Mathcounts

Mathcounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a non-profit organization that provides grades 6-8 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.[3]

Mathcounts
Formation1983 (1983)
TypeFoundation
PurposeTo provide engaging math programs to US middle school students of all ability levels to build confidence and improve attitudes about math and problem solving.[1]
HeadquartersAlexandria, Virginia
Location
Executive Director
Kristen Chandler[2]
Co-founder
Donald G. Weinert[2]
Main organ
National Staff
Websitemathcounts.org

Mathcounts also provides numerous math resources for schools and the general public.[4]

Topics covered 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.[5] The first national-level competition was held in 1984.[1] The Mathcounts Competition Series spread quickly in middle schools, and today it is the best-known middle school mathematics competition.[6] In 2007 Mathcounts launched the National Math Club as a non-competitive alternative to the Competition Series. In 2011 Mathcounts launched the Math Video Challenge Program, which was discontinued in 2023.[7][1]

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.[8] The 2021 National Competition was held online.[9]

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.[5]

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.[10] 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.[10]

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.[10]

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.[10] The exact number of qualifiers varies by region.[11]

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.[10] Some states have universities within the state that give scholarships to the top individuals of the state.[12]

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.[10]

The 12 highest scoring individuals advance to the Countdown Round. The winner of this round is declared the National Champion.[13]

Scholarships and prizes are awarded to the top individuals and top state teams.[13] In the past, prizes have included trips to Space Camp or to the White House to meet the current President of the United States.[13][14]

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.[15]

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.[16]

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.[17]

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 Michael Edwards, Texas Virginia (1) Joan Armistead Washington, D.C. [18][19]
1985 Timothy Kokesh, Oklahoma Florida Burt Kaufman Washington, D.C.
1986 Brian David Ewald, Florida California (1) Washington, D.C. [19]
1987 Russell Mann, Tennessee New York (1) Robert C. Bieringer Washington, D.C. [19][20]
1988 Andrew Schultz, Illinois New York (2) Washington, D.C. [19][21]
1989 Albert Kurz, Pennsylvania North Carolina Barbara Sydnor Washington, D.C. [19][22]
1990 Brian Jenkins, Arkansas Ohio Washington, D.C. [19][23]
1991 Jonathan L. Weinstein, Massachusetts Alabama Cindy Breckenridge Washington, D.C. [19][24]
1992 Andrei C. Gnepp, Ohio California (2) Washington, D.C. [19][25]
1993 Carleton Bosley, Kansas Kansas Washington, D.C. [26]
1994 William O. Engel, Illinois Pennsylvania (1) Matt Zipin Washington, D.C. [27]
1995 Richard Reifsnyder, Kentucky Indiana (1) Washington, D.C. [28]
1996 Alexander Schwartz, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (2) Washington, D.C. [29]
1997 Zhihao Liu, Wisconsin Massachusetts (1) Heidi Johnson Washington, D.C. [30]
1998 Ricky Liu, Massachusetts Wisconsin Washington, D.C. [31][32]
1999 Po-Ru Loh, Wisconsin Massachusetts (2) Evagrio Mosca Washington, D.C. [33]
2000 Ruozhou Jia, Illinois California (3) Washington, D.C. [34]
2001 Ryan Ko, New Jersey Virginia (2) Barbara Burnett Washington, D.C. [35]
2002 Albert Ni, Illinois California (4) Thomas Yin Chicago, Illinois [36]
2003 Adam Hesterberg, Washington California (5) Pallavi Shah Chicago, Illinois [37]
2004 Gregory Gauthier, Illinois Illinois Steve Ondes Washington, D.C. [38][39]
2005 Neal Wu, Louisiana Texas (1) Jeff Boyd Detroit, Michigan [40][41]
2006 Daesun Yim, New Jersey Virginia (3) Barbara Burnett Arlington, Virginia [42]
2007 Kevin Chen, Texas Texas (2) Jeff Boyd Fort Worth, Texas [43][44]
2008 Darryl Wu, Washington Texas (3) Jeff Boyd Denver, Colorado [45]
2009 Bobby Shen, Texas Texas (4) Jeff Boyd Orlando, Florida [46]
2010 Mark Sellke, Indiana California (6) Donna Phair[47] Orlando, Florida [48]
2011 Scott Wu, Louisiana California (7) Vandana Kadam[49] Washington, D.C. [50]
2012 Chad Qian, Indiana Massachusetts (3) Josh Frost Orlando, Florida [51]
2013 Alec Sun, Massachusetts Massachusetts (4) Josh Frost Washington, D.C. [52]
2014 Swapnil Garg, California California (8) David Vaughn Orlando, Florida [53]
2015 Kevin Liu, Indiana Indiana (2) Trent Tormoehlen Boston, Massachusetts [54]
2016 Edward Wan, Washington Texas (5) Isil Nal Washington, D.C. [55]
2017 Luke Robitaille, Texas Texas (6) Isil Nal Orlando, Florida [56]
2018 Luke Robitaille, Texas Texas (7) Isil Nal Washington, D.C. [57]
2019 Daniel Mai, Massachusetts Massachusetts (5) Josh Frost Orlando, Florida [13]
2020 No national competition held due to COVID-19 pandemic [8]
2021 Marvin Mao, New Jersey New Jersey (1) Stephanie Cucinella Online [58][59]
2022 Allan Yuan, Alabama New Jersey (2) Marybeth Gakos Washington, D.C. [60]
2023 Channing Yang, Texas Texas (8) Andrea Smith Orlando, Florida [61]

See also

References
  1. "MATHCOUNTS: Our Story".
  2. "Our Board of Directors | MATHCOUNTS". www.mathcounts.org. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  3. "Homepage | MATHCOUNTS Foundation". www.mathcounts.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  4. "Resources | MATHCOUNTS Foundation". www.mathcounts.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  5. "Our Sponsors". MATHCOUNTS Foundation. Archived from the original on 2023-03-23. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  6. "Yale MATHCOUNTS".
  7. Gormley, Molly (2023-08-01). "MATHCOUNTS Enhances National Math Club Program". EIN Presswire. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  8. "MATHCOUNTS Week powered by AoPS". artofproblemsolving.com. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  9. "ANNUAL REPORTS | MATHCOUNTS Foundation". www.mathcounts.org. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  10. "Mathcounts Competition Official Rules & Procedures". Mathcounts. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  11. "Peninsula MATHCOUNTS Chapter - Rules for Advancement to the State Competition". Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  12. "Middle School Students Solve Indiana MATHCOUNTS Problems, Earn Summer Program Scholarships". March 15, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  13. "Daniel Mai is the 2019 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Champion" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  14. "President George W. Bush meets award recipients of the 2005 Mathcounts National Competition". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved February 8, 2008 – via National Archives.
  15. "Mathcounts National Math Club". Mathcounts. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  16. "MathCounts Scholarships For Alumni". Mathcounts. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  17. Gormley, Molly (2023-08-01). "MATHCOUNTS Enhances National Math Club Program". EIN Presswire. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  18. "Mike Edwards, 13, an eighth grader from the Kinkaid..." UPI. May 19, 1984. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  19. "Mathcounts Winners" (PDF). Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  20. "Tennessee 13-Year-Old Wins National Math Contest". AP News. May 15, 1987. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  21. "Boy, 13, Captures Top Math Honors". LA Times. May 15, 1988. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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  24. "Massachusetts Youth Wins Math Bee". AP News. May 3, 1991. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
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  31. "Mathletes Compete In Washington On May 15". NASA.gov. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
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  33. "1999 Diamond Team". William Diamond Middle School. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  34. "Kentucky Results: 2000 National Mathcounts Competition, May 12, 2000 – Omni Shoreham Hotel – Washington D.C." Kentucky Engineering Center. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  35. "2001 Mathcounts Competition Gives Them A Challenge". Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  36. "New Jersey Mathcounts". New Jersey Mathcounts. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  37. "Mathcounts 2003 National Results". Kentucky Engineering Center. Archived from the original on 15 May 2008. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  38. "Mathcounts 2004 National Results". Kentucky Engineering Center. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2008.
  39. "2004 National Mathcounts Champion". Kentucky Engineering Center. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  40. "Louisiana Mathcounts". Louisiana Engineering Society Baton Rouge Chapter. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  41. "Sugar Land Kids Won 2005 Mathcounts National Champions". Beestar Educations. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
  42. "2006 National Mathcounts Competition". American Society Of Mechanical Engineers. Archived from the original on August 13, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
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  44. "Texas Eighth Grader and Texas Team Awarded Mathematics Champions at Lockheed Martin Mathcounts National Competition – 2007". PR Newswire. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
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  48. "2010 Raytheon Mathcounts National Competition". Retrieved June 25, 2011.
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  51. "Meet the Mathcounts Champion Chad Qian". May 12, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  52. "Massachusetts 8th-grader, Alec Sun, crowned National Champion at 2013 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS® National Competition". PR Newswire. May 10, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  53. "Swapnil Garg Crowned National Champion at 2014 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition" (PDF). Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  54. "Kevin Liu Wins National Champion Title at 2015 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  55. "Edward Wan Crowned National Champion at 2016 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  56. "Luke Robitaille Named National Champion at 2017 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  57. "Luke Robitaille Becomes First Repeat National Champion at 2018 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition" (PDF). Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  58. "2021 Raytheon Technologies MATHCOUNTS National Competition". Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  59. "Bergen county native Marvin Mao named 2021 Raytheon Technologies MATHCOUNTS® national champion". Raytheon. May 11, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
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  61. "2023 Raytheon Technologies MATHCOUNTS National Competition Highlights". Retrieved May 15, 2023.
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