AMC registration is open

[daijobu]

If you live in an area that doesn't offer the AMCs, you can arrange to make it happen locally.  You will need to work with a local school, church, or library.  Parents can't proctor the AMC if their own children are taking the exam, and the exams will be delivered directly to the contact person you have designated.  

 

You order exams in bundles of 10, so try to recruit friends to participate too.  You can't register individually with the MAA directly.  They aren't set up to handle that.  You need to contact sites locally or organize your own (in conjunction with some official group as described above.)  

 

2017 AMC 8 Registration Form  For students in grade 8 or younger

2018 AMC 10/12 Registration Form For students in grades 10 or 12 or younger

 

And don't worry, the "early bird" deadline isn't until October for AMC 8 and January for AMC 10/12.  Just posting in case you need extra time to make arrangements.  

Edited May 12, 2017 by daijobu

[daijobu]

From the MAA:

 

The AMC contests are a school-based program, so only schools may register to proctor the competitions. If your child is homeschooled, you may find a nearby school and contact the proctor who will allow your child to participate at their location. You may find a nearby location by using our website:

http://www.maa.org/math-competitions/amc-8/locations

Please be aware that if you find a local school or college offering the competition, you will need to contact the competition manager at the school in advance to ensure that your child is able to participate in the competition.
 
I have attached a registration form for your review.  Step 2 on the form is where you would fill out the proctor information for homeschoolers.  You can always submit the registration as a Homeschool but there are restrictions associated and you would have to be approved.  Contests can not be administered by the parent or a relative of any of the students.  You would have to find a proctor that would hold the contest at a business address, examples: public library, school, or a church.  All competitions and materials are sent to the proctor at the business address.

[JoJosMom]

There's a homeschool section.  Was that there last year?

 

(And thank you for posting this, daijobu, but :blink: .  I don't think I'm quite ready for February planning yet!)

[daijobu]

Yes, that section has been there for the past few years.  The only thing that changes is the price.   :)

[Spring Flower]

I need a little hand holding here as I am completely unfamiliar with AMC. My two oldest have successfully completed AOPS Prealgebra this year and I think they will be ready to take this test even though they will be only 8 and 10 years old. It looks like our local middle school offers the test. Assuming I call and they say we can participate, how do I sign my kids up as homeschoolers? Is the $53 fee per child? How does this work exactly? I plan to set up a MOEMS team for my kids and any others we can rope into it with us but I think the AMC 8 would be a good experience for them. Can they take it more than 3 times? Are the rules more lenient than mathcounts? 

[daijobu]

If you can take it through your local school, then you do not need to register directly with the MAA.  You will register with that particular school and pay any proctoring fees to them. 

 

The AMC 8 is only offered once a year in November.  There are many old AMC 8 exams for practice at the AoPS site.  Hope that helps.  

[Spring Flower]

If you can take it through your local school, then you do not need to register directly with the MAA.  You will register with that particular school and pay any proctoring fees to them. 

 

The AMC 8 is only offered once a year in November.  There are many old AMC 8 exams for practice at the AoPS site.  Hope that helps.  

 

Thank you.

 

I'm assuming then that it is okay to take this test more than 3 times. Correct?

[daijobu]

Oh, now I understand your question.  Yes, you can take it as many times you like as long as you are in 8th grade or younger.  

[4KookieKids]

I need a little hand holding here as I am completely unfamiliar with AMC. My two oldest have successfully completed AOPS Prealgebra this year and I think they will be ready to take this test even though they will be only 8 and 10 years old. It looks like our local middle school offers the test. Assuming I call and they say we can participate, how do I sign my kids up as homeschoolers? Is the $53 fee per child? How does this work exactly? I plan to set up a MOEMS team for my kids and any others we can rope into it with us but I think the AMC 8 would be a good experience for them. Can they take it more than 3 times? Are the rules more lenient than mathcounts? 

 

I'm also curious about when students usually start taking the AMC. Is it normally after preA or is there no real "normal" time to start taking it? The test says it's multiple choice, but do they have to justify their solution? I don't have a kid who will be ready this year, probably, but this is good information to store away. :)

[daijobu]

I imagine for kids in regular school, they may start as early as 6th grade, but you are free to make an age-appropriate decision for your particular student.  Your student will need to be comfortable with solving harder problems, and not necessarily being able to answer every single question on the exam.  The difficulty is greater than the MOEMS middle school exams, and about the same as MathCounts.  The best way to see if it's the right level is to have your student take old exams and see how s/he feels about it.  

 

It is a bubble-in Scantron multiple choice exam, and you don't need to show your work or justify your answers.  There is no penalty for wrong answers.  I believe this exam is viewed as preparation for the more competitive AMC10 and 12.  

[Spring Flower]

Oh, now I understand your question.  Yes, you can take it as many times you like as long as you are in 8th grade or younger.  

 

 

Yes, I wasn't clear in my question. I was thinking of the mathcounts rule where they are only allowed to participate for 3 years. 

[Arcadia]

I'm also curious about when students usually start taking the AMC. Is it normally after preA or is there no real "normal" time to start taking it?

When your child don't mind doing a 40 minute color the bubble no calculators allowed test, you can just send your child to have fun. There is no normal and no lower limit. The youngest I have seen so far at the test site my kids go to is 3rd grade which could be someone turning 8 by Dec 2nd. The AMC8 scores has no consequences so people just send their kids to AMC8 as a practice round for AMC10/12.

 

My kids can't remember their home address in full so I stick an address label to their pencil cases for them to copy their address. For young kids, the proctor just ask the parents to vouch for their kids identity. The older kids show school ID or passports or DMV (non-drivers) ID.

 

"Q. What's covered on the AMC 8?

 

A. The material included on the AMC 8 is middle school mathematics curriculum. None of the problems require the use of algebra or a calculator. Possible topics include but are not limited to: Probability, Estimation, Percents, Elementary geometry including the Pythagorean Theorem, Spatial Visualization, Everyday Applications, and Reading/Interpreting Graphs." http://www.maa.org/math-competitions/amc-8

[epi]

From AMC stats, about 1000 kids "grade 4 or lower" take AMC 8. (The stats don't separate the lower grades.)

 

You can take AMC 8 any number of times (until grade 8).

 

Since pre-algebra is typically taken in grade 8 or 7, that is surely "enough" to take AMC 8, in the sense that the topics are covered (but of course the questions are trickier than typical school course questions).

 

[matrips]

Has anyone been able to register and take it at a homeschool coop?

[TerriM]

From AMC stats, about 1000 kids "grade 4 or lower" take AMC 8. (The stats don't separate the lower grades.)

 

You can take AMC 8 any number of times (until grade 8).

 

Since pre-algebra is typically taken in grade 8 or 7, that is surely "enough" to take AMC 8, in the sense that the topics are covered (but of course the questions are trickier than typical school course questions).

 

My son took the AMC8 as a fourth grader.  He solved 15 or so problems without either pre-algebra or algebra.  He never explicitly used equations with variables to solve anything (obviously, implicitly there's some of that going on when you have ratio problems x/10 = 15/50, but he'd just figure out the x without multiplying both sides by 10).

 

I do think that some of the geometry problems require HS geometry knowledge (like the ones at the very end which are a harder than the beginning ones).

Edited May 17, 2017 by tiuzzol2