Anonymous
Post 05/08/2022 12:01     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
How are the RSM teachers? I read a review online that said teachers are strict and intimidating which would not work well for my DC.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 23:41     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:We have done both and prefer AOPS . AOPS is for kids who like to think. It is challenging for the most mathy kid. The problems are designed in a way that you learn to utilize a step wise approach and think/solve in blocks. RSM felt like a supplement to school not a challenge for bright kids.


Both AOPS and RSM are helpful. It’s what suits your child. My one child does AOPS snd likes it and another tried but it didn’t work for her. Now she will try RSM to see if that’s a better fit for her.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 21:29     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
We have done both and prefer AOPS . AOPS is for kids who like to think. It is challenging for the most mathy kid. The problems are designed in a way that you learn to utilize a step wise approach and think/solve in blocks. RSM felt like a supplement to school not a challenge for bright kids.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 21:13     Subject: Re:Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Beast Academy also has a classless option (you can buy just the books or access the curriculum self-paced online.) The curriculum says it starts at 2nd grade but we bought the online access for our kindergartener and she's been loving it. It's nice because we can just let her work on it as we have free time, and we don't have to commit to X hours per week or whatever.

Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 20:06     Subject: Re:Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
IF you want to save money then I think for foundational math Khan academy is good with videos and practice IXL questions. For competitions - AOPS.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 17:47     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:RSM to strengthen foundations and become good in math.

AOPS for kids who are already good in math and want to prepare for competitions.

1 kid in RSM and 1 in AOPS.


My kid is in the Honors RSM class and the Math Competition Program at RSM. He enjoys both classes and I like that he has a class dedicated to practicing his foundational skills and making sure those are sharp while working on more challenging problems and concepts in the competition math program.


Is the RSM honors class and the AoPS math classes the same? Is Aops more difficult than RSM honors? AOPS also teaches foundational math and competing math, I’m still confused as to how to decided which one is the right fit for a child?


We did AoPS last year. I don't think the AoPS classes are similar to the RSM classes.

RSM has three levels, honors is the highest. DS is n the honors class but it is very much a math class. They discuss problems, solve problems, and the problems look like regular math problems. The homework is pretty standard looking homework. The RSM math competition class is more creative math, they work through logic problems and participate in math competitions. Looking at the work, it is different then AoPS was. I wold say it still feels more like formal math class but with different types of problems that require logic and creative approaches to the problems. But neither class looks or feels like AoPS did.

I have no clue if that makes sense. Overall, AoPS approach is just different then RSMs approach. There is a creative problems solving component to RSM but it is a separate class that you have to test into.

I think DS would prefer to take AoPS but the only location near us is 30 minutes farther then RSM. If there was one closer, we probably would have stayed with AoPS. That said, I like the foundational math skills and reinforcement from the regular class, I think that is good for DS. DS prefers the math competition class because the problems are more fun to work and are more challenging.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 16:22     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:RSM to strengthen foundations and become good in math.

AOPS for kids who are already good in math and want to prepare for competitions.

1 kid in RSM and 1 in AOPS.


My kid is in the Honors RSM class and the Math Competition Program at RSM. He enjoys both classes and I like that he has a class dedicated to practicing his foundational skills and making sure those are sharp while working on more challenging problems and concepts in the competition math program.


Is the RSM honors class and the AoPS math classes the same? Is Aops more difficult than RSM honors? AOPS also teaches foundational math and competing math, I’m still confused as to how to decided which one is the right fit for a child?
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 13:04     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:RSM to strengthen foundations and become good in math.

AOPS for kids who are already good in math and want to prepare for competitions.

1 kid in RSM and 1 in AOPS.


My kid is in the Honors RSM class and the Math Competition Program at RSM. He enjoys both classes and I like that he has a class dedicated to practicing his foundational skills and making sure those are sharp while working on more challenging problems and concepts in the competition math program.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 11:30     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
If you had to take the math book away from the kid because he is spending a too much time on math problems then AOPS is a perfect fit.

If your kid complains why he has to do additional math, RSM would likely be a better fit and AOPS for sure would turn off the kid.

Even though it would have been easier to put both kids in AOPS, we had to put 1 in RSM.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 11:26     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
RSM to strengthen foundations and become good in math.

AOPS for kids who are already good in math and want to prepare for competitions.

1 kid in RSM and 1 in AOPS.
Anonymous
Post 01/03/2022 09:42     Subject: Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Bumping this thread. Any more recent experience with either one of these? I like that AoPS teaches some outside of the box thinking but as my DD is now in advanced 6th grade math (which is 7th grade/pre-algebra), I think she needs more emphasis on building foundations. She will likely be in Honors 7th next year. Her strength is really ELA even though she does fine in FCPS advanced math.
Anonymous
Post 11/26/2021 20:34     Subject: Re:Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just moved to RSM and there was no mention of not doing Math Olympiad outside fo RSM. DS is not involved with the Math Competition track that RSM has so I doubt that he has any type of restrictions.


This was me. DS tested into the Math Competition Program. They sent home a form that we had to get the school to sign saying he was not participating in the Math Olympiad at school so he can participate with his RSM class. They have already done two competitions (one Math Olympiad and a different one that I can’t remember off the top of my head) but no results reported yet.

He really enjoys the math competition class, it is totally different then the regular class.

Overall, RSM is a solid program. It is more flexible then AoPS in being able to make up classes and other ways. But it is more of a traditional math program then AoPS. Even the Math Competition Program is more formal discussion of approaches to problems. They discuss the different type of problems that appear in a competition and different approaches to the problem. Kids do practice questions and then they discuss each kids approach to the question, then the Teachers approach. DS really likes it.

AoPS is more out of the box in terms of its overall approach. It is more playing with math then RSM.

I think DS enjoys the AoPS approach more, it is more fun. I think I prefer the RSM for him because there is more foundational work, although they are far ahead of the work being done in his fourth grade classroom. The work is challenging, which we all appreciate. The Math Competition Program he loves and I appreciate the approach that they are taking in that class.

Either program would work for him. RSM is closer and I appreciate the flexibility. He can make up classes if he misses one at RSM which AoPS did not allow last year. I think he would pick AoPS over RSM. If the distance was closer he would probably end up in AoPS because his enjoyment of the extra math is more important then my appreciation of foundational work. He gets plenty of foundational work repetition in school.



Does RSM teach the concepts? We tried Mathnasium and it got repetitive. We are in AoPS, which is working for one but not the other one. It also seems teacher dependent. It moves fast, which for one of my kids doesn't work well.


RSM moves fast, at least the class my son is in, but they teach concepts. He is in the highest level group. I am not sure at what pace the other two groups move, I would imagine slower then the highest level. But they time learning concepts and solving problems as a group or working through how kids solve the problems that they are practicing.
Anonymous
Post 11/26/2021 17:06     Subject: Re:Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just moved to RSM and there was no mention of not doing Math Olympiad outside fo RSM. DS is not involved with the Math Competition track that RSM has so I doubt that he has any type of restrictions.


This was me. DS tested into the Math Competition Program. They sent home a form that we had to get the school to sign saying he was not participating in the Math Olympiad at school so he can participate with his RSM class. They have already done two competitions (one Math Olympiad and a different one that I can’t remember off the top of my head) but no results reported yet.

He really enjoys the math competition class, it is totally different then the regular class.

Overall, RSM is a solid program. It is more flexible then AoPS in being able to make up classes and other ways. But it is more of a traditional math program then AoPS. Even the Math Competition Program is more formal discussion of approaches to problems. They discuss the different type of problems that appear in a competition and different approaches to the problem. Kids do practice questions and then they discuss each kids approach to the question, then the Teachers approach. DS really likes it.

AoPS is more out of the box in terms of its overall approach. It is more playing with math then RSM.

I think DS enjoys the AoPS approach more, it is more fun. I think I prefer the RSM for him because there is more foundational work, although they are far ahead of the work being done in his fourth grade classroom. The work is challenging, which we all appreciate. The Math Competition Program he loves and I appreciate the approach that they are taking in that class.

Either program would work for him. RSM is closer and I appreciate the flexibility. He can make up classes if he misses one at RSM which AoPS did not allow last year. I think he would pick AoPS over RSM. If the distance was closer he would probably end up in AoPS because his enjoyment of the extra math is more important then my appreciation of foundational work. He gets plenty of foundational work repetition in school.



Does RSM teach the concepts? We tried Mathnasium and it got repetitive. We are in AoPS, which is working for one but not the other one. It also seems teacher dependent. It moves fast, which for one of my kids doesn't work well.
Anonymous
Post 11/26/2021 12:01     Subject: Re:Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:We just moved to RSM and there was no mention of not doing Math Olympiad outside fo RSM. DS is not involved with the Math Competition track that RSM has so I doubt that he has any type of restrictions.


This was me. DS tested into the Math Competition Program. They sent home a form that we had to get the school to sign saying he was not participating in the Math Olympiad at school so he can participate with his RSM class. They have already done two competitions (one Math Olympiad and a different one that I can’t remember off the top of my head) but no results reported yet.

He really enjoys the math competition class, it is totally different then the regular class.

Overall, RSM is a solid program. It is more flexible then AoPS in being able to make up classes and other ways. But it is more of a traditional math program then AoPS. Even the Math Competition Program is more formal discussion of approaches to problems. They discuss the different type of problems that appear in a competition and different approaches to the problem. Kids do practice questions and then they discuss each kids approach to the question, then the Teachers approach. DS really likes it.

AoPS is more out of the box in terms of its overall approach. It is more playing with math then RSM.

I think DS enjoys the AoPS approach more, it is more fun. I think I prefer the RSM for him because there is more foundational work, although they are far ahead of the work being done in his fourth grade classroom. The work is challenging, which we all appreciate. The Math Competition Program he loves and I appreciate the approach that they are taking in that class.

Either program would work for him. RSM is closer and I appreciate the flexibility. He can make up classes if he misses one at RSM which AoPS did not allow last year. I think he would pick AoPS over RSM. If the distance was closer he would probably end up in AoPS because his enjoyment of the extra math is more important then my appreciation of foundational work. He gets plenty of foundational work repetition in school.

Anonymous
Post 11/26/2021 09:32     Subject: Re:Russian School of Math vs. AOPS
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We just moved to RSM and there was no mention of not doing Math Olympiad outside fo RSM. DS is not involved with the Math Competition track that RSM has so I doubt that he has any type of restrictions.


I think the only restrictions they may pose is that if RSM is a separate entrant into, say, Noetic Math or Math Kangaroo and you participate through them, they don't want you to participate through another entrant. Which is totally fair - no double-dipping. My DS did Math Kangaroo through his Russian language immersion school, and they definitely don't want you do it anywhere else once you sign up to participate through them. Basically, you can enter specific competitions only once and not through multiple entrants.


If you're looking for more competitions to join, you can also try ones online. Beestar has a great online math competition and I don't think there are specifics in regards to not being able to join it if you've already signed up with another competition.