Age 11, began Harvard University's Extension Program he graduated at 16.

[Merlin]

[...]
My point is not that college is for ALL students - but that plenty of HS students take college classes ALL THE TIME.  I know dozens personally.  None of them are geniuses, and still keep up with the college-level material.

And then, once you're talking about a kid who's a genius - well, I don't need to tell you that he is probably grasping plenty of the material that is taught, as well as keeping up with not only the high-school-level coursework he may be doing, as well as his college coursework at the exact same time.  I think he's got this.

BTW - I'm guessing you didn't read the article and see that not only is he a genius, but he took his classes online until his junior year, and managed to do both high school and college at the same time.

I agree with what you've been saying, though I'm wondering where this genius reference came from. The article mentions testing the kid's academic equivalency at a local CC, which was higher than an associates level of skill. It didn't mention anything about intelligence assessments, what test was taken or the score received, anything about an IQ rating, or even passing a Mensa admissions test. That said, he does seem to have the indicators that are usually associated with genius level IQ, so we can make that assumption, but nothing in the article confirms that assumption.

Not that it matters since I think that kids are generally more flexible than we give them credit and they absorb new knowledge much more easily. It doesn't take a genius IQ for a kid to understand college-level material or adult concepts. Some kids are forced into having to deal with adult concepts at an earlier age than this kid. At least this is in an academic setting, and the kid has parents that he can talk to and help work through anything that is confusing or troubling.

In any case, my daughter is 3 but showing many of the same early behaviors. She's got the vocabulary of a 1st grader, can count well into the double digits, and can already do simple math problems. It is nice to see articles like this. I am glad that online education is opening doors for more young people academically. I'm hoping that my daughter has opportunities like this when she's old enough to pursue them, assuming that is something she'll want to do. In the meantime, we'll continue to supplement her preschool education and push to keep her challenged.