We are all familiar with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the annual spelling bee held in the United States. We see children from all over the country as they courageously spell words that most of us have never heard of! We can only imagine the hours of practice and preparation these students and their families go through before they reach the national stage and one lucky student is crowned a winner.
Maybe spelling words is the farthest things from your child’s mind, but they have a passion for math and problem solving. Just as there is a national spelling bee, there are national math competitions as well that your child can be a part of. One of the most popular math competitions is the Mathematical Association of America’s American Mathematics Competitions, made famous by the popularity of their USA and International Mathematical Olympiad.
First, the American Mathematics Competitions, or AMC, is a 3-exam competition designed directly for middle and high school students in grades 8 through 12. The exams are grouped by grade level and they mainly test a student’s ability to problem-solve.
To sit for the exam, registration and payment of the registration fee is required. This year, AMC 8 competition dates were set for Fall 2020 and the AMC 10 & 12 dates are scheduled for February 2021. The test is required to be taken in a public placed and given by a school teacher or a non-relative adult registered with the Mathematical Association of America.
If your child receives a high score on either the AMC 10 or 12, he or she will be given an invite to two events before reaching the IMO, the American Invitational Mathematics Exam (AIME) and the USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) or Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO). Only after scoring well in the USAMO or USAJMO, students can then receive an invitation to the IMO as part of a six-member team to represent the USA.
The AIME is a 3-hour, 15-question test that will be held in March of 2021. Students with high scores on the AIME then advance to either the USAMO or USAJMO, which are two exams made up of 6 questions and a 9-hour essay test given over a 2-day period. Top scorers from the AMC 10 take the USAJMO while top scorers from the AMC 12 take the USAMO. Qualifying scores are the top 2.5% and 5% of the total of AMC 10 & 12 scores and the total AIME score, respectively.
The goal of the competition is to advance through to the International Mathematical Olympiad. The IMO is a 2-day annual competition that takes place in a different country yearly, over the span of two weeks. Each day students are given an essay test with 3 questions and given 4 hours to complete it. Exam material is typically very complicated math equations that would present a challenge even to seasoned math whizzes.
For more information about the IMO, visit the following web link at www.maa.org/math-competitions.
The International Mathematical Olympiad is only a snapshot of the various math competitions your child can take advantage of during their secondary school career. Not only do these competitions allow your child a safe space to exercise and showcase their math skills, but they also teach them test preparation skills that can strengthen their transition into college. Your child may not play a sport, but they can proudly be a “mathlete” and learn through the spirit of competition.
If you have a Mathlete that is waiting for their time to shine, we at Mathnasium would love to work with you and your child to help them develop their skills to excel and work to reach the ranks of Math Olympiad and represent Mathletes! Give us a call or drop us an email at your convenience!
