Mathcounts

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MathCounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a nonprofit organization that provides grades 6 through 8 extracurricular mathematics programs in all U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and U.S. Virgin Islands. Its mission is to provide engaging math programs for middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving.

In MathCounts, testing is conducted in four separate rounds: the Sprint, Target, Team, and Countdown rounds.

The Sprint Round consists of 30 problems to be completed within the time limit of 40 minutes. This round is meant to test the accuracy and speed of the competitor. As a result of the difficulty and time constraints, many competitors will not finish all of the problems in the Sprint Round.

The Target Round consists of eight problems. Problems are presented in sets of two, with each set having a six minute time limit. Calculators are permitted on this portion of the test. This round is meant to test the accuracy and problem solving skills of the competitor. Many later problems are highly difficult, even with the aid of a calculator, and it is common for some students to leave questions blank.

The Team Round consists of 10 problems to be solved in 20 minutes. This round, similar to the Target Round, allows use of a calculator. Only the four students on a school or state's team can take this round officially.[1] The Team Round is meant to test the collaboration and problem solving skills of the team.

The Countdown Round is an optional round with a buzzer type question format. Competitors can buzz in to answer questions. Execution of the Countdown Round varies from different locations, with some using a one-on-one format and some having multiple competitors at the buzzers at the same time. The Countdown Round may be official(has an impact on your score) or unofficial depending on the location. The Countdown Round is meant to test the speed and reflexes of a competitor. The Countdown Round is the official determinant of the National Champion at MathCounts Nationals.

Topics covered in the competition include geometry, counting, probability, number theory, and algebra.

History

Mathcounts was started in 1983 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and CNA Insurance to increase middle school interest in mathematics.[2] The first national-level competition was held in 1984.[3] The Mathcounts Competition Series spread quickly in middle schools, and today it is the best-known middle school mathematics competition.[4] In 2007, Mathcounts launched the National Math Club as a noncompetitive alternative to the Competition Series. In 2011, Mathcounts launched the Math Video Challenge Program, which was discontinued in 2023.[5][3]

2020 was the only year since 1984 in which a national competition was not held, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The "MATHCOUNTS Week" event featuring problems from the 2020 State Competition was held on the Art of Problem Solving website as a replacement.[6] The 2021 National Competition was held online.[7]

Current sponsors include RTX Corporation, U.S. Department of Defense STEM, BAE Systems, Northrop Grumman, National Society of Professional Engineers, 3M, Texas Instruments, Art of Problem Solving, Bentley Systems, Carina Initiatives, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, CNA Financial, Google, Brilliant, and Mouser Electronics.[2]

Competition Series

The Competition Series is divided into four levels: school, chapter, state, and national. Students progress to each level in the competition based on performance at the previous level. As the levels progress, the problems become more challenging.[8] Each level has many rounds, always including a Sprint Round (30 questions, 40 minutes) and a Target Round (4 pairs of harder problems with calculator use, 6 minutes each pair).

All students are either school-based competitors or non-school competitors ("NSCs"). Most students participate through their schools, starting with a school-level competition. A student whose school is not participating in the Competition Series starts at the chapter level as an NSC, competing individually.[8]

School level

Coaches of each school select up to 12 students from their school to advance to the chapter competition, with 4 of them competing on the official school team. The rest compete individually.[8]

Chapter level

All qualifying students compete individually. Students on an official school team also compete as a team. The Countdown Round is optional and can either be used to determine top individuals or as an unofficial round. The top teams and individuals advance to the state competition.[8] The exact number of qualifiers varies by region.[9]

State level

All qualifying students compete individually. Students on a qualifying school team also compete as a team. The Countdown Round is optional and can either be used to determine top individuals or as an unofficial round. The top 4 individuals qualify for the national competition. The coach of the winning school team is the coach for the state team.[8] Some states have universities within the state that give scholarships to the top individuals of the state.[10]

National level

Six people in red shirts and beige pants standing in a line next to men in black suits all in front of a man wearing a grey suit and a red tie
President Barack Obama meets award recipients of the 2010 Mathcounts National Competition in the Oval Office Monday, June 28, 2010.

Qualifying students and coaches receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition. The competition typically lasts 3–4 days on Mother's Day weekend. The coach of the state team is the supervisor for the team. The students compete individually for the title of national champion. They also compete as a team to represent their state.[8]

The 12 highest scoring individuals advance to the Countdown Round. The winner of this round is declared the National Champion.[11]

Scholarships and prizes are awarded to the top individuals and top state teams.[11] In the past, prizes have included trips to Space Camp or to the White House to meet the current President of the United States.[11][12]

National Math Club

In addition to the Competition Series program, students can also participate in the National Math Club program.

The National Math Club program allows schools and non-school groups to start a math club for free. Upon registering, club leaders earn free online access to dozens of games, explorations, and problem sets.

Clubs that meet at least five times during the program year can achieve Silver Level Status, and clubs that complete a creative and collaborative project can achieve Gold Level Status. Clubs that achieve Silver Level and Gold Level can earn prizes and recognition.[13]

Other programs

Alumni scholarships

Each year, Mathcounts awards two types of scholarships to multiple alumni who participated in at least one of the Mathcounts programs during middle school. The Mathcounts Alumni Scholarship is awarded to alumni whose experience in Mathcounts was extremely influential, and the Community Coaching Scholarship is awarded to alumni who start Mathcounts programs at underserved schools.[14]

Math Video Challenge

In 2011, Mathcounts started the Reel Math Challenge (later renamed to the Math Video Challenge). The Math Video Challenge program allowed students in teams of 4 to create a video that explained the solution to a problem from the Mathcounts School Handbook in a real-world scenario. The program was discontinued in 2023, but a similar video project opportunity is offered through the National Math Club.[15]

Competition winners

Below is a table documenting each year's winning individual, winning state team and coach, and the location of the national competition.

Year Individual winner State-team winner Winning-state coach Location Refs
1984 Template:Sort Virginia (1) Joan Armistead Washington, D.C. [16][17]
1985 Template:Sort Florida Burt Kaufman Washington, D.C.
1986 Template:Sort California (1) Washington, D.C. [17]
1987 Template:Sort New York (1) Robert C. Bieringer Washington, D.C. [17][18]
1988 Template:Sort New York (2) Washington, D.C. [17][19]
1989 Template:Sort North Carolina Barbara Sydnor Washington, D.C. [17][20]
1990 Template:Sort Ohio Washington, D.C. [17][21]
1991 Template:Sort Alabama Cindy Breckenridge Washington, D.C. [17][22]
1992 Template:Sort California (2) Washington, D.C. [17][23]
1993 Template:Sort Kansas Washington, D.C. [24]
1994 Template:Sort Pennsylvania (1) Matt Zipin Washington, D.C. [25]
1995 Template:Sort Indiana (1) Washington, D.C. [26]
1996 Template:Sort Pennsylvania (2) Washington, D.C. [27]
1997 Template:Sort Massachusetts (1) Heidi Johnson Washington, D.C. [28]
1998 Template:Sort Wisconsin Washington, D.C. [29][30]
1999 Template:Sort Massachusetts (2) Evagrio Mosca Washington, D.C. [31]
2000 Template:Sort California (3) Washington, D.C. [32]
2001 Template:Sort Virginia (2) Barbara Burnett Washington, D.C. [33]
2002 Template:Sort California (4) Thomas Yin Chicago, Illinois [34]
2003 Template:Sort California (5) Pallavi Shah Chicago, Illinois [35]
2004 Template:Sort Illinois Steve Ondes Washington, D.C. [36][37]
2005 Template:Sort Texas (1) Jeff Boyd Detroit, Michigan [38][39]
2006 Template:Sort Virginia (3) Barbara Burnett Arlington, Virginia [40]
2007 Template:Sort Texas (2) Jeff Boyd Fort Worth, Texas [41][42]
2008 Template:Sort Texas (3) Jeff Boyd Denver, Colorado [43]
2009 Template:Sort Texas (4) Jeff Boyd Orlando, Florida [44]
2010 Template:Sort California (6) Donna Phair[45] Orlando, Florida [46]
2011 Template:Sort California (7) Vandana Kadam[47] Washington, D.C. [48]
2012 Template:Sort Massachusetts (3) Josh Frost Orlando, Florida [49]
2013 Template:Sort Massachusetts (4) Josh Frost Washington, D.C. [50]
2014 Template:Sort California (8) David Vaughn Orlando, Florida [51]
2015 Template:Sort Indiana (2) Trent Tormoehlen Boston, Massachusetts [52]
2016 Template:Sort Texas (5) Isil Nal Washington, D.C. [53]
2017 Template:Sort Texas (6) Isil Nal Orlando, Florida [54]
2018 Template:Sort Texas (7) Isil Nal Washington, D.C. [55]
2019 Template:Sort Massachusetts (5) Josh Frost Orlando, Florida [11]
2020 No national competition held due to COVID-19 pandemic [6]
2021 Template:Sort New Jersey (1) Stephanie Cucinella Online [56][57]
2022 Template:Sort New Jersey (2) Marybeth Gakos Washington, D.C. [58]
2023 Template:Sort Texas (8) Andrea Smith Orlando, Florida [59]
2024 Template:Sort Texas (9) Hui Quan Washington, D.C. [60]
2025 Template:Sort Massachusetts (6) Josh Frost Washington, D.C. [61]

See also

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:American mathematics

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  23. ↑ Gene Spafford. Brainy Teen 'Mathcounts' Champ. Yucks Digest. Vol. 2 No. 32. June 13, 1992.
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