GiftedandTalented.com (formerly EPGY)

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Stanford EPGY vs Khan Academy for 5th grader

Nov 2013

I am looking for some resources to help my moderately gifted 5th grader who is not challenged by the level of math (among other things) in school. She has attended a math circle in the past but it doesn't fit in with our schedule at the moment. Just received a flier from school about Stanford's online EPGY program, which is $115 for 5 months. It seems similar to the Khan Academy online course, which is free, but is hard to tell. Does anyone have experience using these programs? Did they engage your child? The EPGY also has a language arts and writing module but would this be of any use if she is reading at the high school level? Thanks for any insights! 5th grade mom

My daughter, now in eighth grade, has been doing the EPGY on-line math program for about five years now. (She also did the two-week EPGY math summer camp the past two summers.) EPGY is more structured than Khan Academy. There is a test to be accepted into EPGY, and there are tests to advance to the next grade level. My daughter started in EPGY with third-grade math and was able to work and move forward at her own pace so that she's now studying calculus. She's (usually) motivated to sit at the computer and listen to the lessons and do the problems, so it's worked well for her. Because EPGY is systematic and covers the basics, it complements the Berkeley Math Circle's more varied and unusual subject matter. We haven't tried any of the other EPGY subjects. Robin

Jan 2004

RE:  Math enrichment for middle school

You might try looking into the Educational Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY), a distance learning program run by Stanford University. My son started taking math classes through EPGY 3 years ago when we gave up trying to persuade his teachers to supplement his work and tutors didn't work out. He enjoyed the challenge and as a result was able to take high school level algebra as a 7th grader and geometry in 8th grade. The big downside to the program is its expense, which is $450 a quarter. Another resource you should check out is the Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP) summer school run out of the Education Department at UC Berkeley. They have a variety of classes including math classes for this age group in their secondary division. My son has gone to ATDP for 2 summers now and really enjoys it, because, unlike EPGY, it involves a live math class full of motivated, talented students who all enjoy math! ATDP also offers financial aid. Both ATDP and EPGY have great websites. Maybe have a look. math mom

March 2002

Re: Online Math Classes

Our daughter took EPGY Geometry while in eighth grade, because this course was not offerred at her school, and she did not want to take it at BHS. The cost was about $500 per 3 month semester, perhaps plus some incidental fees for supplies.

This course was still in development. Our family gives it mixed reviews.

Our daughter enjoyed using one of the programs used in the course, The Geometer's Sketchpad, which is available independently elsewheres, and we have recently bought a copy for her continued use (we were not allowed to keep the copy provided by Stanford). However, the EPGY proprietary program, The Proof Environment, was buggy, unwieldly, and frustrating for our daughter to use. (Admittedly, this program was still in development, however we did pay full price for the 2- semester course.)

Technical assistance, and help were somewhat available, but not thorough, and were not helped by a "distance medium" and frustration of a teen.

Not surprisingly, when tested at the outset of 9th grade this year, our daughter had weaknesses in the area of geometric proofs (2nd semester).

(Fortunately she has a fabulous math teacher this year, at International High School in SF, who is able to tailor coursework to her needs, and keep her moving forward, filling in gaps, without the need for repitition.)

In its favor, the program did provide a way for our daughter to continue with math in middle school, which would not have been otherwise possible. Other programs from EPGY are fully developed and tested.

The website you want, as referenced by Parents of Teens is: http://www-epgy.stanford.edu. The phone number is (650) 329-9920.

-As our daughter prefers me to remain, Anon

July 1999

RE: Stanford "Distance Learning" Program

The program I think you're looking for is Stanford's "Educational Program for Gifted Youth" ("EPGY"). It includes classes in math of all levels (K-college level), physics, and writing. There is a web site at http://www-epgy.stanford.edu . The phone number is (650) 329-9920.