Get the metal compass, skip the plastic kit.

The secret to a geometry set that survives math class is buying the compass and protractor separately instead of from a plastic kit.

Those $5 blister-pack sets are the problem. The compass is usually all plastic with a push-in hinge that loosens after a week. The arms wobble, the pencil slips, and you’re drawing circles that look like potatoes by mid-October. The protractor is thin