What is MATHCOUNTS?
MATHCOUNTS is the nationwide
math coaching and competition program for 6th-8th grade students. It promotes student
interest in math by making math achievement as challenging, exciting, and prestigious as a
school sport. Currently celebrating its 26th
anniversary, MATHCOUNTS has helped more than 7 million students
throughout the United States develop their mathematical abilities by tackling
MATHCOUNTS problems.
MATHCOUNTS is one of the country's largest and most
successful education partnerships involving volunteers, educators,
industry sponsors and students. Presidents Bush, Reagan, Clinton, and Bush have
all recognized MATHCOUNTS in Oval Office ceremonies, and the program has
received two White House citations as an outstanding private sector
initiative.
Here are some web sites that may assist in
preparing for the MATHCOUNTS competition program:
1)
http://mathcounts.saab.org
2)
http://mathonline.missouri.edu
3) www.saab.org
The first site has more than 500 problems that can help the students prepare
for the MATHCOUNTS competition.
The second site can be used by advanced students to see if they are ready to
take Calculus or College Algebra. It also has many
Trigonometry problems. This site is still growing and more problems will be
added in the future.
The third site has links to to the first two sites and has many tests in
mathematics and vocabulary. It has also many drills to prepare for
the SAT (Math, English, Vocabulary).
In all the math tests, solutions are provided and the problems are given each
time with may be different parameters.
How MATHCOUNTS Works
At the beginning of each school year, the
MATHCOUNTS
Foundation distributes, free of charge, its School Handbook and other
materials to schools across the country. Teachers and volunteers use these materials to
coach student "mathletes," either as part of in-class instruction or as an
extracurricular activity.
In addition to school coaching, local sponsors often host special activities, such as
workshops for teachers, minority encouragement programs and public outreach events to
encourage participation and raise public awareness of the importance of mathematics.
The MATHCOUNTS competitions are organized at four levels: school, chapter, state and
national. Throughout the school year, coaches work with students on the School Handbook
problems.
In December, coaches receive the school competition by mail, and it is administered by
coaches in early January. The school competition can be used to assist a coach in
determining which four students from the school will proceed to the chapter competition.
The chapter competitions are held at sites across Tennessee in February. From the chapter
competitions, the top teams and individuals (how many is decided by the state coordinator)
progress to the state competition in Nashville in March. From the state competition, the
four top-scoring individuals and the top team coach receive an all-expenses-paid trip to
Arlington, VA, to represent Tennessee at the national finals in May.
At all levels of competition, mathletes build
self-confidence and math skills, as well as win prizes.
How many students participate?
Nationally nearly 7,000 schools register to
participate annually from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S.
territories and State Department and Dept. of Defense schools worldwide.
On average, more than 350,000 students participate in MATHCOUNTS
activities each year at the school level. Nearly 28,000 students from all
50 states, U.S. territories and the State and Defense Department school
systems worldwide participate annually in local MATHCOUNTS
competitions.
How do I register?
Registration packets were mailed to every school in Tennessee from MATHCOUNTS
National at the beginning of September. Details of registration may
be found on the MATHCOUNTS National Registration page . You may access this
page by following this link.
What is the cost?
The school team registration fee is $80.
The individual registration fee is $20 per student. Reduced fees of $40
per team and $10 per individual are available to Title I schools.
Registration fees are non-refundable. The official registration deadline
is December 12, 2008. Registrations by FAX and mail will be accepted
through the end of January with Chapter Coordinator approval only. Please
see the list of Chapter contacts below if you are in this situation.
The School Registration Kit is free and it includes the
School Handbook
and two
posters. The registration form is at:
MATHCOUNTS
Foundation - Online Request/Registration Form
MATHCOUNTS novelty items and copies of exams from the past may be
ordered from the MATHCOUNTS
store.
How do I get involved?
MATHCOUNTS involves more than 17,000 volunteers, almost 7,000 schools and
over 350,000 students every year. MATHCOUNTS has an active alumni program to encourage past
participants to continue their interest in mathematics and their involvement in the
program. The program boasts a network of more than 30,000 alumni, some of whom now coach
local teams. Former mathletes go on to coach school teams, help review program materials,
volunteer at competitions and serve as role models for current mathletes.
Anyone interested can get involved with the MATHCOUNTS program. Whether you'd like to
start a school coaching program or volunteer to help conduct a local program, MATHCOUNTS
welcomes your involvement. To start a school coaching program, you may receive a free
package of MATHCOUNTS school coaching materials by contacting the MATHCOUNTS Foundation at
(703) 684-2828. or you can download the materials from
here. Other
resources for building a MATHCOUNTS program can be found
here.
To help conduct a local program, which may include visiting your neighborhood school to
encourage participation, coaching a school team, serving as a proctor or scorer, or
serving on a committee to organize a MATHCOUNTS program, please contact the Tennessee
State Coordinator, Harry Clark, at (931-454-5179 (W)
or
harry.clark@arnold.af.mil),
Judy Logue
jlogue@tnec.org
or one of the following local Chapter
Coordinators:
