OP here to update. He is evaluated again by Mathnasium, and he will be assigned for level 3. And, AOPS has evaluated him in person to be level 3. Kumon has evaluated him to be level B, and they expect him to be able to go to level C in 2 weeks.

I like AOPS, organized and clean, but it does not seem to be fun and might be challenging for my rising 2nd grader. He does not seem to like the structured & no fun environment. But I think he might be able to find kids of similar interests at AOPS. He loves mathnasium because of reward system & laid back environment, but as one PP say, I am not sure because I don't like that there is no homework/book to take home/review system. I don't know what he works on till monthly report. For kumon, he likes it that he can do a lot of homework at home and at center. He is a bit on the geeky side, so I am not surprised that he likes it. That looks like a sad/small room kumon room, but I think he maybe able to strengthen his foundation for accuracy and speed.

Yes, I have considered to get kumon book (not sure what is equivalent to level B for books?) and do beast academy online/book subscription level 3 for a fraction of cost, but I know that in person is always better than doing online. And, I also have to consider that he is really excited to find some kids that are strong in math and love math like that in person. He could not find that group of kids at school yet.

I am more lost now, which one would you pick?

Anonymous wrote:Search the forum, there is a long post by a former mathnasium employee.

Also, I hear mathnasium isn't really a teaching program. They just have a ladder of worksheets the kids work on. The name is accurate, it's like a gym for math.

That's exactly what it is. The kids just sit at a table with one or two other kids and do worksheets. There is hardly any interaction between them and the "tutor." My son complained it was easy and boring, and eventually I stopped sending him. If they had been able to provide some feedback or information to show that what they were doing was working in some way, or show some progress that I could relate to the FCPS curriculum, then I might have stayed, but they seemed to be offering nothing to justify the amount of time and money we were expending.

I agree that the online version of Beast Academy would be the better fit for your child. Beast Academy is meant to make a child think deeper about math.

I would check out Russian school of mathematics for a gifted math student.

We did mathnasium for my kids to reinforce what they did not learn during Covid. It was helpful for my child in algebra.

First and second grade math is mostly addition and multiplication type math. I’m not sure I would send a child that young.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. I got contacted that they were surprised he did well for 2nd grade assessment test, and they wanted to evaluate him again on next grade level test. I have looked at sample test above. I think he could do grade 3. For grade 4, if I give him some hints on 2 questions, he might be able to pull it off.

RSM is inconvenient, and AOPS is a bit too expensive. He is a SN kid, and he is going to get evaluated and IQ test is part of it. I did not share this piece of information to them because I don't think it is necessary. He is sensitive to numbers. The reason I pick mathnasium because they have flexible schedules and he is kind of a self learner.

If he's a self learner, you can sign him up for a year of beast academy. It's much cheaper and identical to the AoPS curriculum.

+1 I have one on the spectrum who really liked BA. AOPS in general seems like they understand what excites and motivates mathematically inclined children.

This online program is pretty affordable for a live class: https://mrmathonline.com/ but they start at the level of gifted 2nd graders so your son may or may not qualify

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. I got contacted that they were surprised he did well for 2nd grade assessment test, and they wanted to evaluate him again on next grade level test. I have looked at sample test above. I think he could do grade 3. For grade 4, if I give him some hints on 2 questions, he might be able to pull it off.

RSM is inconvenient, and AOPS is a bit too expensive. He is a SN kid, and he is going to get evaluated and IQ test is part of it. I did not share this piece of information to them because I don't think it is necessary. He is sensitive to numbers. The reason I pick mathnasium because they have flexible schedules and he is kind of a self learner.

If he's a self learner, you can sign him up for a year of beast academy. It's much cheaper and identical to the AoPS curriculum.

If sending him to a center isn't hr important part, check out Beast Academy for home.

Thank you. I got contacted that they were surprised he did well for 2nd grade assessment test, and they wanted to evaluate him again on next grade level test. I have looked at sample test above. I think he could do grade 3. For grade 4, if I give him some hints on 2 questions, he might be able to pull it off.

RSM is inconvenient, and AOPS is a bit too expensive. He is a SN kid, and he is going to get evaluated and IQ test is part of it. I did not share this piece of information to them because I don't think it is necessary. He is sensitive to numbers. The reason I pick mathnasium because they have flexible schedules and he is kind of a self learner.

Looking at the sample questions on https://www.mathnasium.com/blog/grade-level-checkup

Mathbasium's "grade level" is very much basic on-level, not mastery.

If your child is performing well above grade level, mathnasium isn't offering the enrichment your child needs, that AoPS/RSM will provide.

Search the forum, there is a long post by a former mathnasium employee.

Also, I hear mathnasium isn't really a teaching program. They just have a ladder of worksheets the kids work on. The name is accurate, it's like a gym for math.

Anonymous wrote:We had mathnasium evaluated my child, and they said that they would question him first and gave him appropriate test to evaluate him based on his math level not based on his grade level/age. Even though he is a first grader, but I told them that they could test him on much higher grade level. His test score was back, and he got 1 question wrong out of 57 questions on checkup #2 assessment. I won't see them in person to discuss what the test score mean till next week.

In the mean time, I want to ask what grade level is equivalent to checkup #2 assessment? Grade 2 or it mean something else? My son finished them in less than 30 minutes, and he told me that it was easy. I thought the test result would give me some ideas what his strength or weakness are. And, this test score seem to give me useful information other than that I am suspicious if they gave him inappropriate level. Anyone know what the qualification are those math instructors? High school kid or college kid or adult specializing in math tutoring?

Just wit till they get back to you.
You can also test him yourself: https://www.mathnasium.com/blog/grade-level-checkup

Note that Mathnasium has an incentive to make the tests harder than grade level, as parents who are scared of their kids being "behind" are more likely to pay up. Also, the checkups start with grade 2 so checkup #2 could be 2nd or 3rd grade or something else entirely.

Here's some more placement tests you can do: https://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/placement_tests

meant that give me *ZERO useful information

We had mathnasium evaluated my child, and they said that they would question him first and gave him appropriate test to evaluate him based on his math level not based on his grade level/age. Even though he is a first grader, but I told them that they could test him on much higher grade level. His test score was back, and he got 1 question wrong out of 57 questions on checkup #2 assessment. I won't see them in person to discuss what the test score mean till next week.

In the mean time, I want to ask what grade level is equivalent to checkup #2 assessment? Grade 2 or it mean something else? My son finished them in less than 30 minutes, and he told me that it was easy. I thought the test result would give me some ideas what his strength or weakness are. And, this test score seem to give me useful information other than that I am suspicious if they gave him inappropriate level. Anyone know what the qualification are those math instructors? High school kid or college kid or adult specializing in math tutoring?