Advanced middle school math

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
How? I'm not aware of any schools that offer algebra 1 in 5th or geometry in 6th

I have heard Brambleton does it.

Forget algebra, they don't even mention prealgebra as an option for 6th grade: https://sites.google.com/lcps.org/bam-rising-6th-grade/parent-information

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
How? I'm not aware of any schools that offer algebra 1 in 5th or geometry in 6th

I have heard Brambleton does it.

Forget algebra, they don't even mention prealgebra as an option for 6th grade: https://sites.google.com/lcps.org/bam-rising-6th-grade/parent-information

I wouldn't expect anything on that page, the math slides are from the old VMPI LCPS page.
The parents would be told in elementary about course offerings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
DP, but sometimes "self-study" means you're basically tackling courses on your own. Maybe this is what the PP meant.

Yes. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought people were saying that parents sign up their kids for outside algebra, geometry, precalc classes if the school wasn't offering enough acceleration. I don't think this is very common, and definitely the kids at my school haven't done that. RSM, Kumon are different.
Even the AOPS classes like number theory I only know of a few MathCounts students taking these, and many good students who did not take any of these.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I would assume that all of the kids who competed in Mathcounts from Longfellow were taking classes through AoPS, RSM, Chinese school, or Curie in addition to their school mathcounts club.

Is this an assumption or do you know the kids? How did TJ admissions go for this team?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DP, but sometimes "self-study" means you're basically tackling courses on your own. Maybe this is what the PP meant.

Yes. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought people were saying that parents sign up their kids for outside algebra, geometry, precalc classes if the school wasn't offering enough acceleration. I don't think this is very common, and definitely the kids at my school haven't done that. RSM, Kumon are different.
Even the AOPS classes like number theory I only know of a few MathCounts students taking these, and many good students who did not take any of these.

AoPS curricular (Alg/Geo/Precal) classes are popular among the math contest competitors by me.
Some even take the AMC contest at AoPS instead of main school (which is against the rules) because it provides some advantage or because they feel loyalty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some even take the AMC contest at AoPS instead of main school (which is against the rules) because it provides some advantage or because they feel loyalty.

There is no rule on this. Many schools do not provide AMC8 or 10.

[Anonymous]

OK, I agree. The policies say “AMC contests are school-based competitions. If your school does not currently offer” but it doesn’t say “only if”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OK, I agree. The policies say “AMC contests are school-based competitions. If your school does not currently offer” but it doesn’t say “only if”.

It could also be that if a kid makes AIME, there is no guarantee that school will proctor it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
DP, but sometimes "self-study" means you're basically tackling courses on your own. Maybe this is what the PP meant.

Yes. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought people were saying that parents sign up their kids for outside algebra, geometry, precalc classes if the school wasn't offering enough acceleration. I don't think this is very common, and definitely the kids at my school haven't done that. RSM, Kumon are different.
Even the AOPS classes like number theory I only know of a few MathCounts students taking these, and many good students who did not take any of these.

Many kids take summer geometry offered by the school district.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No way they are scoring 30+ points on the Mathcounts state round with just Algebra I + school coaching. If a kid truly did that, then the kid is a math prodigy with parents who severely dropped the ball.

You don't have to be a math prodigy for 30+. Take a look at the state round. It is easy to see how someone gets to 30+.

25 of the first 26 sprint and #28 are doable, as well as all the targets.
That would be a score of 42, leaving plenty of room to get 30+.
The geometry that is needed is largely picked up in practices or self study. ES Math Olympiad covers many of the geometry topics, though usually not circles like target #4.

Here's problem 28:
Suppose x and y are real numbers for which 2xy + 16 = x^2 and 2xy + 9 = 4y^2
If y > 0, what is the value of x + y? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest tenth.

You really think that's doable for a kid in Algebra I?

All of the targets are doable? You really think a kid in Algebra I has any chance at all to solve #4?
https://www.mathcounts.org/sites/default/files/2023%20State%20Competition%20Target%20Round.pdf

Any kids in Algebra I who can self-study and glean enough from their school club to solve problems like this are truly remarkable kids. It's far outside of the norm.

Pretty remarkable. The hard part about sprint 28 is getting there. I think this kid would have gotten the question if he had a few minutes. Similar questions were covered in practice, though not quite as hard as this one.
This student did get question 4. Apparently his coach was not able to do it while looking at it at states, just guessing it was a right angle, even though this coach had explained the specific concept to them several times about slopes and right angles.

Again, I'm amazed by this story. You're saying there is a 7th grader who is:
-taking school Algebra I and mostly self-studying contest math
-highly to profoundly gifted in math based on the ability to self study and the ability to be one of the top kids in the state in competitions
-presumably attending school in Ashburn (LCPS and either Eagle Ridge or Stone Hill MS)
-presumably Asian (Ashburn demographics)
-presumably wealthy(Ashburn demographics)
...but the parents haven't put the kid in outside math classes? I mean, basically every kid in Ashburn who is either Asian or wealthy is taking outside math classes, except apparently this one math genius, who is just self studying his way to Mathcounts Nationals.

Yeah. Totally plausible.

The outside math classes that all the wealthy Asians in Ashburn are taking, are of no use for MathCounts, maybe RSM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: If it is your kid, you’ve dropped the ball on getting him the proper coaching to meet his full potential. He probably would have made nationals if you weren’t more interested in bragging about his natural talent than you were with properly supporting him.

Not my kid. But a few years ago I was wondering if your kid was getting the proper coaching. I had lost your number by then, but glad to see it worked out for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No way they are scoring 30+ points on the Mathcounts state round with just Algebra I + school coaching. If a kid truly did that, then the kid is a math prodigy with parents who severely dropped the ball.

You don't have to be a math prodigy for 30+. Take a look at the state round. It is easy to see how someone gets to 30+.

25 of the first 26 sprint and #28 are doable, as well as all the targets.
That would be a score of 42, leaving plenty of room to get 30+.
The geometry that is needed is largely picked up in practices or self study. ES Math Olympiad covers many of the geometry topics, though usually not circles like target #4.

Here's problem 28:
Suppose x and y are real numbers for which 2xy + 16 = x^2 and 2xy + 9 = 4y^2
If y > 0, what is the value of x + y? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest tenth.

You really think that's doable for a kid in Algebra I?

All of the targets are doable? You really think a kid in Algebra I has any chance at all to solve #4?
https://www.mathcounts.org/sites/default/files/2023%20State%20Competition%20Target%20Round.pdf

Any kids in Algebra I who can self-study and glean enough from their school club to solve problems like this are truly remarkable kids. It's far outside of the norm.

Pretty remarkable. The hard part about sprint 28 is getting there. I think this kid would have gotten the question if he had a few minutes. Similar questions were covered in practice, though not quite as hard as this one.
This student did get question 4. Apparently his coach was not able to do it while looking at it at states, just guessing it was a right angle, even though this coach had explained the specific concept to them several times about slopes and right angles.

Again, I'm amazed by this story. You're saying there is a 7th grader who is:
-taking school Algebra I and mostly self-studying contest math
-highly to profoundly gifted in math based on the ability to self study and the ability to be one of the top kids in the state in competitions
-presumably attending school in Ashburn (LCPS and either Eagle Ridge or Stone Hill MS)
-presumably Asian (Ashburn demographics)
-presumably wealthy(Ashburn demographics)
...but the parents haven't put the kid in outside math classes? I mean, basically every kid in Ashburn who is either Asian or wealthy is taking outside math classes, except apparently this one math genius, who is just self studying his way to Mathcounts Nationals.

Yeah. Totally plausible.

The outside math classes that all the wealthy Asians in Ashburn are taking, are of no use for MathCounts, maybe RSM.

And AoPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No way they are scoring 30+ points on the Mathcounts state round with just Algebra I + school coaching. If a kid truly did that, then the kid is a math prodigy with parents who severely dropped the ball.

You don't have to be a math prodigy for 30+. Take a look at the state round. It is easy to see how someone gets to 30+.

25 of the first 26 sprint and #28 are doable, as well as all the targets.
That would be a score of 42, leaving plenty of room to get 30+.
The geometry that is needed is largely picked up in practices or self study. ES Math Olympiad covers many of the geometry topics, though usually not circles like target #4.

Here's problem 28:
Suppose x and y are real numbers for which 2xy + 16 = x^2 and 2xy + 9 = 4y^2
If y > 0, what is the value of x + y? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest tenth.

You really think that's doable for a kid in Algebra I?

All of the targets are doable? You really think a kid in Algebra I has any chance at all to solve #4?
https://www.mathcounts.org/sites/default/files/2023%20State%20Competition%20Target%20Round.pdf

Any kids in Algebra I who can self-study and glean enough from their school club to solve problems like this are truly remarkable kids. It's far outside of the norm.

Pretty remarkable. The hard part about sprint 28 is getting there. I think this kid would have gotten the question if he had a few minutes. Similar questions were covered in practice, though not quite as hard as this one.
This student did get question 4. Apparently his coach was not able to do it while looking at it at states, just guessing it was a right angle, even though this coach had explained the specific concept to them several times about slopes and right angles.

Again, I'm amazed by this story. You're saying there is a 7th grader who is:
-taking school Algebra I and mostly self-studying contest math
-highly to profoundly gifted in math based on the ability to self study and the ability to be one of the top kids in the state in competitions
-presumably attending school in Ashburn (LCPS and either Eagle Ridge or Stone Hill MS)
-presumably Asian (Ashburn demographics)
-presumably wealthy(Ashburn demographics)
...but the parents haven't put the kid in outside math classes? I mean, basically every kid in Ashburn who is either Asian or wealthy is taking outside math classes, except apparently this one math genius, who is just self studying his way to Mathcounts Nationals.

Yeah. Totally plausible.

The outside math classes that all the wealthy Asians in Ashburn are taking, are of no use for MathCounts, maybe RSM.

And AoPS

That's great for MathCounts, but not one of the ones that basically every kid is taking.