<p>When a school regularly has USAMO qualifiers, it is usually has more to do with who is going to the school rather than any specific training they got there. I don’t know if this sort of training has math team training has improved in the 10 years since I went to high school, but I don’t remember anything in class or math team practice helping me on the AIME. And I went to a place with multiple USAMO qualifiers. Pretty much those guys would just show up to take the test. Of course, “The Art of Problem Solving” and other resources didn’t exist back then so maybe specialized training is more effective. </p>
<p>Sometimes magnet schools have more of a laissez faire attitude about winning scholastic competitions than regular public high schools. Typically, the attitude was, “you’re smart, if you want to win, then study for it.” Not very pro-active.</p>