How can child stay in private through middle but remain competitive in math

[Anonymous]

By competitive do you mean college admissions? If your kid is bored you could look into other outside of school options as others have suggested (but if they truly won’t accelerate the kid is likely ti get more and more bored as they cover more stuff out of school.)

If the kid is good at math but not terribly bored it’s not a bad thing to have a class that’s a bit of aside for them-they can push themselves more in things outside their comfort zone. It certainly won’t be held against them if they are doing the highest math available at their school and there will be plenty of time for advanced math in college if that’s what they want to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have him do the 9th grade preview class at St. Alban’s. They offer great summer math classes.

+1. Also, public school kids are accelerated in name only. Most of their classes breeze through material. Lots of breadth. No depth.

This is not true. My kid was very accelerated in public elementary and middle and did great in rigorous honors math in private high school, well beyond calculus.

[Anonymous]

I feel like there have been a ton of posts about weak private school math is and I can’t tell if it’s just one person constantly bringing it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there have been a ton of posts about weak private school math is and I can’t tell if it’s just one person constantly bringing it up.

True in some cases, but mostly cope. Private school kids are doing just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there have been a ton of posts about weak private school math is and I can’t tell if it’s just one person constantly bringing it up.

Truth is that, excepting STEM magnet schools, the US is just not strong at tea hing math.

Public or private does not make a significant difference either. If schools truly were good at this, then the NWEA, NAEP, and PiSA math scores all would be much better. Further, if schools really were good at math instruction then AoPS, Kumon, Mathnasium, and RSM would not be able to stay in business.

[Anonymous]

We did Math Olympiad, which is offered from Grade 4 to 8 at our independent. Great to have it offered right after school. Our independent sends kids interested in STEM to MIT, Stanford, CalTech etc. for university.

[Anonymous]

You don’t need to do anything. Lifer private kids excel in math, major in math and engineering, and pursue all sorts of quantitative careers, just like public school kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have experience with Johns Hopkins CTY? I've thought of using their algebra and geometry classes to accelerate my kids when the time comes. Granted I've got a long time before then (my kindergartener is complaining that at school they aren't working on the addition and subtraction that we're doing at home...).

It is lonely unless there are other kids in the same program from the same school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RSM. All private school kids do it.

This. Most of our neighbors are in private school (we are not, because my kids are in FCPS AAP) and most of them do some form of math enrichment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Related question for current grade 3. Mine tested into Math 3 at AOPS. If she continues in this track (Math 3 in grade 3, Math 4 in grade 4) she will just be on grade level at school? Should we be trying to jump ahead a year in AOPS over the summer if she wants to place into higher math in a few years? There is no differentiation or tracking in math at school right now.

AOPS numbering is 2 years advanced beyond onlevel (AoPS 7 is Algebra 1), and it is far, far deeper than public or private school math.

[Anonymous]

My comments:
AoPS is great but not for all. It can be very abstract. Starts to get hard at algebra and beyond. Geometry is considered their hardest course.

For those with private school sending kids toIT and CalTech, I can’t imagine you are in DV metro area. It’s not common here for ANY private.

Yes middle school math at most privates is ridiculously slow for a very quick math kid. It’s a trade off for the other benefits of private. You have to do what works for you.

[Anonymous]

DS has done AoPS and RSM, he has been at RSM since 4th grade, he is now an 8th grader. He does the math competition class, which he loves. It is his choice to participate. He enjoyed AoPS but wanted an in person class that was closer to home so we moved to RSM. His current class is online but grades 4-6 were in person.

None of his friends do math enrichment. They are doing fine in Algebra 1 and Geometry as 8th graders.

I would save math enrichment for kids who want to take it or who are struggling. I am not sure why math is the subject that everyone is worried about kids being competitive. Most kids don’t need math beyond calculus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there have been a ton of posts about weak private school math is and I can’t tell if it’s just one person constantly bringing it up.

Truth is that, excepting STEM magnet schools, the US is just not strong at tea hing math.

Public or private does not make a significant difference either. If schools truly were good at this, then the NWEA, NAEP, and PiSA math scores all would be much better. Further, if schools really were good at math instruction then AoPS, Kumon, Mathnasium, and RSM would not be able to stay in business.

Most families going to these companies aren’t going for remedial instruction— they are going there to get ahead. So they’d always be in business no matter how well teacher is instructing the class.

Most students in the US score poorly in math because they don’t understand the point of learning math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like there have been a ton of posts about weak private school math is and I can’t tell if it’s just one person constantly bringing it up.

Truth is that, excepting STEM magnet schools, the US is just not strong at tea hing math.

Public or private does not make a significant difference either. If schools truly were good at this, then the NWEA, NAEP, and PiSA math scores all would be much better. Further, if schools really were good at math instruction then AoPS, Kumon, Mathnasium, and RSM would not be able to stay in business.

Most families going to these companies aren’t going for remedial instruction— they are going there to get ahead. So they’d always be in business no matter how well teacher is instructing the class.

Most students in the US score poorly in math because they don’t understand the point of learning math.

Most students in the U.S. do poorly in math because it is taught with a ridiculous amount of abstraction that doesn’t place things into the context of the real world. Not to mention, there is so much testing that full foundational mastery doesn’t happen for many.

[Anonymous]

which independent school?

Anonymous wrote:We did Math Olympiad, which is offered from Grade 4 to 8 at our independent. Great to have it offered right after school. Our independent sends kids interested in STEM to MIT, Stanford, CalTech etc. for university.