CTY epic failure

[zebra15]

DS is 12, he has been with CTY for 3-4 years.  He LOVES the set up, he loves the program.  He loves all things STEM, and working at his own pace - lightening speed most time.  So whats the epic fail?  His last 2 classes have been computer science, they have been ummm less than ideal.  The material seems antiquated, I know tech changes very quickly but this stuff is so old its not even funny. He's had horrible facilitators, getting feedback and assistance seems to take days.  Then the 'help' provided doesn't answer his inquiry at all.

The final straw was his literal outburst on the final exam.  I know he knew the material.  This is beyond simple stuff for him but he HATES tests, he is much more of a 'do a project' type kid.  M/C tests are torture.  He got 50%.  This is a kid who had 95% plus before the final.  

I hate to complain to CTY because they are wonderful people.  I know part of CTY is the 'tests' and he will be going back to Honors Math next week.  yes more tests but NOT m/c tests.

I know my kid is not a test kid.  He is a 'higher level thinker' and much more project based and application based.  He loves to write papers, do research for science classes,  make stuff etc.

IDK if I'm looking for a solution or just to whine a bit.  This has been an extremely trying last couple of weeks to just get the class done.

Does anyone know if there is something similiar to CTY sans the laborious testing in each class?  I really need the accredited classes and credits for DS.

[heatherdeg]

Sounds like you're doing CTY in-person?

[zebra15]

Originally Posted by heatherdeg 

Sounds like you're doing CTY in-person?

No, he is doing CTY- online.  Hence he can go at his own pace, usually a very good thing - unless you get assigned less than stellar facilitators.

Is there anything similar to CTY, high school level STEM classes, online, accredited (credits hold some weight for a homeschool transcript) and self paced with a facilitator?  I'm not ready to abandoned CTY just yet.  

[mom2ponygirl]

I've heard enough bad reviews of CTY, that we've never forked over the money for their classes.  I've heard mixed reviews of Northwestern CTD.  We've done 2 classes from http://thevhscollaborative.org/programs-courses/course-offerings  They were solid but not necessarily inspiring. 

I've heard mostly good reviews of www.aphomeschoolers.com , if he is ready for some AP level classes. 

eImacs has good reviews for computer classes, as well as www.artofproblemsolving.com.  We've enjoyed AoPS classes in the past.

My dd started a dual enrollment class at our state U this year at 13.  She's recently 14 and will continue in the spring.  She's planning to up it to two classes next school year.  We've also done some AP level classes at home using a variety of resources.  She did her first one last year and took the AP exam at a local school to give support to her work.  She will do 2 AP exams this May from classes we design.  She gets to choose from resources I find and works out the pace and manner that works for her. 

We may not use accredited sources very often for her high school homeschooling venture, but with a scattering of confirmation through AP exams, SAT subject exams, and dual enrollment courses, I think she will be fine. 

[heatherdeg]

We do Northwestern CTD classes, but my son is younger (just turning 9) and we've only done them in-person.  So far they've been worth the money, but we've occasionally run into problems with their IRL instructors having more experience with "academically advanced" than "gifted" kids.  I'd say in the 18mo that we've done things with them (so 2 weeks of camp/summer and then Saturday courses for 2 of the school year trimesters/year) we've only had problems with two instructors and of the problems, only one of them was the type of problem where I made it a point to give a detailed review of the problem (the other was just a weird preference the teacher had, but didn't affect my child's experience in the course--it just bugged myself and the administration).

[mom2ponygirl]

Also forgot eImacs , they have an accredited option.  They are pricey but so is CTY.  They get great reviews.  We may try a computer science class with them next fall.