Compass Academy students test their math skills

Local high school students from Compass Academy tested their math skills Tuesday in a 3D virtual environment.

Algebra II students brought quadratic equations to life by giving presentations in the center for advanced energy studies cave or CAES cave. Forty projects were critiqued by a panel of three engineers. Students had four weeks to use a computer software system to model their formulas.

Math teacher Michael Jacobson says one of the things that makes the academy special is how it provides students with opportunities to apply what they have learned to real-world situations.

“It’s an opportunity for them to come to a place like this and see what the cave is all about. They can see what opportunities are in math and engineering,” said Jacobson. Jacobson says he’s been working on this project with Idaho National Laboratory since November.