AMC Locations

[Condessa]

I told my boys about math competitions and asked if they wanted to take to AMC 8.  They are excited for it.   Then I went to register them and pulled up the testing locations.  There’s hardly anywhere offering it.  We are looking at a seven hour drive to the closest higher learning institution offering it.  There is one school in a city an hour away that is offering it to their students, but they haven’t returned my phone calls.  If your kids have taken the AMC, how do you find a location for them to take it?  Are you just lucky to be close or do you travel for this?

[daijobu]

Hi @Condessa:  I'm sorry you are going through this.  I suspect students overseas have easier access to the AMC contests than students in the US. 

My recommendation is to contact Nicole Goberdhan, who is in charge of the AMC, or maybe one of the assistants listed on the website.  Sadly, this so-called "Staff Directory" I linked does not contain any actual contact information, no emails, no phone numbers.  This does not bode well for the MAA as a non-profit organization based on equity and openness to the students it serves.  Nonetheless, you can call the main number ask to be connected the old fashioned way.  

I did find myself attending an event and asked Ms. Goberdhan about access to the AMC and she noted a program she wants to start where the MAA recruits members at various universities to help with proctoring.  

If you are able to speak with someone, I would mention your geographic location, what you have done already to locate an AMC site, and any universities or colleges or cc's that might be near you.  I'm not well-versed in political pressure, but if you happen to live in an area that is low-income or has a high population of URMs, you can then make the case for an equity issue to her.  

It's just so frustrating to me that a few years ago, a homeschooler with some organizational skills and access to a local library could make the AMC happen in their community, but that option is now banned.  Please keep me informed of your progress; as you can see this is a little personal for me, lol.  

Edited November 20, 2023 by daijobu

[kirstenhill]

We are so fortunate to have a local math club that organizes the exams (they handle sign ups), but the club still has to work through the schools to have a place to host the exams and a teacher who creates some kind of account with MAA and adds the students who sign up thru the math club.  Usually AMC8 is at a local middle school and AMC10/12 has one date at a high school and one date at a community college.  It isn't always the same teachers hosting the exam at the schools though - so I think what the math club is doing is rather than approaching the school as a whole and saying, "please offer this exam", they are just finding a willing individual who essentially uses their school email address and ability as a teacher to reserve a room to host this exam that the math club does other legwork to get students signed up for.
"

[Dmmetler]

We always found somewhere through word of mouth, from other parents who had kids who were interested and had a connection to a school that was offering it. One reason we kept doing Math Kangaroo, even though L usually rushed through the whole test in 15 minutes with it was because often that was where the "Hey, private school X is doing the AMC 8, here's the contact info to sign up" stuff came out for the competitions that were of higher interest. 

[Kezia]

So if there is a university nearby offering this, a parent can just sign up their student directly to take this, pay the $15 and show up at the chosen day/time?

[daijobu]

I was recently interviewed on a podcast about the AMC and some of their recent controversies.  

https://gettestbright.com/all-about-the-american-math-competition/

I also enjoy and recommend this podcast for information about testing, college admissions, and educational generally.  

 

[Kezia]

On 12/5/2023 at 1:51 PM, daijobu said:

 

I was recently interviewed on a podcast about the AMC and some of their recent controversies.  

 

Very informative! Especially the why a kid should take AMC 😀

I signed my child up at a somewhat local uni in January. I don’t have to sign up with AMC directly? The uni is “proctoring”, I paid a small fee to them and we are good to go? Just show up, take the test and they send results?

First time for this and the local school knows nothing about it and doesn’t want to know anything. They do state math competitions only. 

[daijobu]

Yes, you need to sign up at the site.  The sites sign up with the AMC to purchase exams in bundles of 10 or 12.  I have no idea if you are "good to go."  You'll need to confirm with the site where you registered.  Ask if you need to provide ID, pencils, or anything else or if you need to arrive early.  It's all up to them.  

[Kezia]

3 hours ago, daijobu said:

Yes, you need to sign up at the site.

I emailed the proctor university this morning asking if I needed to sign up directly with AMC in some way. The response, “Details to proceed for AMC 8 will be sent out NEXT WEEK.” 

And that was all that was said. So I remain confused. Hopefully what I signed up for is the only thing I need to do because I believe the deadline is approaching.