Contact: Tom Clymer, Director of Academic Competitions, National Assessment  & Testing

(206) 433-7320  ≈  clymer@natassessment.com  ≈  http://www.natassessment.com

Math Competition Season Begins September 27th

Seattle, WA - August 27, 2007

Extracurricular math competitions are an increasingly important way for schools to challenge their most advanced students and engage those students who find the rote learning of math classes uninteresting. While there are many local face-to-face competitions across the country, they can be expensive and their quality can vary. National mail-in contests are an excellent, inexpensive way for schools to start an extracurricular math program or augment a schedule of local competitions. Now is the time for schools to plan their contest calendars for the year!

Last year's schedule ended July 31st at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The United States was represented by six students who placed fifth in the world as a team and brought home two gold medals, three silver medals, and a bronze medal as individuals. While not everyone is ready for the IMO, every student can benefit from taking part in extracurricular mathematics.

Below, you will find schedules for some of the best national competitions, as well as information on how to register for these events. If you're a teacher or coach, simply contact these organizations directly. If you're a parent, contact your child's math teacher or the chair of the math department to see if a program can be started. Funding is an issue for many schools, but there are often individuals or community organizations willing to help.

American Mathematics Competitions (AMC):

These contests are administered by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and are the premier high school math contests in the country for advanced students. AMC administers the AMC8 for middle school students each fall, and the AMC10 and AMC12 for high school students each winter. The 10 and 12 tests begin a series of qualifying tests that culminate in the selection of the IMO team to represent the United States. The AMC tests charge per set of ten students to which you administer the test, with the minimum fee being $44 for ten students. You can learn more about these contests at http://www.unl.edu/amc/, as well as register online. The dates for their contests are:

AMC8: Tuesday, November 13th, 2007

Register by early October for the lowest registration fee.

AMC10/12 A: Tuesday, February 12, 2008

AMC10/12 B: Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Register by early December for the lowest registration fee.

AIME A: Tuesday, March 18, 2008

AIME B: Wednesday, April 2, 2008

USAMO: April 29 & 30, 2008


MathCounts:

This premier contest for advanced middle-school students is administered by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Registering for MathCounts results in your school receiving a School Competition Kit and the "MathCounts News" publication, and you will be able to send up to eight students to your local competition. High-scoring teams and individuals at the local contest may advance to state and national competitions. The MathCounts program allows participation by up to eight students from your school, at a cost of ten dollars per student. You can learn more about this contest at http://www.mathcounts.org, as well as register online. The registration deadline for this program is December 8th, with local competitions in February, state competitions in March, and the national competition in May.

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National Assessment & Testing (NA&T):

This organization administers five competitions by mail throughout the year, each with a registration fee of just fifty dollars for as many students as you like (or you can register for all five and receive a package price of two-hundred dollars). Each of the contests offers both easy and difficult problems to give confidence and challenges to students of all abilities and features a unique format, from asking individuals to solve 100 fast and easy problems in 30 minutes to challenging entire schools to solve 15 complicated multi-part problems in a week. NA&T competitions always begin with basic arithmetic and have two-thirds of their problems below the Algebra II level, making them an excellent program for beginning competitors. You can learn more about these contests, including samples and results from previous years and online registration, at http://www.natassessment.com. The dates for their contests are:

Fall Startup Event: Thursday, September 27th, 2007

Team Scramble: Thursday, November 1st, 2007

Ciphering Time Trials: Thursday, December 13th, 2007

Four-by-Four Competition: Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Collaborative Problem-Solving Contest: Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 through Wednesday, April 9th, 2008


NA&T also produces the Middlementary Math Bonanza, a face-to-face competition that high school math teams can administer for local elementary and middle school students as both a service project and fundraiser.

USA Mathematical Talent Search (USAMTS):

Primarily funded by the National Security Agency (NSA), this elite contest is very high quality, focusing on proofs instead of answers. However, the USAMTS is designed to challenge the most talented high school students, and could be discouraging to less advanced students. The USAMTS consists of four rounds of five problems each, with students having approximately one month to write proofs for each set of five problems. This competition is FREE and individual; students register themselves via the internet and coaches are not involved. You can learn more about this contest at http://www.usamts.org, as well as register online. Problems for the first round are already available online, with their solutions due by October 9th.

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