Thanks, all, this is a very helpful conversation.
We haven't ever had our kids take the Explore, so I'm not familiar with scores vs grade level, but I'm curious - when you get a score that is interpreted as "mastered middle school math" - what exactly do they mean by middle school math?
His EXPLORE score puts him at 99th percentile for the 8th graders who take the test. Many of them would have had Algebra I, but probably many wouldn't have had it. (In our district, Algebra is considered HS math.)
You mentioned your ds has completed Geometry in Aleks - where did he start in Aleks? How easy was it for him? Do you feel he's solid in everything that goes into Geometry? Does your ds want more & higher level math at school?
DS is extremely proud of his fast pace of learning math. Until he hit geometric proofs, it was very smooth sailing-- he was started in ALEKS last year by the school, at the 4th grade level, and zoomed through quickly. I think if he'd had actual instruction, geometry would have been easy... as it was, it slowed him down, but he's pleased to have gotten through it. His teacher and I were loath to start Algebra II, as it's only widening the gap between him and peers.
I do not trust that ALEKS is complete as a curriculum, and I don't trust that it's teaching real facility in problem-solving either. It was the EXPLORE result that set me back on my heels and suggested that he is mastering more than I had thought he was.
Herenow, I'm glad to have the AOPS alternatives-- I'm definitely interested in broader rather than faster!
DeeDee
