Art of Problem Solving offers advanced math courses and resources that are a natural next step for students who complete, or test out of, Beast Academy.
This guide outlines your student's next steps after completing Beast Academy Level 5 or placing out of Beast Academy in our placement test.
Note: Unsure of your student's level? Learn how to determine their level.
What Comes After Beast Academy Level 5?
A student who has either completed the Beast Academy series through Level 5 or has placed into prealgebra (or above) in our placement test, has the mathematical background necessary for Art of Problem Solving (AoPS) courses.
Our Math 6: Prealgebra course is the right next step for many Beast Academy graduates. It's available in video format through Virtual Campus, in-person at AoPS Academy, and through our text-based interactive classrooms at AoPS Online. We also offer the Prealgebra textbook, which is used in our courses, but can also be used independently.
Transitioning from Beast Academy Math Level 5 to Prealgebra
Beast Academy prepares students to think like mathematicians by reasoning through unfamiliar problems, building intuition, and understanding the why behind the math. Prealgebra holds even higher standards for students' conceptual reasoning skills and pushes students further in terms of mathematical rigor and formalization.
Our prealgebra curriculum assumes students have a solid base of the content covered in Beast Academy Levels 1-5. That foundation becomes the starting point for more formal, systematic reasoning. Prealgebra students are asked to formally justify their reasoning and carve their own path through increasingly complex problems, including those found in new territory such as plane geometry, number theory, and counting and probability. If your student enrolls in Math 6: Prealgebra or uses our Prealgebra textbook, you may notice it opening with the study of the properties of arithmetic; this is intentional, as prealgebra first establishes the rigorous reasoning behind why those properties are true, setting the tone for the rest of the course and book.
How to Access Prealgebra
Students can access prealgebra through our Math 6: Prealgebra course and our Prealgebra textbook.
Math 6: Prealgebra
Note:
- Our Math 6: Prealgebra course is offered in Honors and Scholars sequences; availability depends on the format you choose. Learn more about our Honors and Scholars sequences here.
- Scholars versions of a course cover the same set of topics as the Honors version, but generally cover each topic at a deeper, more rigorous, and abstract level.
Our Math 6: Prealgebra course is designed for students who have completed an advanced grades 1-5 elementary math curriculum and are eager for a more challenging mathematical experience. This course is offered in multiple formats, each format covering the same topics, which you can learn more about on the Math 6: Prealgebra course page.
Prealgebra Textbook
While our Prealgebra textbook is used in our prealgebra course, if your student is extremely self-motivated, you can also purchase the textbook directly without enrolling them in a course.
Looking for Something Different?
If your student is exceptionally self-motivated and would prefer to learn prealgebra on their own and at their own pace, they may benefit from using one or a combination of the following:
- Instructional videos: We offer a vast library of instructional videos (including prealgebra videos) that your student can access at any time for free through our website or YouTube channel.
- Alcumus: Alcumus is our adaptive problem-solving system that anyone can play. It adjusts to your student's skill level and covers a wide range of math topics.
- For the Win! (FTW): FTW is a fast-paced, competitive math game that helps students sharpen their calculation speed and accuracy.
If your student completed Beast Academy Level 5 but placed at or below Math Level 5 in the placement test, there are a few options for them:
- Summer camps: We offer elementary school summer camp courses that each cover a Beast Academy level through Virtual Campus and AoPS Academy. Encountering the same concepts in a new format with an instructor and peers can help solidify understanding in a way that self-paced study alone sometimes doesn't.
- Revisit Beast Academy: To reinforce concepts, your student can revisit previous lessons in Beast Academy Online (BA Online) or in our books. When your student revisits BA Online, they can replay lessons up to three times without repeating problems.
- Alcumus: Alcumus is our adaptive problem-solving system that anyone can play. It adjusts to your student's skill level and covers a wide range of math topics.
- For the Win! (FTW): FTW is a fast-paced, competitive math game that helps students sharpen their calculation speed and accuracy.
- Beast Academy puzzles: Build critical thinking and problem solving skills with the BA Online puzzle lab or our puzzle books.