Online Math Contests

Online Math Contests for Students

For students who love math and want the chance to go above and beyond the typical classroom experience in that subject, or for a teacher looking to spice up her math instruction from the comfort of her own classroom, an online math contest might be ideal.  Here are three excellent online math contest websites for students of various ages.

·      OnlineMathLeague.com: The Online Math League offers team and individual competitions for students in 2^nd grade through Algebra.  Participants compete in three online contests throughout the school year.  Scores may be posted online (anonymously or with students’ first names and last initials), awards are offered to high-scoring teams, and a vast practice area of additional online contests is offered as well.  (Cost: $99/year.)

·      Educontest.com:  Educontest offers team competitions in 3^rd grade through Advanced Math.  Participants compete in four contests throughout the school year.  Scores may be posted online, and awards are offered to high scoring teams.  The contests and practice tests are both pencil/paper only, however. (Cost: $80-90/year.)

·      TheMathLeague.com:  The Math League offers team competitions in 4^th grade through a generic “high school” level.  4^th grade through Algebra contests run once a year and cost $40 per class.  The high school level contests run 6 times per year and cost $90 per class.  Beginning this year, the Math League allows students to compete and take practice tests both online or on paper.  Awards are provided for high scoring teams and individuals.

The three contests above are all housed online and can be completed from a child’s home or school.  For students willing and able to travel, contests like the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle Schools and MATHCOUNTS are also highly recommended.

About the Author:

Neven Jurkovic’s interest in teaching mathematics with technology developed while pursuing a Master of Science degree at Southwest Texas State University. Apart from publishing a number of papers on the application of artificial intelligence in elementary mathematics problem solving, Neven is the creator of Algebrator, a widely used math tutoring software.  Currently, he lives in San Antonio, TX and is the CEO of Softmath: http://softmath.com/