Welcome to The Avid Learner, an online newsletter of Avid Academy for Gifted Youth.

Table of Contents

1. Seminar on Summer Camps for Gifted Math Students (3/3/07)
2. Spring Session Registration for Math Olympiad/Problem Solving Training
3. 2007 Orange County MATHCOUNTS Chapter Contest Held at UCI
4. AMC 10/12 Results Announced
5. FREE California Math League Contest for Grades 4-5
6. Inspired by Those who Made Us Feel Bad about Ourselves
7. China and India Spend Far More Resources on Gifted Education than United States
8. Evidence of Grade Inflation

1. FREE Seminar on Summer Camps for Gifted Math Students (3/3/2007)

We apologize for last minute invitation of this seminar.  Due to increased inquires sent to our public mailbox, we decided to make this internal event a public seminar for all interested newsletter recipients. 

Summer camps are an important component of a student's overall learning experience.  In this seminar, we will discuss local and national summer camps specially designed for gifted math students in grades 7 - 11.  In addition to short-term planning for summer 2007, we will also discuss a roadmap for attending key summer camps highly valued by elite universities.

The space is limited to 25 people each session on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Please RSVP by emailing dr.li@avidacademy.com.

• Date: Saturday, March 3, 2007
• Time: Session A: 12:30 - 2:00 PM; Session B: 6:00 - 7:30 PM
• Location: Room Beta 101, Concordia University, Irvine

2. Spring Math Olympiad Training Class Registration

Avid Academy 2007 Spring Session offers 10-week Math Olympiad and Problem Solving training from March 10, 2007 to May 31, 2007 at Concordia University, Irvine, CA.  The Spring curriculum is designed to achieve three objectives:

1. Utilizing problem solving skills learned in Fall and Winter to achieve academic success in math class finals, GATE placement, honor classes, and SAT & AP Exams
2. Filling in gaps and exploring new problem solving methods and topics
3. Providing continued training for math competitions:
   • Orange County Math Field Day (Grades 4 - 6)
   • California Math League (Grades 4-5)
   • California MATHCOUNTS (Chapter Winners)
   • AIME (AMC 10/12 Qualifiers)
   • ARML (American Regional Mathematical League, grades 9-11)

The Spring Session offers the following classes:

• F130 - Advanced Problem Solving (Grades 5-6)
• E110 - Honors Pre-Algebra Problem Solving (Grades 6-7)
• E120 - Honors Algebra Problem Solving (Grades 7-8)
• E130 - Honors Geometry Problem Solving (Grades 8-9)
• G110 - Honors Algebra II Problem Solving (Grades 9-10)
• G120 - Honors Pre-Calculus Problem Solving (Grades 10-11)
• G300 - SAT II Math
• G310 - AP Calculus
• N320 - AP Physics B
• N330 - AP Physics C

Prospective students should schedule a qualifying exam and interview prior to registration.  For more information, please visit: 2006-2007 Math Olympiad Training Program Spring Session Registration.

3. 2007 Orange County MATHCOUNTS Chapter Contest Held at UCI

2007 Orange County MATHCOUNTS Chapter Competition was held at UCI on February 17, 2007.  160 students, representing 40 teams from 19 Orange County middle schools, participated in the competition.  St. Margaret's Episcopal School of San Juan Capistrano, Rancho San Joaquin Middle School of Irvine, and Kraemer Middle School of Placentia finished in the top three and will represent Orange County in the California MATHCOUNTS competition on March 17, 2007.  Avid Academy will host an invitational scrimmage on March 3rd among the three advancing teams to prepare for the State competition.

Students from Avid Academy were well represented at this event.  30 Avid students participated with 12 different school teams.  They claimed 5 of the top 16 spots in individual competitions.  Six Avid students will compete in the California State MATHCOUNTS. 

For complete results, please click 2007 Orange County MATHCOUNTS Results.

2007 American Mathematical Competitions (AMC 10 and 12) were held in February.  Four students from Avid Academy qualified for AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Exam) and 14 students received Young Students Certificate of Achievement Honor.  For a complete list of honorees at Avid Academy test site, visit 2007 AMC 10/12 Results.  National results should be available shortly at AMC Website.

Through a special arrangement with California Math League, Avid Academy will sponsor 10 Orange County teams in grades 4-5 to participate in the 2007 California Math League contests. 

For information on qualification, team composition, contest rules and registration, please visit 2007 California Math League Contest.

At Avid Academy, our goal is to bring the best students together so they can learn from and challenge each other.  We also encourage students to participate in math competitions while learning problem solving skills.  Consequently, there are scores and rankings to be compared and top students honored.  Are these types of comparison healthy?

Dr. Calimille Johnson's research on Social Comparison Theory provides some interesting answers.  People often compare themselves with others.  She found that when such comparisons make people feel better about themselves and inspired, they do not benefit their performance and can even lead to worse performance outcomes.  However, if such comparison makes people feel bad, they tend to perform better.  There are enough evidence in athletic competitions to indicate that athletes improve their performance as the level of competition increases.

Richard Rusczyk, Founder of Art of Problem Solving, said once, "If you found yourselves to be the best in a room, you need to find a different and more challenging room."  Dr. Stanly, the founder of CTY (Center for Talented Youth) pioneered the use of above-grade exams to identify talented students.  For example, SAT I exams are used to identify students in grades 7-8 with exceptional mathematical or verbal reasoning talent.  A score of 700 in either subject will qualify the student to join the exclusive SET (Study of Exceptional Talent) program.

Most kids participate in competitions and math club activities for fun and for being with their friends.  Focusing on rankings, winners and losers, or bragging rights can often spoil the fun.  Parent's role is critical in developing a healthy mindset and shaping the characters and values of young talent early on.

"At an educators' meeting in Washington last fall, conversation turned to whether the federal government should support programming for this nation's most gifted and talented high school students. Educators overwhelmingly said that top students in secondary schools need no assistance, much to my dismay. Priority must be given to those not meeting the minimal standards in science and math, they reasoned." 

The above is the opening paragraph of Joann DiGennaro's Washington Post column: Gifted Mind We Need to Nurture. It is sad to read that major government agencies of United States have zero program targeting gifted students while governments in China and India link their educational policy directly with their national economic policy goals.

Joann DiGennaro is the president and co-founder of Center for Excellence in Education that sponsors the Research Science Institute (RSI) with MIT and the USA Biology Olympiad.  Many of the nations top high school scientific researchers attend the competitive RSI in their 11th grade.  She made a strong argument why government agencies need to reallocate funding for gifted education and stated "Our young scholars are key to American's future competitive position.  The government must provide the strategic support necessary for them, and the country, to excel."

Two government reports released recently found large number of high school seniors are posting weak scores on national exams even though many of them are taking more advanced classes and earn higher GPAs as reported by Nancy Zuckerbrod, AP Education Writer in Higher Grades Contradicts Test Scores.