Schools may also sign up for online contests or the on-demand contest offered each month if they are unable to attend a site in their area due to conflicts, are simply too far from a qualifying contest site, or wish to allow students another chance to qualify for state.

• POWER QUESTION: This is a multi-part, proof-oriented question that will test the students' higher-level mathematical reasoning skills. The power question is a team event in which groups of up to six work for one hour to produce a single multi-page answer. Scores for this event will be out of 100. Please note: due to time constraints the power question will not be offered as an event at local contests. However, one power question will be made available to member schools as part of the in-school round that coaches may administer in their own schools. Calculators are allowed on this event.
• TEAM TEST: This is a ten question, twenty minute test which a team of up to six works on together. Each question will be worth ten points, and the top team test score from each school will contribute to that school's overall point total. Calculators are allowed on this event.
• SPRINT ROUND: In this individual test, students will have sixty minutes to complete 30 multiple choice questions. Four points will be awarded for each correct answer, with one point deducted for each incorrect answer; no penalty will be assessed for skipping. The top six scores from each school will be averaged to calculate that school's sprint round score. If fewer than six students take the test, zeros will be assessed for the leftover slots. This is to encourage schools to bring more students and not limit participation to only the one or two top math students in the school. Calculators are NOT allowed on this event.
• TARGET ROUND: This is an individual event consisting of eight questions, each worth 10 points. Questions will be given out in pairs, and students will have ten minutes to complete each pair. Team scoring procedure is the same as for the sprint round. Calculators are allowed on this event.
• RELAYS: For this event students will arrange themselves into teams of up to three. A relay question consists of three parts, and each student will receive only one of these parts. The first student completes part 1 and passes it to the second person, who must use that answer to solve part 2. This answer is then passed back to the third person, who uses that answer to solve part 3. The third person is the only one to turn in an answer. More detailed information is available here. The third person has a chance to turn in an answer at three minutes, when a correct answer nets 10 points, and at six minutes, when a correct answer receives 5 points. There will be five relay rounds, and the top two teams from a school count toward the school's total. Calculators are NOT allowed on this event. Note that site coordinators at qualifying meets may at their discretion allow students to collaborate on the relay round rather than having each student work on a separate part.

For more details, go to http://mathleague.org/hstests.php

Websites for Extra Practice Problems & Problem Solving Techniques

• mathleague.org This site allows you to sign up for sample practice problems that will be similar to those on the elementary and middle contests this year.

• Art of Problem Solving This site has online classes for top math students (grades 6-12) and also has a free online tutorial called Alcumus that adjusts questions to the student's ability.
• Continental Mathematics League Has 2 different levels based upon higher or average reading comprehension and is open to grades 2-9
• The Math League For grades 4-12, the League has excellent sample questions as well as lots of books for purchase from past years of contests.
• Kevin Hopkin's Resource Page for Contests and Problems He has dozens of state and national contest sites (similar to Missouri's) listed as well as whether each has sample problems available.

Any St. Louis area student interested in mathematics (mostly for grades 8-12) is welcome to join the Washington University Math Circle. They meet on Sunday afternoons and have speakers talk about a different math topic each time. This is a wonderful way to prepare for contests of all sorts. Please click here for more information!

Teachers and sponsors who attend with their students are expected to proctor or grade the contest papers.  Grading may be done digitally or by hand depending upon the site.

All parents, students, and teachers should be aware of mathleague's Conduct Standards.

For the Qualifying, Regional, and State Math Competitions, there are two different ways that ties are broken for awards. If two students tied with the same score in an event (e.g. Target with a score of 30), their Borda scores were compared to see which student answered the more difficult questions. The student with the lower Borda score would place higher than the other. To break absolute ties in Sprint or Target at the high school level, we looked at the students' opposing event scores. Say that Students A, B and C are all tied with a score of 30 on Target, all with the same Borda scores indicating they answered the same 3 questions correct. We then look at their Sprint scores. Say Student A has a Sprint score of 60, Student B has a sprint score of 55, and Student C has a sprint score of 50. Then to break the tie on Target, Student A would be first, Student B would be second, and Student C would be third. 

If you take any of the MCTM elementary contests this year and would like to ask questions about the questions on the contest, please register here for an AfterMath workshop!

Reasonable accommodations may be made to allow students with special needs to participate. A request for accommodation of special needs must be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  in writing at least three weeks in advance of the local or state competition. This written request should thoroughly explain a student’s special need as well as what the desired accommodation would entail. Many accommodations that are employed in a classroom or teaching environment cannot be implemented in the competition setting. Accommodations that are not permissible include, but are not limited to, granting a student extra time during any of the competition rounds or allowing a student to use a calculator on non-calculator rounds. Contest coordinators will review the needs of the student and determine if any accommodations will be made.

• Contact Sonya Land at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the following information:
  • Date of contest
  • Elementary, Middle, and/or High School Contest Level
  • Site Coordinator Name
  • Email address
  • Address of the testing location
  • Address to which registrations can be sent (if different from above)
• Then, read through the Site Coordinator Handbook (click below). 
• Visit another contest site near you to see how a more experienced site coordinator handles his/her contest. 
• Contact Sonya with any questions you may have, big or small!