Math Competition Season Begins September 27th-Middle/High School

I received this from another homeschool group and if anyone puts anything together I would like to know about it for my calendar. I am assuming by reading it that it is for middle to high school students. Please let me know more details if you are interested in developing a math team! There is an attachment so if you can not read it let me know!--Tabbi

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To Whom it May Concern,

We have attached a press release in Word format
regarding national math competitions in which homeschools
and unschools in your organization should consider
participating. We have also appended the text of the press
release in case you have any difficulty with the attachment.
Extracurricular mathematics can be a terrific experience for
all students, but is especially rewarding for home- and
un-schooled students with a particular interest in
mathematics. Note that the third organization (NA&T) is
ours, so there is an element of self-promotion in this, but
all of the organizations listed produce high-quality
materials. Please feel free to contact me if you have any
questions about the contests, and please let me know if
there is another address to which I should send this.

Thank you,

Tom Clymer
Director of Academic Competitions
National Assessment & Testing
http://www.natassessment.com




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Contact: Tom Clymer

Director of Academic Competitions

National Assessment & Testing



(206) 433-7320 (w), (206) 244-5214 (h)

clymer@natassessment.com (w),
tom_clymer@hotmail.com (h)

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.





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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