Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments AOPS vs Russian School Of Math

Has anyone tried out both AOPS and Russian School of Math (RSM). They both claim similar problem solving goals. So was looking at pros and cons beyond the fact that one is online while the other is classroom oriented.

We tried out both. Perhaps we ended up with a poor teacher, but the RSM teacher my daughter had didn't know how to approach rate problems properly, and there were a couple of other mistakes I remembered as well.

After that we went with AOPS exclusively.

One of the big questions I had about RSM is it seems to be grade level based (They do seem to have 3 levels within each grade). Did you see the work being too easy even at the advanced level for the grade?

That must be somewhat new.

My son and daughter took a summer class about 4-5 years ago. My son was with students 3 years older and my daughter with students 1-2 years older.

Our local RSM said that students had to take a placement test to determine their grade placement - for e.g., if your child is now attending 3rd grade at their day school, but passed RSM's 5th grade level assessment, then he will be placed in the 6th grade RSM class and within that 6th grade RSM class, an appropriate sub-level will be assigned. They also said that there is some flexibility in the placement if the class turns out to be too difficult or too easy for the student. So, to answer the OP's question, placement is based on the child's ability and knowledge rather than age and grade level at school.

Our local center seems to have a mastery based approach using Russian methods. I believe that they also introduce critical thinking and problem solving in math. They had not heard of AOPS when I called them. I decided to go with AOPS instead.

It boggles my mind that RSM could say they have "not heard of AOPS". We know almost all the kids that qualified for state and national mathcounts in our state. The vast majority of them are on AOPS.

At a higher level, just about all the kids who have a shot at making the USA national Olympiad team use the most advanced AOPS classes as well.

Same here as with mithawk. Anyone competing at the state and national level are active members of AoPS.

The only thing I know about Russian School of Math is what I have read here and on the web.

You cannot even compare AOPs with RSM. AOPs is for the kids who are looking for advanced math programs, but RSM is just for those who need extra help to get from a C- to a B-. RSM teachers are not real math teachers, and their curriculum is outdated. They never provide you with real help, and pretend they never heard of AOPs or other advanced programs. Also they are rude and impatient. We tried it and ran away. We have been using AOPs for 3 three years - the best you can find!

Have not used either system, but I do know someone who runs a more-or-less RSM. Obviously, implementation will differ from place to place. The center I know about is run by a trainer of math teachers, who is actually very nice (almost to a fault), and places students by assessed instructional level, not age/grade. We haven't used their services, as we feel comfortable teaching our kids ourselves, but know many people in our larger community who do. Mostly high average to MG kids, admittedly.

My three children will be returning to RSM this week, so obviously I disagree. The RSM teachers of our children have been competent, and our daughter formed a real bond with her teacher last year. I supervise the completion of the weekly homework for the younger two, now in 4th and 5th grade, and I am impressed by what they are able to do. My older two (out of three) children have taken AOPS classes, but for the middle child, who is bright but perhaps not gifted, the structure provided by weekly in-person classes and the nature of the curriculum may make RSM a better fit for him than AOPS. To counter the sarcastic "C- to a B-" comment, let me note that he was getting A's in regular school math before enrolling in RSM.