SAT Subject Tests

[littlemommy]

Has anyone taken SAT Subject Tests? Are these tests easier than the AP exams? Some select colleges like to see or require homeschoolers to take 2 or 3 subject tests. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

[snowbeltmom]

Has anyone taken SAT Subject Tests? Are these tests easier than the AP exams? Some select colleges like to see or require homeschoolers to take 2 or 3 subject tests. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

 

My 10th grader has taken 3 SAT Subject Tests, and I plan on having my younger two kids take three subject tests during their high school years as well.

 

From what I have read, many kids take a Subject Test after they have taken the corresponding AP class. While the information tested on the Subject Test is high school level, the kids who take these tests after taking the AP class may affect the curve of the tests.

 

My oldest has taken the physics SAT after taking AP Physics B, the chemistry SAT after completing AP chemistry and the Math Level II after completing pre-calc.

 

Some colleges don't specify which subject tests to submit, while some of the schools on my 10th grader's list specify a Math Subject Test and a Science Subject Test.

[Gwen in VA]

1) SAT-2's are definitely easier than AP exams, but doing well on an SAT-2 requires a strong background in the subject. While SAT-2's are often taken after an AP course in the subject, this is certainly not required.

 

The SAT-2 exams are different enough from the AP exams that, while they mostly overlap, they should be studied for separately. My kids tended to take the AP exam in May and then, if possible, the relevant SAT-2 in June.

 

2) For the tippy-top schools, scores that start with a "7" are strongly recommended.

 

2a) If your kids enjoy test-taking, the SAT-2's are a nice challenge. All of mine have taken 5 SAT-2's, and one will take six. (If merit aid at a top school is a priority, take a number!)

 

3) My kids have taken the SAT-2 after completing the last relevant class they will take. For example, my kids aren't into biology, so the last course they take in it is in 9th grade. It is a rigorous class, though, so they have taken the bio SAT-2 in June of their freshman year and scored well. They take the math level 1 early in their junior year, after completing algebra 2. They take the math level 2 at the end of their junior year. (Most schools are only interested in one math subject test, but for various reasons -- mostly the desire to show as much mastery of math as possible -- most of my kids have done both.)

 

FWIW, doing well on the level 1 math is worth something -- not that many 800's are given out -- but scoring well on the level 2 is a "must" for any serious math/science student. So in an odd way scoring well on the level 1 stands out more!

 

Literature and foreign language SAT-2's are best taken as late as possible because students keep on improving in those subjects as they continue on in high school. My kids tended to take those subject tests at the end of junior year or the beginning of senior year.

 

4) My kids actually enjoyed the process of studying for the SAT-2's. Studying the year's worth (or more) of material gave them a real sense that they had mastered the subject.

 

5) Theoretically a student could take three SAT-2's in one day, but obviously that is NOT recommended!

 

6) There are plenty of study guides for the various SAT-2's, and your student should take advantage of that resource! The College Confidential forum on tests has plenty of advice on which prep guide is best for which test.

[8filltheheart]

Subject tests are supposed to test high school mastery of material while APs are supposed to test college level. Truth is that the vast majority of students taking subject tests are applying to competitive schools and take them after they take an AP course. This skews the weight of scores.

 

This link demonstrates how the percentile scores are so skewed.

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/SAT-Subject-Tests-Percentile-Ranks-2012.pdf

 

For example, a 750 on the math2 is a low score. It places a student in the 68th %ile.

 

HTH

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Subject tests are supposed to test high school mastery of material while APs are supposed to test college level. Truth is that the vast majority of students taking subject tests are applying to competitive schools and take them after they take an AP course. This skews the weight of scores.

 

This link demonstrates how the percentile scores are so skewed.

http://media.college...-Ranks-2012.pdf

 

For example, a 750 on the math2 is a low score. It places a student in the 68th %ile.

 

HTH

 

Oh my...

 

Thanks for the link--that will certainly help us decide how we pace these topics out...

[littlemommy]

Thanks ladies! I guess I should start planning for my ds to take AP classes. So are you saying that a student who don't take the AP course will most likely not score as well as someone who has taken an AP course? To be accepted or even apply to a selective college, we, as homeschoolers are forced to take AP courses to prove that we have learned and mastered the subjects. Maybe this applies to non-homeschoolers as well.

[snowbeltmom]

So are you saying that a student who don't take the AP course will most likely not score as well as someone who has taken an AP course? To be accepted or even apply to a selective college, we, as homeschoolers are forced to take AP courses to prove that we have learned and mastered the subjects. Maybe this applies to non-homeschoolers as well.

 

There are students who still score very well on the subject tests without taking the corresponding AP course. However, those students will be competing against students who have studied the subject at both the high school and college level.

 

All students (not just homeschoolers) applying to the highly selective colleges must submit SAT Subject Tests and the vast majority of students accepted to these schools have taken many AP courses.

 

Most colleges do not require Subject Tests for any of its applicants. Many homeschoolers receive multiple college acceptances with just an SAT/ACT score.

[Joan in GE]

Subject tests are supposed to test high school mastery of material while APs are supposed to test college level. Truth is that the vast majority of students taking subject tests are applying to competitive schools and take them after they take an AP course. This skews the weight of scores.

 

This link demonstrates how the percentile scores are so skewed.

http://media.college...-Ranks-2012.pdf

 

For example, a 750 on the math2 is a low score. It places a student in the 68th %ile.

 

HTH

 

 

That is a very useful link!

 

I hadn't realized how the percentile was so affected for the language tests for example....Even if you get an 800 in French listening, you are still in the 83rd percentile - what really is the point then? (Chinese is even worse - 64% for an 800)....

 

So you really do need a good reason to take the tests where the percentile is so low for a perfect score it seems....

 

The only think I liked about SAT subject tests - besides ds3 getting testing practice - was the price of the 2nd and 3rd tests....just pay $10 more :-) So cheap compared to AP's which can cost almost $200 a shot at the one school here....

 

Joan

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Maybe I'm off base but I look more at the score and less at the percentile. I think it's encouraging that so many students demonstrate mastery of the targeted content on some of the tests.

 

If 20% of test takers got a high score on NLE or on AP tests I wouldn't be frustrated over the percentage. I'd be thrilled that my kid had shown he knew the content.

 

Of course a student with a great score and high percentage stand out. But does anyone have experience with admissions that suggests a 730 that is a lower percentage is treated as a negative? Maybe at highly selective schools but elsewhere?

 

[snowbeltmom]

Maybe I'm off base but I look more at the score and less at the percentile. I think it's encouraging that so many students demonstrate mastery of the targeted content on some of the tests.

 

Of course a student with a great score and high percentage stand out. But does anyone have experience with admissions that suggests a 730 that is a lower percentage is treated as a negative? Maybe at highly selective schools but elsewhere?

 

 

:iagree: with the bolded.

The vast majority of the subject tests are only taken by the top students. The subject tests my oldest took were challenging even though they are considered high school level material.

 

I have read that the highly selective schools like to see scores starting with a 7. I have also read that highly selective schools like to see at least a 750 on these tests.

 

MIT requires all students to submit a science and math subject test. MIT publishes the Subject Test results for its admitted students:

Middle 50%

Math [760, 800]

SAT Science [740, 800]

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

:iagree: with the bolded.

The vast majority of the subject tests are only taken by the top students. The subject tests my oldest took were challenging even though they are considered high school level material.

 

I have read that the highly selective schools like to see scores starting with a 7. I have also read that highly selective schools like to see at least a 750 on these tests.

 

MIT requires all students to submit a science and math subject test. MIT publishes the Subject Test results for its admitted students:

Middle 50%

Math [760, 800]

SAT Science [740, 800]

 

 

I wonder what the middle 50% would be for a less selective school. MIT is pretty tip top. Or a school that wants them from homeschoolers but has them as optional for others.

[snowbeltmom]

I wonder what the middle 50% would be for a less selective school. MIT is pretty tip top. Or a school that wants them from homeschoolers but has them as optional for others.

 

 

I have wondered that as well. I have looked at quite a few college websites, but I have not found the results published by any school other than MIT. Maybe some others will chime in with some published data from other colleges.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

 

I have wondered that as well. I have looked at quite a few college websites, but I have not found the results published by any school other than MIT. Maybe some others will chime in with some published data from other colleges.

 

 

I found a few more stats but they were also for elite schools like Princeton. I think I need to just rest in the idea that my job is to teach my kids to the best of their ability and my ability. If they don't go to a school that has a head turning bumper sticker that is ok.

[regentrude]

I hadn't realized how the percentile was so affected for the language tests for example....Even if you get an 800 in French listening, you are still in the 83rd percentile - what really is the point then? (Chinese is even worse - 64% for an 800)....

 

So you really do need a good reason to take the tests where the percentile is so low for a perfect score it seems....

 

 

No, you have it backwards! It means the Chinese test is so EASY that all of the top 36% of students manage a perfect score. (and of course it is skewed since it is mostly native speakers who take the Mandarin test)

In French with listening, it means that the top 17% of kids ALL have perfects and that the test is not hard enough to differentiate any further among the best.

 

In contrast, a test where a perfect is the 99th percentile means that only 1% of the students manage to achieve a perfect - a hard test.

 

This is why Math II is preferable to Math I: the top 10% of students achieve a perfect as opposed to less than 1% on Math I. In other words, the curving is more forgiving.

[MBM]

Scores in the 700s are considered pretty good. Here are some more links:

 

http://collegeapps.about.com/od/satiisubjecttests/a/Good-Physics-Sat-Subject-Test-Score.htm

 

From the above link:

 

As this limited data shows, a strong application will usually have SAT Subject Test scores in the 700s. Realize, however, that all elite schools have a holistic admissions process, and significant strengths in other areas can make up for a less-than-ideal test score.

 

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/massachusetts-institute-technology/815408-how-important-sat-subject-tests-mit.html

http://mitadmissions.org/apply/process/stats

[snowbeltmom]

In contrast, a test where a perfect is the 99th percentile means that only 1% of the students manage to achieve a perfect - a hard test.

 

This is why Math II is preferable to Math I: the top 10% of students achieve a perfect as opposed to less than 1% on Math I. In other words, the curving is more forgiving.

 

I don't think that scoring in the top 1% necessarily translates to a "hard test.". It may be more difficult to score an 800 on the Math Level I test, but the Math Level I test is considered an easier test than the Math Level II test.

 

Many of the top STEM colleges that request subject tests require the Math Level II Subject Test because it tests more advanced concepts than the Math Level I test.

[regentrude]

I don't think that scoring in the top 1% necessarily translates to a "hard test.". It may be more difficult to score an 800 on the Math Level I test, but the Math Level I test is considered an easier test than the Math Level II test.

 

Many of the top STEM colleges that request subject tests require the Math Level II Subject Test because it tests more advanced concepts than the Math Level I test.

 

depends on your definition of "hard" and "easy".

I will formulate more precisely: a smaller proportion of students manage to achieve a perfect score on a test where a perfect is the 99th percentile than on a test where a perfect is the 90th percentile. So, if the student HAS covered the more advanced material, it is easier to get a good score on test 2 than on test 1. (Of course the material does differ, but the difficulty of material and the difficulty of achieving a good test score are two separate things to me. I may be influenced by having a student for whom mastery of the concepts is not difficult, but who does not "test well".)

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

No, you have it backwards! It means the Chinese test is so EASY that all of the top 36% of students manage a perfect score. (and of course it is skewed since it is mostly native speakers who take the Mandarin test)

In French with listening, it means that the top 17% of kids ALL have perfects and that the test is not hard enough to differentiate any further among the best.

 

In contrast, a test where a perfect is the 99th percentile means that only 1% of the students manage to achieve a perfect - a hard test.

 

This is why Math II is preferable to Math I: the top 10% of students achieve a perfect as opposed to less than 1% on Math I. In other words, the curving is more forgiving.

 

 

I had thought I heard somewhere that this was the case with several of the language tests. Native speakers (or students from families with multiple languages at home) had easy access to them compared to the AP exams and so that could change the overall results.

 

My take away from all this is that we need to give some careful thought to how we time any SATIIs (if needed) with SAT/ACTs and projected course work in high school. Apparently I have been a bit naive about how challenging the logistics would be to meet requirements for university applications.

[Joan in GE]

No, you have it backwards! It means the Chinese test is so EASY that all of the top 36% of students manage a perfect score. (and of course it is skewed since it is mostly native speakers who take the Mandarin test)

In French with listening, it means that the top 17% of kids ALL have perfects and that the test is not hard enough to differentiate any further among the best.

 

In contrast, a test where a perfect is the 99th percentile means that only 1% of the students manage to achieve a perfect - a hard test.

 

This is why Math II is preferable to Math I: the top 10% of students achieve a perfect as opposed to less than 1% on Math I. In other words, the curving is more forgiving.

 

 

But regentruede - I exactly knew that it was easy (or at least easy for the native speakers).

 

it means that you can't distinguish among the best because there are so many perfect scores. So if you can't distinguish, what's the point of taking it?

 

I know I didn't have it backwards - I just didn't explain my thinking enough.

[regentrude]

But regentruede - I exactly knew that it was easy (or at least easy for the native speakers).

it means that you can't distinguish among the best because there are so many perfect scores. So if you can't distinguish, what's the point of taking it?

 

 

Joan, I am sorry that I misunderstood what you meant

You take the test so that you can place yourself in the top portion of students that can be distinguished by the test. It shows that you speak Mandarin so well that you top out on a high school level test. That is all the score says: mastery of what is deemed to be high school level in the subject.

This could for example validate homeschool grades for foreign language.on a transcript. For that, it is not important whether as many as 37% of students who take the test achieve high school level proficiency - your score demonstrates that YOU did.

[regentrude]

 

I had thought I heard somewhere that this was the case with several of the language tests. Native speakers (or students from families with multiple languages at home) had easy access to them compared to the AP exams and so that could change the overall results.

 

 

Absolutely. For heritage speakers, the language tests are ridiculously easy, so they'd skew the curve.

 

My take away from all this is that we need to give some careful thought to how we time any SATIIs (if needed) with SAT/ACTs and projected course work in high school. Apparently I have been a bit naive about how challenging the logistics would be to meet requirements for university applications.

 

 

The good news is that the SAT tests are offered at multiple times throughout the year- as opposed to the one single date for the AP.

A heads-up: the language tests with listening and without listening are each offered only once a year, I believe in November and June. For this you must plan ahead.

[snowbeltmom]

You take the test so that you can place yourself in the top portion of students that can be distinguished by the test. It shows that you speak Mandarin so well that you top out on a high school level test. That is all the score says: mastery of what is deemed to be high school level in the subject.

 

:iagree:

This is also why some of the top STEM schools also request a student's AMC/AIME scores since these tests do a much better job of distinguishing between those students who have scored an 800 on the Math Level II exam.

[Joan in GE]

 

This is why Math II is preferable to Math I: the top 10% of students achieve a perfect as opposed to less than 1% on Math I. In other words, the curving is more forgiving.

 

 

 

You take the test so that you can place yourself in the top portion of students that can be distinguished by the test. It shows that you speak Mandarin so well that you top out on a high school level test. That is all the score says: mastery of what is deemed to be high school level in the subject.

 

 

Hi regentrude - I realize from rereading your previous post with this second one that you and I just think the opposite about it.

 

To me - it would be better for my dc to take Math I and do really well on it, or take German instead of French and do really well on German because it's harder to get a top score in those subject tests...Ok, I realize there's also the need to take Math II if you are interested in math or STEM subjects so then it would be good in my mind to do both (and do well of course)...

 

For dd - I see that French is easy to get a good grade and she'll do the AP so instead of spending the money and time on the French SAT II, she'll work on the German SAT II...If it would end up that she could squeeze in the French listening just for an extra $10 - then she would do it, but sometimes here they are not letting outside kids in - so I wouldn't sweat it...

 

Joan

[regentrude]

To me - it would be better for my dc to take Math I and do really well on it

 

 

I look at the admissions criteria of the school my DD wants to apply and see that they are looking at the highest two scores of her SAT 2s and ignore the rest. With these boundary conditions, she needs to take whatever test produces the highest score, since the admissions people apparently do not give the math 1 people any credit for it being the test with the harder curve.

 

I am not interested in having her prove math proficiency to herself or to us, because I can see that she is applying math through calc 2 in her physics courses just fine - but is a bad test taker. Test are a necessary evil to us, so we need to optimize.

 

 

, or take German instead of French and do really well on German because it's harder to get a top score in those subject tests.

 

 

Again, the college where she submits the scores won't give a fig which language test it is.

Btw, we are using the German SAT to validate our German credit on the transcript; we have no other source of validation, and the 800 there makes me feel better of giving her one high school credit for German.

For French we have the dual enrollment courses to validate her proficiency, so we don't want her to have another hoop to jump through.

For dd - I see that French is easy to get a good grade and she'll do the AP so instead of spending the money and time on the French SAT II

 

We find the SATs much more workable than the AP tests which are scheduled on one weekday in the middle of the semester and will cause her to miss her DE classes.

[regentrude]

:iagree:

This is also why some of the top STEM schools also request a student's AMC/AIME scores since these tests do a much better job of distinguishing between those students who have scored an 800 on the Math Level II exam.

 

Which schools? Do the require the test, or just request that it be submitted in case the student happened to take these tests?

Thanks!

[Muttichen]

MIT has a place on the application to write AMC/AIME scores, but they're not required. My oldest son had great scores so he listed them. My current senior applied to MIT, but since his AMC scores were just so-so, he left it blank. We'll know March 14 if he got in....

[snowbeltmom]

 

Which schools? Do the require the test, or just request that it be submitted in case the student happened to take these tests?

Thanks!

I have not looked at any applications myself yet, but I have been told that MIT, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and the Ivy schools have a field for students to list their AMC/AIME scores. I have not verified any of this myself.

 

I remember reading something from AoPS once that stated that top schools request AMC/AIME scores. I also think I may have received similar information from CTY literature as well.

 

I have not read of any school that requires these scores.

[Muttichen]

My kids have also applied to JHU, CMU, and the Ivies, and MIT is the only school we've encountered that has had a place to list AMC scores. We did use the Common App for the others, so that might make a difference.

[jhschool]

I have not looked at any applications myself yet, but I have been told that MIT, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and the Ivy schools have a field for students to list their AMC/AIME scores. I have not verified any of this myself.

 

I remember reading something from AoPS once that stated that top schools request AMC/AIME scores. I also think I may have received similar information from CTY literature as well.

 

I have not read of any school that requires these scores.

 

 

I believe Caltech also has a field for the AMC scores on their application.

[wapiti]

FWIW, if it helps, Rusczyk mentioned MIT and CalTech as asking for the scores here (p.13):

I’m not the only one that’s realized that these contests are an indicator of success in college and beyond. If you take a look at college applications, they’re not asking for the National Latin Exam. They’re asking for APs and SATs, but you know what those will look like on the MIT and CalTech applications. They’re asking for AMC scores. I know a professor at MIT who said that for the math department, when they’re evaluating, they get a 5x7 index card with the information about the students. You send in a big packet; they get a 5x7 index card. These scores are on it. They obviously think there’s something important going on here. Some other schools give scholarships for top AMC scores.

 

 

Also, from some of the MathJam admissions discussions: CMU "Yes, Admissions is on the lookout for these scores and we like them a lot!"; Duke: "Colleges and universities consider AMC and AIME scores (although we don't see them unless you tell us about them!) as a sign of academic achievement and as a sign of extracurricular activities. Both of those help!",

 

MIT: "My school does not do the AMC. Will that decrease my chances of admission?" "Not at all. (Though you've got lots of time -- convince a math teacher to start it up!) "

[littlemommy]

Can a student take a certain SATsubject more than once, and send the better score?

[regentrude]

Can a student take a certain SATsubject more than once, and send the better score?

 

I don't see why not. DD is going to retake one test in June.

 

The school may see the lesser score in the following cases:

Some schools require that ALL scores be reported; in that case, the school would see both attempts.

Also, if I understand it correctly, all scores of the same date are reported together, so if you want to report a good score, a not-so-good score in another test taken on the same day is automatically sent, too.

[Joan in GE]

I look at the admissions criteria of the school my DD wants to apply and see that they are looking at the highest two scores of her SAT 2s and ignore the rest. With these boundary conditions, she needs to take whatever test produces the highest score, since the admissions people apparently do not give the math 1 people any credit for it being the test with the harder curve.

 

I understand the way you see it and maybe my thinking is somewhat faulty - it would be interesting to talk with admissions officers to see if it would ever matter. I guess snowbelt's post answers the part about distinguishing math grades...and for languages, it would be great if the US would adopt some exams that can show which level a student has reached using the EU guidelines....

 

This is also why some of the top STEM schools also request a student's AMC/AIME scores since these tests do a much better job of distinguishing between those students who have scored an 800 on the Math Level II exam.

 

 

Joan

[snowbeltmom]

Also, if I understand it correctly, all scores of the same date are reported together, so if you want to report a good score, a not-so-good score in another test taken on the same day is automatically sent, too.

 

I called the CB about this situation a couple of years ago, and it is possible that the policy has changed, but at that time, a student could choose which individual scores to send even if the tests were taken on the same day. For example, if a student took 3 exams on the same day, he could select that just the top two exams scores be sent to the colleges.

 

Obviously, this approach would not work with the few colleges that require that all test scores from every test ever taken during high school be submitted.

[regentrude]

I called the CB about this situation a couple of years ago, and it is possible that the policy has changed, but at that time, a student could choose which individual scores to send even if the tests were taken on the same day. For example, if a student took 3 exams on the same day, he could select that just the top two exams scores be sent to the colleges.

 

Obviously, this approach would not work with the few colleges that require that all test scores from every test ever taken during high school be submitted.

 

 

Oh great, thanks for letting me know! We may be in the situation that we'd want one score of a particular date, but not the other.

[Nscribe]

If a student didn't do as well as they felt they could, then went back to work studying to take it a second time, and improved their score, that says it is a student who is persistent and strives to improve. They don't just give up when faced with a challenge.

 

Students taking 2 exams with such high stakes on the same day are demonstrating a willingness to take on hard things.

 

Maybe these are reasons some colleges ask to see all scores?

[alef]

 

 

2a) If your kids enjoy test-taking, the SAT-2's are a nice challenge. All of mine have taken 5 SAT-2's, and one will take six. (If merit aid at a top school is a priority, take a number!)

 

snip

 

5) Theoretically a student could take three SAT-2's in one day, but obviously that is NOT recommended!

 

 

 

Funny, back when I was in school I always signed up for 3 SAT-2's at a time (well, I think they were called SAT subject tests back then) to get the most from my registration fee. I think I took two sets of 3 and did well on all of them. I don't remember it being particularly hard to do 3 at once, so if you have a student who enjoys/is good at test-taking it's not necessarily a bad idea.

[Laura in CA]

FWIW, if it helps, Rusczyk mentioned MIT and Caltech as asking for the scores here (p.13):

 

 

Yes, the Caltech application has a place where you can put your AMC/AIME scores.

 

I saw the MIT application a few years ago and it had a place for them, but added something like "if you don't know what these are, don't worry!"

 

: )

 

Many high schools do not offer these exams ... whereas they are big deals at other schools, including many in our area that routinely have USAMO qualifiers. Our *local* high school is hit or miss about offering them, so we go elsewhere -- worth the drive! (My son LOVES these tests -- go figure!)

[Laura in CA]

Funny, back when I was in school I always signed up for 3 SAT-2's at a time (well, I think they were called SAT subject tests back then) to get the most from my registration fee. I think I took two sets of 3 and did well on all of them. I don't remember it being particularly hard to do 3 at once, so if you have a student who enjoys/is good at test-taking it's not necessarily a bad idea.

 

 

 

Back in MY day, they were called achievement tests, and yes, I took 3 one morning and went back for more the next month. With NO prep. And did fine.

 

... those days are long gone!!!

[snowbeltmom]

I have not looked at any applications myself yet, but I have been told that MIT, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon and the Ivy schools have a field for students to list their AMC/AIME scores. I have not verified any of this myself.

 

I remember reading something from AoPS once that stated that top schools request AMC/AIME scores. I also think I may have received similar information from CTY literature as well.

 

I have not read of any school that requires these scores.

 

 

Just as a follow-up to the spin-off of the AMC discussion. I was looking through the literature I received regarding the AIME. If you have a strong math student, you may want to consider having them take the AMCs. Based on the literature I received, some colleges request information directly from the American Mathematics Association. This is a blurb from the AMC folks:

 

 

"The AIME provides the exceptional students who are invited to take it with yet another opportunity to challenge their

mathematical abilities. Like all examinations, it is but a means towards furthering mathematical development and interest.

The real value of the examination is in the learning that can come from the preparation beforehand and from further

thought and discussion of the solutions.

 

Our organization regularly receives requests from well-known colleges and universities for the names of high scoring

students. A few colleges offer scholarships to students in their region with high scores on the contests"