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ATTLEBORO - When Yiwei Gu was a sixth-grader at Wamsutta Middle School, he wanted to take some advanced math courses the school did not offer.

Instead of busing him back and forth to Attleboro High School, the school department arranged to have him take an online course through the Education Program for Gifted Youth at Stanford University.

Gu continued with the program through high school, accumulating college credits as he progressed to university-level math and science courses.

The Attleboro High School senior is part of a growing trend of students taking challenging online courses their schools do not offer.

The trend has been slow to catch on locally because many area high schools do not participate, but nationally online courses are exploding. At Attleboro High School, Gu and fellow senior James Pelletier are involved in the Stanford program. The school department pays for online courses taken during the school year.

But, many high schools across the country are turning to online programs for advanced placement courses.

The State University of New York has 85,000 students enrolled in its online program.

The magazine Education Week reports that the private service ApexLearning went from 8,400 online advanced placement students in the 2003-2004 school year to 30,200 this year.

University of California Prep Online has doubled its numbers the past two years and Virtual Virginia has gone from 500 advanced placement students to 2,000 in two years.

Peter Glass, a guidance counselor at Attleboro High School, said his school is big enough to offer a wide range of advance placement courses, so it does not use online programs for that purpose.

However, he said there are exceptional students, like Gu and Pelletier, who want to take college courses, such as those offered by Stanford.

Glass said he believes online courses will be most helpful to smaller high schools with more limited course offerings.

There is a debate in education circles over the value of online courses.

Some contend that students need the personal attention a live teacher provides. Gu said he would recommend online courses for more basic subjects, but he found it more difficult to learn highly theoretical courses such as multi-variable calculus and linear algebra without a teacher to talk to on a daily basis.

The Stanford program does allow for a weekly e-mail exchange with a teacher, but that is not the same as being in class with a teacher and being able to ask questions immediately, he said.

"As it got more advanced to an intellectual level, it would have been helpful to have a teacher," Gu said. "I don't think it can replace traditional classes, but I think more people can benefit from this."

Gu's father, Quan Gu, said the online courses have allowed his son to "fully explore his abilities."

The Stanford courses involve Gu going to the school computer lab in the library and doing an independent study.

He would listen to lectures provided on compact discs and take tests over the Internet.

The Stanford program, called EPGY, is somewhat unique in that it offers accelerated courses for gifted children starting in kindergarten and progressing through the college level.

The college courses - which require a student to dedicate 10 hours per week to complete - come with credits that can be applied toward a Stanford degree.

Gu, however, has decided to take advantage of an early acceptance to Columbia University in New York City, where he intends to study computer science.

JIM HAND can be reached at 508-236-0399 or at jhand@thesunchronicle.com.