If she's getting the problems wrong, she needs to start writing them down. Does she just strongly dislike writing? Would she rather do the problems at a whiteboard? Sometimes they don't want to write because they don't want to get anything wrong down on paper and the impermanence of a whiteboard will allow them to make the mistakes. Sometimes writing is difficult and the larger area and smoothly flowing marker of a whiteboard makes a difference. If alignment is an issue, consider graph paper and/or turning the paper sideways so that the lines run up/down to keep columns straight.

The big issue would be if he's doing well in math class, but unable to apply what he's learning with Saxon in his science classes. Some (not all, but a not insignificant percentage) people who have used Saxon have found that happened to them. Unless you notice this issue I wouldn't worry about it. If you do notice this issue it would be a good time to switch.

I would definitely repeat the recommendation to go back and make sure pre-algebra is strong. I would especially check her mastery of fractions -- imo whether a student is strong in fractions or not is a huge check to see if they're ready for algebra.

Is it going to be easier to get the school to give her advanced math or to work with her individually in english? Remember that english affects all of the other subjects a lot more than math.

Honestly, he sounds mathematically talented, bored and frustrated. I would look into cutting down the problems by at least half and telling him that if he gets all of the ones you DID give him correct, he doesn't have to do the other half. Kids who can think like he did at 4 often find the amount of repetition in curricula extraordinarily frustrating. I'd also look into getting Beast Academy after Beta. Unless he HATES the comic format, I think it'd be a much better fit for a talented child.

Second what 8fill said. Get information on the book the school is using. You really don't want, for example, to find out AFTER the exam that they spent half the year on human physiology and you only did a week.

I am not saying that ALL courses are inferior, just that enough are to make allowing credit problematic without a test.

A DE class taught in the high school with the high school rules (which often include rubbish that basically adds up to not allowing the student to fail, like having assignments have a minimum grade of 55 etc. -- btw I'm NOT blaming the teachers for this sort of rubbish, most of the ones I know hate those rules as much as I do) is going to be different than one taught at the university. It is much easier for an excellent university like Cornell to have a blanket ban than to have unprepared students coming into their advanced courses. If a student really did learn calculus in their DE course at the high school, the best option would be to go to the department and see if they will let the student take an exam to get credit or at least placement. When I went to university, I looked at the syllabus for chemistry I, and I said 'This is ridiculous. My mother covered all of this in much greater detail.' So I went to the department and said 'I looked at your chemistry I syllabus, and it really looks the same as my high school course. Is there any way to test out of it?' They let me show up and take the final, and when I got an A on the final they recorded me as having taken the class and gotten an A. They did not have a placeout test because they only had people ask every few years (and most of the people who tried failed), but the option was there if specifically looked for.

Math classes at university. (actually, self-brag alert -- I just got a fulltime job doing that) :D :D

Ah, evaluating for correctness really does require you to understand the material quite well. I do not think that you can fairly and effectively evaluate the proofs for correctness without that. If you do not have time to work the problems I would seriously consider outsourcing geometry. When I put proofs on exams I usually use a 5-point scale. 5 - correct proof, even if clumsy. If it was clumsy and there was a much more elegant way to do it I will point that out but not deduct points. 4 - almost correct, very minor error -- usually in phrasing and not in logic, but an incorrect statement did result at some point. 3 - correct in the main but some errors in logic. 2 - good approach taken but went off the rails. 1 - bears a resemblance to a correct answer. 0 - huh??? But obviously this is just how I do it.

Statistics would be a GREAT option for a 4th year. Frankly I think that actually understanding how statistics work is essential for scientific literacy in today's world. If he took it at the community college, he would get a credit that might allow him to not take math in college. Maybe he would be more enthusiastic about it if he looked at it that way?

Remember that "great program" varies by child -- personalized recommendations will usually be better, and there are many people who have found out (to their sorrow and expense) that the program which worked brilliantly for child A did not work at all for child B or C.

Crumbs, I forgot what day it was and was really hopeful for a moment.

I look at this sort of like letting an advanced reader read books of a higher level, while still producing age-appropriate output. Alcumus is great. The Zaccaro book is another great choice for a younger student who is eager for Algebra.

Yes. Also I think it is important that the work be relatively low in errors in the first place. If the child is making multiple small errors that result in half the problems being wrong, I don't think that telling them 'You have 11 incorrect problems out of twenty. Find them and fix them' is a good idea.

One of the big issues with accelerating too young with PS'd kids is that they HAVE to be ready for all the subsequent courses in the sequence. If they take Algebra in 5th grade, they NEED to be ready for Calculus in 9th. Happily, this needn't be true at home -- if someone really needs 3 semesters for Geometry, they can DO that. I would really recommend thinking sequentially rather than 'We will do this in THIS year and then we will do that in THAT year' etc.

The 180 hours applies to subjects where there isn't a set 'body of work', or to hours in a public school. If your child completed an algebra 1 textbook with 60 hours of work, would you make them do 2 more textbooks to get their algebra credit?

Yes, this, exactly. There are so many interesting places to go even after Algebra 1, and even more that are accessible after Geometry.

If she really hasn't progressed at all, I would not award credit. I wouldn't award an F either, just nothing. Treat it as extracurricular. Now if she suddenly starts working her butt off and progresses, then I'd award credit. But as of right now, I would say no credit. If this causes issues b/c she applied to college saying she was taking Spanish, I'd give a W and say she dropped it. Essentially, she did.

I think that's the best way to go for maximizing his score. I would expect an increase but not a huge increase. I would do prep AFTER the community college Alg II is done, over the summer. I would especially focus on any geometry problems in the prep because he hasn't seen geometry in a couple of years and those problems appear frequently.

I kept a folder with all my syllabi for the semester in my backpack. Also all my grades for the semester were immediately written on the syllabus for the class. This enabled me to keep track of how I was doing in each class, and since it was in one place I did not lose it.

Given as he's just about to finish Algebra I it looks like the score reflects his math level. I don't think prep is going to help as much as just taking more math. When does he finish Algebra II?

Well, here's one often-cited example from a character in "By Sheer Pluck" "They [negroes] are just like children … They are always either laughing or quarrelling. They are good-natured and passionate, indolent, but will work hard for a time; clever up to a certain point, densely stupid beyond. The intelligence of an average negro is about equal to that of a European child of ten years old. … They are fluent talkers, but their ideas are borrowed. They are absolutely without originality, absolutely without inventive power. Living among white men, their imitative faculties enable them to attain a considerable amount of civilization. Left alone to their own devices they retrograde into a state little above their native savagery." There are many other examples, but this attitude pervades some of his books. If your children are mature enough to say "Well, wow. Even though he's cast as the hero/hero's mentor in the book, he sure has some asinine attitudes!", then they may be workable.

This is the exact type of student who does brilliantly in early programs. The one who has the self-motivation to find id and do all the work to get there, and the maturity to make use of it once they are there. Self-motivation and knowing what they want are enormously, enormously important. If the student is still needing, for example, help from mom in getting work done on time, early college (rather than dual enrollment) is just not a good choice.

If reading these books, I would definitely make sure to discuss his worldview vs. modern worldview in a 'he thought these things were true, but we know better now' fashion. I'd also make sure to include books which I consider "anti-racist", such as "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry", so that I could discuss how damaging these viewpoints are.