The Worst Segment of the K-12 Mediocrity

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I’d say the worst segment of the K-12 mediocrity is 6th-8th grade math.

Typically, kids learn counting/arithmetic in elementary school (K-5) and then spend the next 3 full years spinning their wheels without learning much new math, only moving on to Algebra I in 9th grade.

If you take those 3 years and put them to good use, you can actually enable gifted kids to cover all of high school math during those years and pass the AP Calculus BC exam by the end of 8th grade, without spending any extra time doing math.

Seriously, this is not hyperbole. This is exactly what happens in the Math Academy program in the Pasadena school district: mathacademy.us/press

Since then, we’ve built individualized, adaptive learning software to support these students – which ended up further skyrocketing their learning outcomes – and we’ve released the software to the world at large.

It’s a fully automated learning system. Anyone, anywhere, can use it to accelerate their math learning, at any time. It emulates the decisions of a personal trainer who develops your mathematical talent in the most efficient way possible, using the most effective training techniques based on decades of research into the cognitive science of learning.

Follow-Up Questions

The efficiency of the Math Academy 6th-7th/8th curriculum surprised me. My kid finished 5th grade Beast Academy, flew through Math Academy Prealgebra, and has worked through Integrated Math 1 without hitting a wall. 2-3 years compressed into a few months.

So glad your kid is off to the races! It’s amazing how fast many students move when you reduce educational friction and empower them to move at their own pace.

Don’t be too shocked if your kid reaches calculus way sooner than you expect ;)

We saw this all the time in our original school program: 6th grader places into Prealgebra, flies through it, continues flying through IM1, before you know it they’re in IM2, then IM3, and by the time you come to terms with the fact that they’re a 7th grader with all of HS math under their belt, they’re already cruising through calculus.

And then that opens up all sorts of opportunities that few people even understand are possible.

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