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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Citation for this?  I was actually present at 2022 Mathcounts Nationals and spoke with parents and coaches.  And you were.....?   
You're full of shit.  The kids there are accelerated to the maximum level allowed by their school districts.  Most areas are more willing to accelerate kids than FCPS is.  That being said, even FCPS has maybe 10 kids per year taking pre-Calc and Calc in 8th.  Kids would get nowhere in Mathcounts without knowing Algebra, Geometry, and even Algebra II (and number theory, and Counting and Probability, and other stuff outside of the regular math curriculum).  [/quote]

There is a difference between 8th grade precalc and 5th grade algebra.  I would expect FCPS has even more than that in precalc.  LCPS has individual schools with whole sections taking Algebra 2 w trig, though they don't let you take calculus right after that.

I've competed at nationals, no one on my team had algebra before7th grade.  That was a while ago and the contest is tougher now(though the top student scored 12 points higher than 2nd place, and 20 higher than the 5th place kid who moved up to 1st.)  Even this year, I know several kids in Virginia who nearly made nationals last year and thus a decent chance this year, none had algebra before 6th in school.  I think you are giving too much weight to the kids you saw, and the majority are not taking algebra in 5th grade.  There are a bunch of states where 30 score is enough to advance, and some even 20.[/quote]
Your information is out of date. BothMathcounts and AMC 10/12 cranked up the difficulty in the last 5 years in a way that, for better or worse, favors more highly accelerated kids.  There also are more schools permitting hyper acceleration than ever before.

You did move the goalpost there.  The original assertion was that a kid taking Algebra I in 7th and geometry in 8th could be competitive in VA.  They simply can’t be.  A kid doing Algebra in 6th and then doubling up later is competitive. A kid stuck learning nothing in school but hyper accelerated at AoPS (like many FCPS kids) could be competitive.  A kid who hasn’t even finished geometry would have no chance.

My observation was that every kid at Nationals fit into one of these categories. 1. Hyper accelerated at school.  2.  Bored and wasting time in school math but hyper accelerated at AoPS.  3. Representing a weak, non competitive state.

[/quote]

Since we are on this topic (which is somewhat farther than OP's original question), many of the top 50 kids (and certainly most if not all of the countdown round qualifiers) are also USAMO/USAJMO qualifiers. No way they qualify and do well in those if they aren't hyperaccelerated at school (or they are homeschooled) or at AOPS.  Indeed Mathcounts is approaching AMC-10 (Q1-15) in difficulty according to my kid (who made Nationals and JMO last year in 7th). School algebra 1/2 or even Geometry is just the beginning for these contests, especially if speed is paramount.[/quote]

It seems like the parents who are able to get their schools to accelerate their children gives them an advantage in these contests and conversely children at schools that refuse to accelerate, regardless of merit, are at a disadvantage.[/quote]

Most of the highly competitive kids at these contests aren't relying on the math taught in their schools.  They're taking outside classes that go in much greater depth and cover problem solving strategies.  [/quote]

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