Math Competitions
Math Kangaroo
Math Kangaroo is an international math contest for kids in Grades 1 to 12. Math Kangaroo is a 75 minute test covering 25 questions. The questions are challenging and rely on problem solving skills. The contest is held the third Thursday in March across the globe. For the second year, X Academy is hosting a test center at Louden Nelson Community Center in downtown Santa Cruz. The upcoming contest will be on March 19, 2015 starting at 4:00. Registration has already started and is open until December 15, 2014. The registration deadline is December 15, but the test will fill up before then, so register soon. The registration fee is $20 and parents can sign up their students in the contest at: Math Kangaroo Registration.
Santa Cruz County Math Contest
May 2, 2015, at Aptos High School
The Math Contest provides students in grades 5-8 with both a team competition and an individual test format. The team competition requires students work together using problem-solving strategies, showing work and providing clear and detailed explanations. The individual test for all grade levels uses a free response format. The 8th grade test includes questions that reflect state requirements for 8th grade Algebra. Students receive certificates of participation and contest winners receive achievement medals.
AMC8
The AMC 8 is a 25-question, 40-minute, multiple choice examination in middle school mathematics designed to promote the development and enhancement of problem-solving skills. The contest is held in November every year at a local school.
AMC 10/12
The AMC 10 is a 25-question, 75-minute, multiple choice examination in secondary school mathematics containing problems which can be understood and solved with algebra and geometry concepts. The AMC 12 is a 25-question, 75-minute, multiple choice examination in secondary school mathematics containing problems which can be understood and solved with pre-calculus concepts. Two different versions of the contests are given on two dates, about two weeks apart, in February. Each AMC 10 and AMC 12 contest contain about 12 of the same math problems.
Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad
The Bay Area Mathematical Olympiad (BAMO) is an annual competition for hundreds of Bay Area middle and high school students, consisting of 4 or 5 proof-type math problems with a time limit of 4 hours. It is typically held on the last Tuesday of every February. This year's test will be on February 24, 2015. The exams are proctored at schools and at several open sites around the Bay Area. They are graded the following weekend by a group of Bay Area mathematicians, teachers, and Math Circle enthusiasts.
Math Olympiad for Elementary and Middle Schools
Math Problem solving contests for teams of up to 35 students in grades 4 through 8. It is open only to schools, home schools, and institutes – not individuals. School math clubs meet weekly for an hour. Club members explore a topic or strategy in depth, using Creative Problem Solving in School Mathematics (or other sources), or they practice for the contests, using non-routine problems from MOEMS® Contest Problems Volume 3, Math Olympiad Contest Problems Volume 2 or Mathematical Olympiads Contest Problems for Elementary and Middle Schools (or other sources). The highlight for students are the five monthly contests, given from November to March. No traveling is required. These contests provide an incentive for students to intensify their study of math.
Math Counts
The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series is a national program that provides bright students the opportunity to compete head-to-head against their peers from other schools, cities and states in four levels of competition: school, chapter (local), state and national. MATHCOUNTS provides preparation and competition materials and, with the leadership of the National Society of Professional Engineers, hosts more than 500 Chapter Competitions, 56 State Competitions and the National Competition each year. This year, the top four students from each U.S. state and territory will compete at the 2015 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition in Boston, MA. Students win hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships each year at the local, state and national levels. There is a registration fee for students to participate in this program and registration is limited only to schools. Participation beyond the school level is limited 10 students per school.