th first before deciding. 100% on one test doesn’t mean much.

Meant “poopsie”

[Anonymous]

There is not 100% score on the IAAT. So you already know your child did not score that.

[pettifogger]

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

There is only one reason why anyone would attempt such an awful thing, and that is purely because of acceleration purposes, which is a very superficial reason that is completely orthogonal to learning math for joy and understanding.

Based on your description, I frankly believe it would even actually risk hurting your child's natural love for math. Additionally, practically speaking, K-12 students in the USA are extremely weak in geometry because of how it is taught in school, and trying to do it all in a summer would almost surely hurt your kid down the road. Even worse, summer geometry barely passes as math, given that it will be very procedural and rote based, in addition to stress inducing because of the super frequent testing (I believe it happens on a daily basis due to the highly compressed schedule). Instead, you want your kid to slow down and cover math slowly and deeply., with the goal of mastering a few select interesting topics, as well as increasing problem solving skills along the way. Discrete math such as combinatorics or number theory (AoPS offers both as others mentioned), are not only inherently beautiful, but they can also be used to introduce rigorous reasoning and formulating proofs. If you don't want an actual class, attend a math circle if you can find one (although there may not be anything in the summer), short of that try to introduce your kid to some of the math contest questions where they can learn from doing interesting problems as found in Mathcounts (although in my view that isn't as efficient as learning some of the subject material first). Brilliant.org also has a lot of wonderful and interesting material at their level, but does not have full blown classes like AoPS.

[Anonymous]

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

There is only one reason why anyone would attempt such an awful thing, and that is purely because of acceleration purposes, which is a very superficial reason that is completely orthogonal to learning math for joy and understanding.

Based on your description, I frankly believe it would even actually risk hurting your child's natural love for math. Additionally, practically speaking, K-12 students in the USA are extremely weak in geometry because of how it is taught in school, and trying to do it all in a summer would almost surely hurt your kid down the road. Even worse, summer geometry barely passes as math, given that it will be very procedural and rote based, in addition to stress inducing because of the super frequent testing (I believe it happens on a daily basis due to the highly compressed schedule). Instead, you want your kid to slow down and cover math slowly and deeply., with the goal of mastering a few select interesting topics, as well as increasing problem solving skills along the way. Discrete math such as combinatorics or number theory (AoPS offers both as others mentioned), are not only inherently beautiful, but they can also be used to introduce rigorous reasoning and formulating proofs. If you don't want an actual class, attend a math circle if you can find one (although there may not be anything in the summer), short of that try to introduce your kid to some of the math contest questions where they can learn from doing interesting problems as found in Mathcounts (although in my view that isn't as efficient as learning some of the subject material first). Brilliant.org also has a lot of wonderful and interesting material at their level, but does not have full blown classes like AoPS.

Although this post is thoughtful, I disagree with the point of view. You can study mathematics slow and deep, but also fast and shallow if it fits your student’s goal. If the goal is to learn the tools for understanding science (physics, chemistry, biology) it can be argued that a shallow understanding of calculus is more useful than a deep exploration of number theory. I’d argue that the usefulness of geometry in science is far less than algebra, so skipping through it over a summer class would be ok.

Personally I am somewhat doubtful on how important contest math is for mathematical education. The skill of working on a problem under one hour time constraint, is almost never needed in a real job, and arguably working in a team, and good communication is a better skill to develop.

[Anonymous]

OP didn't say 100% percentile. Maybe she meant her child answered every problem correct. I thought one can request to see the detailed score report from their school.

[Anonymous]

Exactly why the advocates for diversity-based TJ admission should think twice about forcing kids who aren’t ready at all into a rigorous and demanding school. You are doing harm and not help to the kids. Learning is step by step and not to be accelerated. People who haven’t gone through learning or teaching probably don’t understand this process. They are well intentioned but they will mess up kids on both ends and the education system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

There is only one reason why anyone would attempt such an awful thing, and that is purely because of acceleration purposes, which is a very superficial reason that is completely orthogonal to learning math for joy and understanding.

Based on your description, I frankly believe it would even actually risk hurting your child's natural love for math. Additionally, practically speaking, K-12 students in the USA are extremely weak in geometry because of how it is taught in school, and trying to do it all in a summer would almost surely hurt your kid down the road. Even worse, summer geometry barely passes as math, given that it will be very procedural and rote based, in addition to stress inducing because of the super frequent testing (I believe it happens on a daily basis due to the highly compressed schedule). Instead, you want your kid to slow down and cover math slowly and deeply., with the goal of mastering a few select interesting topics, as well as increasing problem solving skills along the way. Discrete math such as combinatorics or number theory (AoPS offers both as others mentioned), are not only inherently beautiful, but they can also be used to introduce rigorous reasoning and formulating proofs. If you don't want an actual class, attend a math circle if you can find one (although there may not be anything in the summer), short of that try to introduce your kid to some of the math contest questions where they can learn from doing interesting problems as found in Mathcounts (although in my view that isn't as efficient as learning some of the subject material first). Brilliant.org also has a lot of wonderful and interesting material at their level, but does not have full blown classes like AoPS.

Although this post is thoughtful, I disagree with the point of view. You can study mathematics slow and deep, but also fast and shallow if it fits your student’s goal. If the goal is to learn the tools for understanding science (physics, chemistry, biology) it can be argued that a shallow understanding of calculus is more useful than a deep exploration of number theory. I’d argue that the usefulness of geometry in science is far less than algebra, so skipping through it over a summer class would be ok.

Personally I am somewhat doubtful on how important contest math is for mathematical education. The skill of working on a problem under one hour time constraint, is almost never needed in a real job, and arguably working in a team, and good communication is a better skill to develop.

DP. I agree with you if you're talking about a college student or a late high school student with specific goals. In the context of an 11-12 year old who loves math, it's way off base. Slow and deep gives future options. Fast and shallow does not.

Contest math in and of itself is not important. Problem solving is. Many kids excel at the perfectly manicured problems given to them in class, but struggle the moment they have to think on their own a bit. AoPS classes will help a kid with thinking outside the box and using all of their tools to be able to solve problems.

[pettifogger]

Anonymous wrote:

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

There is only one reason why anyone would attempt such an awful thing, and that is purely because of acceleration purposes, which is a very superficial reason that is completely orthogonal to learning math for joy and understanding.

Based on your description, I frankly believe it would even actually risk hurting your child's natural love for math. Additionally, practically speaking, K-12 students in the USA are extremely weak in geometry because of how it is taught in school, and trying to do it all in a summer would almost surely hurt your kid down the road. Even worse, summer geometry barely passes as math, given that it will be very procedural and rote based, in addition to stress inducing because of the super frequent testing (I believe it happens on a daily basis due to the highly compressed schedule). Instead, you want your kid to slow down and cover math slowly and deeply., with the goal of mastering a few select interesting topics, as well as increasing problem solving skills along the way. Discrete math such as combinatorics or number theory (AoPS offers both as others mentioned), are not only inherently beautiful, but they can also be used to introduce rigorous reasoning and formulating proofs. If you don't want an actual class, attend a math circle if you can find one (although there may not be anything in the summer), short of that try to introduce your kid to some of the math contest questions where they can learn from doing interesting problems as found in Mathcounts (although in my view that isn't as efficient as learning some of the subject material first). Brilliant.org also has a lot of wonderful and interesting material at their level, but does not have full blown classes like AoPS.

Although this post is thoughtful, I disagree with the point of view. You can study mathematics slow and deep, but also fast and shallow if it fits your student’s goal. If the goal is to learn the tools for understanding science (physics, chemistry, biology) it can be argued that a shallow understanding of calculus is more useful than a deep exploration of number theory. I’d argue that the usefulness of geometry in science is far less than algebra, so skipping through it over a summer class would be ok.

Personally I am somewhat doubtful on how important contest math is for mathematical education. The skill of working on a problem under one hour time constraint, is almost never needed in a real job, and arguably working in a team, and good communication is a better skill to develop.

My main point is that trying to learn all of geometry by forcing it into 6 weeks is horrible idea. The student will have an extremely shallow understanding of geometry and how to use it effectively to solve problems. But much worse, they will not even get a chance to learn math, as it it will be inappropriately presented as a bunch of steps to memorize and then immediately regurgitate on quizzes/tests, all without thinking or reflection, not to mention problem solving or learning how to put together a proof... Why would anyone want their child to go through an experience like that? It is obvious that it could backfire and kill their love or motivation to do math. Literally almost any other approach to doing math is better than this.

[Anonymous]

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

There is only one reason why anyone would attempt such an awful thing, and that is purely because of acceleration purposes, which is a very superficial reason that is completely orthogonal to learning math for joy and understanding.

Based on your description, I frankly believe it would even actually risk hurting your child's natural love for math. Additionally, practically speaking, K-12 students in the USA are extremely weak in geometry because of how it is taught in school, and trying to do it all in a summer would almost surely hurt your kid down the road. Even worse, summer geometry barely passes as math, given that it will be very procedural and rote based, in addition to stress inducing because of the super frequent testing (I believe it happens on a daily basis due to the highly compressed schedule). Instead, you want your kid to slow down and cover math slowly and deeply., with the goal of mastering a few select interesting topics, as well as increasing problem solving skills along the way. Discrete math such as combinatorics or number theory (AoPS offers both as others mentioned), are not only inherently beautiful, but they can also be used to introduce rigorous reasoning and formulating proofs. If you don't want an actual class, attend a math circle if you can find one (although there may not be anything in the summer), short of that try to introduce your kid to some of the math contest questions where they can learn from doing interesting problems as found in Mathcounts (although in my view that isn't as efficient as learning some of the subject material first). Brilliant.org also has a lot of wonderful and interesting material at their level, but does not have full blown classes like AoPS.

Although this post is thoughtful, I disagree with the point of view. You can study mathematics slow and deep, but also fast and shallow if it fits your student’s goal. If the goal is to learn the tools for understanding science (physics, chemistry, biology) it can be argued that a shallow understanding of calculus is more useful than a deep exploration of number theory. I’d argue that the usefulness of geometry in science is far less than algebra, so skipping through it over a summer class would be ok.

Personally I am somewhat doubtful on how important contest math is for mathematical education. The skill of working on a problem under one hour time constraint, is almost never needed in a real job, and arguably working in a team, and good communication is a better skill to develop.

My main point is that trying to learn all of geometry by forcing it into 6 weeks is horrible idea. The student will have an extremely shallow understanding of geometry and how to use it effectively to solve problems. But much worse, they will not even get a chance to learn math, as it it will be inappropriately presented as a bunch of steps to memorize and then immediately regurgitate on quizzes/tests, all without thinking or reflection, not to mention problem solving or learning how to put together a proof... Why would anyone want their child to go through an experience like that? It is obvious that it could backfire and kill their love or motivation to do math. Literally almost any other approach to doing math is better than this.

If they don't do proofs in regular full-year Geometry, then what's the harm in taking summer Geometry without proofs? Tbh, Geometry doesn't really make sense until you've gone through calculus anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is really gifted in math and loves it.

Would a summer math class like geometry between 7th and 8th be worth it?

There is only one reason why anyone would attempt such an awful thing, and that is purely because of acceleration purposes, which is a very superficial reason that is completely orthogonal to learning math for joy and understanding.

Based on your description, I frankly believe it would even actually risk hurting your child's natural love for math. Additionally, practically speaking, K-12 students in the USA are extremely weak in geometry because of how it is taught in school, and trying to do it all in a summer would almost surely hurt your kid down the road. Even worse, summer geometry barely passes as math, given that it will be very procedural and rote based, in addition to stress inducing because of the super frequent testing (I believe it happens on a daily basis due to the highly compressed schedule). Instead, you want your kid to slow down and cover math slowly and deeply., with the goal of mastering a few select interesting topics, as well as increasing problem solving skills along the way. Discrete math such as combinatorics or number theory (AoPS offers both as others mentioned), are not only inherently beautiful, but they can also be used to introduce rigorous reasoning and formulating proofs. If you don't want an actual class, attend a math circle if you can find one (although there may not be anything in the summer), short of that try to introduce your kid to some of the math contest questions where they can learn from doing interesting problems as found in Mathcounts (although in my view that isn't as efficient as learning some of the subject material first). Brilliant.org also has a lot of wonderful and interesting material at their level, but does not have full blown classes like AoPS.

Although this post is thoughtful, I disagree with the point of view. You can study mathematics slow and deep, but also fast and shallow if it fits your student’s goal. If the goal is to learn the tools for understanding science (physics, chemistry, biology) it can be argued that a shallow understanding of calculus is more useful than a deep exploration of number theory. I’d argue that the usefulness of geometry in science is far less than algebra, so skipping through it over a summer class would be ok.

Personally I am somewhat doubtful on how important contest math is for mathematical education. The skill of working on a problem under one hour time constraint, is almost never needed in a real job, and arguably working in a team, and good communication is a better skill to develop.

My main point is that trying to learn all of geometry by forcing it into 6 weeks is horrible idea. The student will have an extremely shallow understanding of geometry and how to use it effectively to solve problems. But much worse, they will not even get a chance to learn math, as it it will be inappropriately presented as a bunch of steps to memorize and then immediately regurgitate on quizzes/tests, all without thinking or reflection, not to mention problem solving or learning how to put together a proof... Why would anyone want their child to go through an experience like that? It is obvious that it could backfire and kill their love or motivation to do math. Literally almost any other approach to doing math is better than this.

If they don't do proofs in regular full-year Geometry, then what's the harm in taking summer Geometry without proofs? Tbh, Geometry doesn't really make sense until you've gone through calculus anyway.

DP. If you view Geometry in and of itself as useless, then sure. Take summer Geometry, check that box, and move on. It would be a very miserable 6 weeks for your child, and your child is unlikely to retain much of anything. If you want your child to actually learn Geometry, and you don't want your child to have a miserable summer, then you shouldn't put your child in the summer Geometry class.

If you are concerned with proofs, then enroll your child in the AoPS Intro to Geometry class.