Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been at least one poster claiming that a child who is able to take and pass Algebra I in 5th grade is rare or an outlier.

Aops is hugely popular. Loads of 5th graders taking algebra in 5th grade. If you talk to homeschooling circles (where aops is used as a curriculum by itself) it’s by no means weird for above average kids to take algebra I in 5th.

Also there are whole countries where algebra is taught in 5th grade, right? This is a huge argument made on this forum.

So while it’s advanced for a student to study this on the side I don’t think it’s really a sign of needing radical acceleration. It’s merely a sign that the student is receiving outside tutoring.

Having worked with the aops curriculum I don’t think it stands as a complete substitution for an honors Algebra I course that is taught at the high school level. It’s different. The concepts are introduced through self discovery which can mean a student learns at a deeper level. But not always. And I don’t think it is as rigorous. There is far less drilling and practice. Which isn’t needed if the student gets it the first time. But on the flip side a student can easily skip over problem sections and there isn’t much review.

Math competitions in elementary school are purely extra curricular. Doing well on the AMC 8 is only a sign that the student does well on that competition because they are accelerated or because they have studied the test. Not until
The AMC 12 is it really meaningful of anything more.

You see, a child who can fully understand Algebra I at 10 but have trouble with higher level and more abstract problems at 18. There’s no predicting this.

A kid who takes the aops curriculum is not fully understanding Algebra 1 honors level math. They may understand concepts or pockets of material but not the breadth of material for the whole course.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been at least one poster claiming that a child who is able to take and pass Algebra I in 5th grade is rare or an outlier.

Aops is hugely popular. Loads of 5th graders taking algebra in 5th grade. If you talk to homeschooling circles (where aops is used as a curriculum by itself) it’s by no means weird for above average kids to take algebra I in 5th.

Also there are whole countries where algebra is taught in 5th grade, right? This is a huge argument made on this forum.

So while it’s advanced for a student to study this on the side I don’t think it’s really a sign of needing radical acceleration. It’s merely a sign that the student is receiving outside tutoring.

Having worked with the aops curriculum I don’t think it stands as a complete substitution for an honors Algebra I course that is taught at the high school level. It’s different. The concepts are introduced through self discovery which can mean a student learns at a deeper level. But not always. And I don’t think it is as rigorous. There is far less drilling and practice. Which isn’t needed if the student gets it the first time. But on the flip side a student can easily skip over problem sections and there isn’t much review.

Math competitions in elementary school are purely extra curricular. Doing well on the AMC 8 is only a sign that the student does well on that competition because they are accelerated or because they have studied the test. Not until
The AMC 12 is it really meaningful of anything more.

You see, a child who can fully understand Algebra I at 10 but have trouble with higher level and more abstract problems at 18. There’s no predicting this.

A kid who takes the aops curriculum is not fully understanding Algebra 1 honors level math. They may understand concepts or pockets of material but not the breadth of material for the whole course.

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been at least one poster claiming that a child who is able to take and pass Algebra I in 5th grade is rare or an outlier.

Aops is hugely popular. Loads of 5th graders taking algebra in 5th grade. If you talk to homeschooling circles (where aops is used as a curriculum by itself) it’s by no means weird for above average kids to take algebra I in 5th.

Also there are whole countries where algebra is taught in 5th grade, right? This is a huge argument made on this forum.

So while it’s advanced for a student to study this on the side I don’t think it’s really a sign of needing radical acceleration. It’s merely a sign that the student is receiving outside tutoring.

Having worked with the aops curriculum I don’t think it stands as a complete substitution for an honors Algebra I course that is taught at the high school level. It’s different. The concepts are introduced through self discovery which can mean a student learns at a deeper level. But not always. And I don’t think it is as rigorous. There is far less drilling and practice. Which isn’t needed if the student gets it the first time. But on the flip side a student can easily skip over problem sections and there isn’t much review.

Math competitions in elementary school are purely extra curricular. Doing well on the AMC 8 is only a sign that the student does well on that competition because they are accelerated or because they have studied the test. Not until
The AMC 12 is it really meaningful of anything more.

You see, a child who can fully understand Algebra I at 10 but have trouble with higher level and more abstract problems at 18. There’s no predicting this.

A kid who takes the aops curriculum is not fully understanding Algebra 1 honors level math. They may understand concepts or pockets of material but not the breadth of material for the whole course.

I have to highly disagree with this statement. The AoPS curriculum and problems are deeper than what is found in school algebra 1 classes. Additionally, kids are exposed to many other special topics that would be highly unlikely to be found in school (e.g Vietas formulas, Simon's favorite factoring trick, self similarity, as well as a separate in depth unit on counting and combinatorics). I don't believe any of these topics are seen in school.

Anonymous wrote:
You are drinking the koolaid. Some tricks may or may not be covered in a high school Algebra I class. But more is covered in the school class. It’s a class that meets every day for a year. Aops meets once a week.

It’s a great program. It’s the best program that is readily available if you ask me. But nothing compares to a real high school class. Your experience may differ. like with everything you get what you put into it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are drinking the koolaid. Some tricks may or may not be covered in a high school Algebra I class. But more is covered in the school class. It’s a class that meets every day for a year. Aops meets once a week.

It’s a great program. It’s the best program that is readily available if you ask me. But nothing compares to a real high school class. Your experience may differ. like with everything you get what you put into it.

DP, but let's do the math. In FCPS middle schools with block scheduling, Algebra I honors meets every other day for 1.5 hours. In that class, perhaps 1 hour is used as instructional time and the other half hour is used for kids to get an early start on homework. So, there are approximately 2.5 hours of instructional time in the schedule. This isn't accounting for teacher work days, holidays, and any other disruptions in the schedule. The average weekly instructional time would be less than 2.5 hours due to the holidays and such.

AoPS classes have 1 hour and 45 minutes of in-class instruction per week. Generally, holidays aren't off, so they're doing this every week. It really isn't much less than an in-person class. Also, AoPS classes have fewer students than FCPS ones, so the kids get more individual attention and are more able to ask questions of the teacher.

Both AoPS and FCPS honors algebra have similar weekly homework loads. There isn't the huge gulf between the two.

Anonymous wrote:I have a 5th grader and a 7th grader, both in Algebra I Honors in FCPS. The 7th grader is a normal, smart kid who is similar to all of the other smart kids in FCPS. The 5th grader is way beyond that and is bored in the Algebra class. Kids who are more than one year by FCPS are pretty rare, since FCPS doesn't like skipping kids.

Anonymous wrote:

pettifogger wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been at least one poster claiming that a child who is able to take and pass Algebra I in 5th grade is rare or an outlier.

Aops is hugely popular. Loads of 5th graders taking algebra in 5th grade. If you talk to homeschooling circles (where aops is used as a curriculum by itself) it’s by no means weird for above average kids to take algebra I in 5th.

Also there are whole countries where algebra is taught in 5th grade, right? This is a huge argument made on this forum.

So while it’s advanced for a student to study this on the side I don’t think it’s really a sign of needing radical acceleration. It’s merely a sign that the student is receiving outside tutoring.

Having worked with the aops curriculum I don’t think it stands as a complete substitution for an honors Algebra I course that is taught at the high school level. It’s different. The concepts are introduced through self discovery which can mean a student learns at a deeper level. But not always. And I don’t think it is as rigorous. There is far less drilling and practice. Which isn’t needed if the student gets it the first time. But on the flip side a student can easily skip over problem sections and there isn’t much review.

Math competitions in elementary school are purely extra curricular. Doing well on the AMC 8 is only a sign that the student does well on that competition because they are accelerated or because they have studied the test. Not until
The AMC 12 is it really meaningful of anything more.

You see, a child who can fully understand Algebra I at 10 but have trouble with higher level and more abstract problems at 18. There’s no predicting this.

A kid who takes the aops curriculum is not fully understanding Algebra 1 honors level math. They may understand concepts or pockets of material but not the breadth of material for the whole course.

I have to highly disagree with this statement. The AoPS curriculum and problems are deeper than what is found in school algebra 1 classes. Additionally, kids are exposed to many other special topics that would be highly unlikely to be found in school (e.g Vietas formulas, Simon's favorite factoring trick, self similarity, as well as a separate in depth unit on counting and combinatorics). I don't believe any of these topics are seen in school.

You are drinking the koolaid. Some tricks may or may not be covered in a high school Algebra I class. But more is covered in the school class. It’s a class that meets every day for a year. Aops meets once a week.

It’s a great program. It’s the best program that is readily available if you ask me. But nothing compares to a real high school class. Your experience may differ. like with everything you get what you put into it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
You are drinking the koolaid. Some tricks may or may not be covered in a high school Algebra I class. But more is covered in the school class. It’s a class that meets every day for a year. Aops meets once a week.

It’s a great program. It’s the best program that is readily available if you ask me. But nothing compares to a real high school class. Your experience may differ. like with everything you get what you put into it.

DP, but let's do the math. In FCPS middle schools with block scheduling, Algebra I honors meets every other day for 1.5 hours. In that class, perhaps 1 hour is used as instructional time and the other half hour is used for kids to get an early start on homework. So, there are approximately 2.5 hours of instructional time in the schedule. This isn't accounting for teacher work days, holidays, and any other disruptions in the schedule. The average weekly instructional time would be less than 2.5 hours due to the holidays and such.

AoPS classes have 1 hour and 45 minutes of in-class instruction per week. Generally, holidays aren't off, so they're doing this every week. It really isn't much less than an in-person class. Also, AoPS classes have fewer students than FCPS ones, so the kids get more individual attention and are more able to ask questions of the teacher.

Both AoPS and FCPS honors algebra have similar weekly homework loads. There isn't the huge gulf between the two.

This is incorrect. Even with block sceduling, math still meets every day.

And if you really think that AOPS is faithfully replicating a high school honors math class, why would you send your kid to school duplicatively instead of homeschool them? Even in college, as an engineering major, I only took one math class at a time. Poor kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a 5th grader and a 7th grader, both in Algebra I Honors in FCPS. The 7th grader is a normal, smart kid who is similar to all of the other smart kids in FCPS. The 5th grader is way beyond that and is bored in the Algebra class. Kids who are more than one year by FCPS are pretty rare, since FCPS doesn't like skipping kids.

That’s not saying much.

Yes. If FCPS is accepting the top 25 percent of a general population. Less than 10 percent of those kids accepted are even actually gifted (top 2 percent) statistically speaking. So maybe 9 kids out of every 100 aap kids. Sometimes will do stand out.