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How Classes Work

Since 2003, the AoPS online school has provided a unique learning experience carefully designed for outstanding students studying online. We offer a full math curriculum for middle and high school, introductory programming and science courses, and specialty courses to prepare students for particular math and science competitions. Most of our courses meet weekly for live sessions, and have a variety of types of weekly homework. Read more below about what makes our school so special.

The Art of Problem Solving Online School is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Features
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Accomplished Faculty

Our teachers were outstanding math students themselves. Many won major math awards and earned degrees from schools like MIT, Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton. They understand from personal experience what our students need, and they serve as role models for students who aspire to similar success.

Amazing Students

Our school draws top students from thousands of schools, giving students a peer group like they'd find at top-tier colleges and prestigious summer programs. For example, the members of the 2022 United States International Math Olympiad team collectively enrolled in over 70 online courses at AoPS, and the winners of the 2023 USAMO together enrolled in over 100 AoPS courses. But students don't have to be contest winners, or even care about math competitions, to benefit from our classes. Each year we have hundreds, possibly thousands, of our past students earn admission to highly selective colleges like MIT, Harvard, and Stanford. Their work in AoPS classes helps prepare them for the competitive, challenging environment they'll find in these schools. Moreover, students develop interests and draw inspiration from their peers, so our students are very valuable resources for each other.

Live Instruction

The weekly class sessions are lively interactive discussions. Our online classroom allows all students to answer any instructor question and lets students ask questions at any time. Instructors decide which of these comments and questions to share with everyone and which to address privately. This flexibility allows teachers to guide public discussion while addressing individual student misconceptions as they occur. We currently also offer self-paced versions of our Prealgebra 1, Prealgebra 2 and Introduction to Algebra A courses in which the weekly class sessions are replaced with automated interactive lessons.

Multiple Learning Avenues

Students learn in many different ways, so we make a variety of resources available. In addition to the live classes and weekly homework, each course employs some or all of the following:
  • Message board for questions and discussions outside class time
  • Office hours during which AoPS instructors and assistants provide live homework help each weekday
  • Full transcript of each class session, for review and for students who miss class
  • AoPS textbooks
  • Supplementary videos
  • Instructional handouts
  • Practice contests
  • Classroom access outside class time for student-organized study sessions
See snapshots of many AoPS class features below. (Note: Some features below are only available in select courses.)

Focus on Challenging Problems

A generation ago, there were many intellectual careers that required repeatedly solving routine problems. Most of those jobs are performed by computers now. Successful people in the next generation will need to develop new skills throughout their careers as their older skills become obsolete. Therefore, we go well beyond the basics, showing students how to apply fundamentals to problems that are not replicas of problems they've already seen. This teaches students how to learn, so they'll be ready for the rigors of top-tier colleges and internationally competitive careers.

Active Learning

Students best learn how to solve hard problems by tackling the problems themselves, not by watching passively as others do the work. In our classroom, students solve each problem, with instructors asking motivating questions as guidance. Only after the students have solved a problem does the instructor provide direct commentary reinforcing key insights.

Thorough Progress Tracking

Each course homepage includes a detailed report of student progress. Our diligent team of Classbots sends reminders of upcoming classes, reading assignments, and homework. Parents can also sign up for on-demand reporting. At the end of each subject course, we can provide a course grade upon request, as well as a summary of student performance.

This class was extremely challenging, but fun. Many of the techniques were new to me, and I learned a lot from this class.