Reply to Should I send my kids to mathnasium?

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

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. [/quote]

Yes. I agree. [/quote]

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