Mathcounts, stylized as MATHCOUNTS, is a nationwide middle school
mathematics competition
Mathematics competitions or mathematical olympiads are competitive events where participants complete a math test. These tests may require multiple choice or numeric answers, or a detailed written solution or proof.
International mathematics compe ...
held in various places in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Its current lead sponsors are
Raytheon Technologies
Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It is one of the largest aerospace and defense manufacturers in the world by revenue and market capitaliza ...
and the U.S. Department of Defense STEM.
Topics covered include
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...
,
counting
Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects, i.e., determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for every ele ...
,
probability
Probability is the branch of mathematics concerning numerical descriptions of how likely an event is to occur, or how likely it is that a proposition is true. The probability of an event is a number between 0 and 1, where, roughly speakin ...
,
number theory
Number theory (or arithmetic or higher arithmetic in older usage) is a branch of pure mathematics devoted primarily to the study of the integers and integer-valued functions. German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777–1855) said, "Mat ...
, and
algebra
Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics.
Elementary ...
.
History
Mathcounts was started in 1983 by the
National Society of Professional Engineers
The National Society of Professional Engineers (abbreviate as NSPE) is a professional association representing licensed professional engineers in the United States. NSPE is the recognized voice and advocate of licensed Professional Engineers repr ...
, the
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds an ...
, and
CNA Insurance to increase
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
interest in
mathematics.
The first national-level competition was held in 1984.
The competition spread quickly in middle schools, and today it is the best-known
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
mathematics competition. In 2007 Mathcounts launched the National Math Club Program and in 2011 Mathcounts launched the Math Video Challenge Program.
2020 was the first year since 1984 where a national competition was not held, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The "MATHCOUNTS Week" event featuring problems from the 2020 State Competition was held on the
Art of Problem Solving website as a replacement.
Competition levels
The competition 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 get harder.
All students are either school-based competitors ("SBC's") or non-school competitors ("NSC's"). All students whose school is participating in the competition series are SBC's and start at the school level. Students whose school is not participating in the competition series are NSC's and start at the chapter level, competing individually.
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.
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.
The exact number of qualifiers varies by region.
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.
Some states have universities within the state that give scholarships to the top individuals of the state.
National level
![Mathcounts2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Mathcounts2010.jpg)
Qualifying students and coaches receive an all-expense paid trip to the national competition. The competition typically lasts 3–4 days on
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in th ...
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.
The 12 highest scoring individuals advance to the countdown round. The winner of this round is declared the national champion.
Scholarships and prizes are awarded to the top individuals and top state teams.
These winners can sometimes win a trip to
Space Camp or to the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
to meet the current
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
.
Other programs
In addition to the competition program, students can also participate in the Math Video Challenge program and the National Math Club program. These programs are open to the same students as the competition program.
Math Video Challenge program
The Math Video Challenge program allows students in teams of 4 to create a video that explains the solution to a problem from the Mathcounts School Handbook in a real-world scenario. Judges review and score each video based on mathematical content, communication, creativity and real-world scenario. From the submitted videos, they select 50-100 Quarterfinalist videos. From these, they then select 12 Semifinalist videos and 6 Judges' Choice Winners. Then they select 4 Finalist videos. Finalist teams receive an all-expense paid trip to the national competition where they present their video at the Math Video Challenge Finals. The 224 students that qualified for the national competition then vote to determine the winning video. The 4 winning students receive trophies and scholarships.
National Math Club program
The National Math Club program allows schools to register 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 5 times during the year achieve silver level status, and clubs that create a creative and collaborative project can achieve gold level status. Clubs that achieve silver and gold level status can earn prizes and recognition. Each year, clubs that achieve gold level status are put into a Grand Prize drawing. The club leader and 4 students from the Grand Prize winning club receive an all-expense paid trip to attend the national competition as honored guests.
Alumni
Each year, Mathcounts awards two types of scholarships to alumni who participated in at least one of the Mathcounts programs during middle school: the Mathcounts Alumni Scholarship to alumni whose experience in Mathcounts was extremely influential and the Community Coaching Scholarship to alumni who start Mathcounts competition series programs at underrepresented schools. Multiple people can win the same scholarship in the same year.
Competition winners
Below is a table documenting each year's winning individual, winning state team and coach, and the location of the national competition.
See also
*
American Mathematics Competitions The American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) are the first of a series of competitions in secondary school mathematics that determine the United States team for the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). The selection process takes place over the ...
*
List of mathematics competitions
Mathematics competitions or mathematical olympiads are competitive events where participants complete a math test. These tests may require multiple choice or numeric answers, or a detailed written solution or proof.
International mathematics compe ...
References
External links
Mathcounts Home Page*
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
Photos
2001200720092010
{{American mathematics
Mathematics competitions
Recurring events established in 1984
1984 establishments in the United States