I wish I knew how to figure out if my child is learning in enough depth. Can my son just work through Aleks and get what he needs? He certainly doesn't learn the way I did. Is there some test that can tell me when he really has all those pre-algebra concepts down well enough to move on to algebra?
Good question. Let's go even further - how do non mathy parents assess their kids knowledge in math? Clearly getting straight A's and being the best in the class does not prove anything.
Competition? Most math competitions, especially the elementary ones involve speed - not all kids will do well just because of this factor.
So what to do, how to make sure that they are on the right path?
Going back to the OP article, look at how accelerated the kids at M.Blair are. They are expected to do pre-calc in 9th grade, so it puts them as starting Algebra 1 in 6th grade. No matter how right the article is, I still envy those living in MD. My state does not have an option like M.Blair - there is no HS here that takes cream of the crop. How unfair to my kids, I think. How can we even talk about standard education?
