The Avid Learner

Registration period for the Fall Session starts from August 15 through September 5, 2007 for returning students and from August 15 through September 15 for new students. Some classes require qualifying exams. Please visit our website at www.AvidAcademy.com for more information on program offerings, requirements, schedule, and locations. For a registration package, please email us at info@AvidAcademy.com with subject line titled "Registration Form".

Physics Olympiad Program Redesigned

Avid Academy has redesigned its Physics Olympiad training to better match the selection process of the U.S. Physics Olympiad team. The new design focuses on three course sequences:

N210 - Introductory Physics Olympiad. The training focus is on U.S. Physics Team Selection Preliminary Exam and SAT II Physics.
N220 - Intermediate Physics Olympiad. The training focus is on U.S. Physics Team Selection Semi-Final Exam and AP Physics B. It is recommended that students take this class at the same time they take AP Physics B in their high school.
N230 - Advanced Physics Olympiad. The training focus is on U.S. Physics Team Selection Semi-Final Exam and AP Physics C. It is recommended that students take this class after they finish AP Calculus in their high school.

For more information about our Physics Olympiad training program, visit our website at www.AvidAcademy.com.

America's Best Colleges 2008

The U.S. News & World Report released its America's Best Colleges 2008 rankings. Princeton University retained its ranking for the 8th year. The top ten national schools are:

1. Princeton
2. Harvard
3. Yale
4. Stanford
5. University of Pennsylvania
5. Caltech
7. MIT
8. Duke
9. Columbia
9. University of Chicago

The biggest changes are that MIT dropped from a tie for 4th place last year to 7th place this year while UPenn rose from 7th place last year to a tie for 5th.

Some California school rankings are:

05 - Caltech
21 - UC Berkeley
25 - UCLA
27 - USC
38 - UC San Diego
42 - UC Davis
44 - UC Irvine
44 - UC Santa Barbara
54 - Pepperdine

For small liberal arts colleges, the top ten schools are:

1. Williams College
2. Amherst College
3. Swarthmore College
4. Wellesley College
5. Carleton College
6. Middlebury College
7. Pomona College
7. Bowdoin College
9. Davidson College
10. Haverford College

Some California liberal arts school rankings are:

07 - Pomona College
11 - Claremont McKenna College
15 - Harvey Mudd College
28 - Scripps College
36 - Occidental College

2007 International Olympiads

Each summer, United States sends teams to various International Academic Olympiads competitions. The following is a summary of 2007 results:

48th International Mathematical Olympiad, Vietnam: United States International Math Olympiad (IMO) Team competed against 90 countries and 500 students and again finished in 5th place behind Russia, China, Vietnam, and Korea. The team received two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal. Tedrick Leung, a graduate from North Hollywood High School was one of the six members of the U.S. team.
38th International Physics Olympiad, Iran: The U.S. Physics Team received two gold medals and three silver medals.
39th International Chemistry Olympiad, Russia: The U.S. Chemistry Team won three silver medals and one bronze medal.
18th International Biology Olympiad, Canada: The U.S. Biology Team received four gold medals.

	2007 Mathematics Olympiad for Girls
Eight high school girls from United States participated in the 2007 Mathematical Olympiad for Girls held in China for the first time. About 180 girls from 40 teams participated in the event. The U.S. team won one gold and three bronze medals.

Caltech 2007 Summer Rubik's Cute Competition

All Avid Academy students got a chance to learn how to play the Rubik's Cube at the 2007 Orange County Math Olympiad Summer Camp. Now you have a chance to hone your skills against the best of Southern California cube-lovers at Caltech Summer 2007 Rubik's Cube Competition hosted by the Caltech Rubik's Cube Club.

Date and Time: Saturday, August 25, 2007, 10:00 am (registration at 9:00 am).
Location: Winnett Lounge, 2nd Floor, Caltech
Cost: $5 for the first event and $2 for each additional event. No charge for non-competitors.

For more information, visit Caltech Summer 2007 Rubik's Cube Competition.

2007 World Rubik's Cube Championship will be held at Budapest, Hungary from October 5 to 7, 2007.

U.S. Withdrawn from International Math and Science Study

The United States has withdrawn from international study TIMSS comparing math and science students. The TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) Advanced 2008 measures how high school seniors are doing in algebra, geometry, calculus, and physics with students taking similar subjects around the world. The U.S. students did poorly in the past studies. National Science Foundation decided not to fund project and save the $3-10 million needed to participate in the study for other causes. For more information, read Dropouts from Newsweeks.

Are We Failing Our Geniumes?

The Time Magazine just published a cover story titled "Are We Failing Our Geniuses?" Here are some interesting facts from the article:

"40% of the top 5% of high school grads fail to finish college." (p. 42)
"U.S. schools spend $8 billion on the mentally retarded and just 10% of that on the gifted." (p. 43)
After the "No Child Left Behind" was signed into the law, "the federal spending on gifted education declined from $11.3 million in 2002 to $7.6 million this year." (p. 42)

The story showcased Davidson Academy in Reno, NV, where gifted students learn and grow intellectually and socially. For more about Davidson Academy and profiles of some of its students, read Are We Falling Our Geniuses?

I hope you enjoyed the information provided in this newsletter as well as our new design. Thank you for supporting gifted education in Southern California. If you have comments to improve our newsletters or would like to share articles, resources and ideas with our community, please email me at Dr.Li@AvidAcademy.com.

Sincerely,

James Li, Ph.D

Executive Director
Avid Academy for Gifted Youth