My DH took her to the placement exam which sounds as if it had lots of AoPs type questions. DH said more than half the kids left the exam within 15 minutes with explanations to their parents that the test was brutal. DD at least stuck it out and didn’t seem traumatized.

The AoPs class has really put it in perspective and given the school’s stated purpose of providing fast pace and problem solving depth in Advanced Alg 1, I believe the math dept made the right call!

I agree with you, Dottie. I guess this class name issue is why most schools rely on their own placement test for math, in particular!

KAR,
Why are you nervous about AP Stats for your DS?

Well.... part of it is his age (still just 8!) although that's not a really good reason.... Part of it is that we're heading that way on his suggestion and I wonder if he really knows what he's asking for... and part of it is of the half dozen or so books I have, only one of them looks like "fun" -- I'm a little nervous that he'll find it tedious even as it's within his mathematical grasp. I just think it might take a lot of tweaking on my part to keep the pace, workload and interest all doable, just because they're aiming for nearly-adult college freshmen here... not little boys, no matter how good at math.

On the plus side, if we're throwing in SAS (and I think we are...) that really cuts down the tedium quite a bit and picks up the pace, while giving us a side-track in programming that we can switch back and forth to without completely derailing... The AOPS stuff I think might be more interesting too (again without slowing us down really, or losing our train of thought), so I'm thinking that we might dabble in that along the way. And then I can throw in some database programming on the side, which contributes in a slightly different way.

Basically I'm nervous of how much work it's going to be for me to make it all go together, and I'm tempted to just chuck it all and go with the AOPS book as-is. I think if we can swing it we'll do much more and have more fun with the whole statistics shebang, but if we can't swing it, I'm nervous of it just collapsing around us. kwim?

Erica,

My son is 3 years older and will begin Alg 1 next year in 7th grade, so it is hard for me to imagine an eight year old near the end of the high school math sequence! He is lucky that you are so well qualified to home-school him in that subject. Will he begin college within the next couple of years?

The Introductory Algebra class is so impressive that we plan to have ds11 do the Counting and Probability courses with AoPs next, assuming his new school schedule allows it. You could probably get through it extremely fast given your son’s ability and your home-schooling flexibility.

Hi Erica, My DS9 is in the exact situation--almost. We are planning AoPS Counting and/or Number Theory this year, and DS is taking Stats (because the middle school cannot guarantee High School credit for other course so they decided to offer something the HS's don't offer). I have a little concern because I've always thought of Stats as dull. My backup is that if after the first month DS isn't thriving, we might have to switch to online course or something else.

delbows, it does intimidate me to forge ahead when they're so young (I think of how much info I forgot from age 8 or 9 versus 12 or 13). But, I have to believe that moving forward is the right thing, right?

My DS is taking that course and we are equally impressed. It's not like any Algebra I class I remember taking! We're undecided about which course to take next. Right now we are considering the Intro to Geometry class. According to the AoPS founder it is supposed to be the more diffifcult of the Intro classes. After watching the Albegra class whiz through the material I can't imagine what "more difficult" could be! We intend to enroll DS in all of the Intro courses.

Cym- are you homeschooling the AoPS courses or is your DC online also?

Well, what's the alternative? I honestly don't see one! If you're doing problem-solving type stuff, you're already going deeper, not just faster. Short of not doing math for a while, you don't really have an option, do you?

It's scary--just thinking about it makes me nervous--but if you're sticking even a little to the traditional math path, I don't see any other option.

I agree that forging ahead is the best option for many of our kids. If they enter a mainstream high school in the future, some courses may have to be repeated for credit, but the subject familiarity from their earlier exposure will serve them well in earning top grades.

I have been reading the book, “What High Schools Don’t Tell You” by Elizabeth Wissner-Gross. I am interested in the math and science talent development information rather than some of the more contrived tips. The advice for math seems like the next steps following “Developing Math Talent”. Essentially, I now understand that excelling in the school math sequence in never enough for distinction beyond a very small area! My son is learning this lesson well with his AoPs class- he is defiantly not the smartest in that class! Obviously to some it is still too easy, but many of the fastest students have “trained” for math similar to our summer swim schedule which has meant up to three times in the pool on some days!

Hey Delbows, did Grinity hit you up too or did you find that book on your own? I'm reading it myself, though not with great haste. The math stuff was a little "scary" in many ways. DS is going to go down as a legend in our small town, but does he have what it takes to play with the Big Boys?

I found it online and purchased it primarily because it listed specific science competitions which I would never have heard of other-wise.

Well thanks for the reminder Delbows....my library copy is probably due any day now, and I've been meaning to order a permanent copy, as it is full of great info that I haven't yet gotten through.