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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
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.  
[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

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.

[/quote]

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.  [/quote]

All of these are true, except for the part about every Asian kid in Ashburn taking outside math classes.  I do get surprised by how many people go to Curie, but still not close to every kid.  Particularly once you get to middle school, the RSM and similar things drops off a little.[/quote]
If it’s not your kid, it’s disturbing that you have such detailed knowledge of the kid’s enrichment classes and scores.  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.

Still not buying that Eagle Ridge has tons of self taught math geniuses with parents who are totally chill, complacent, and content with nothing more than the school provided resources.  [/quote]

You seem to have knowledge of courses taken by a much larger group, or at least think you do to the point you are surprised it doesn't happen.  And it appears to be happening from hundreds or thousands of miles away, unless your noncompetitive state is Delaware or WV.  Virginia with its lower performance still got #13 this year at nationals.[/quote]

Well, my older kids attended one of the TJ feeder middle schools before we moved away.  The kids and parents were not even slightly chill about any academic extracurricular.  It's hard to wrap my mind around the idea that LCPS has a bunch of very wealthy, chill areas while FCPS does not.  [/quote]

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