What does 5 out of 8 mean?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was looking at the results above and noticed that some students qualified for countdown but did not advance to state. Just curious how countdown is determined.

The countdown takes the top 2 from any school. They also merge the chapters so there is only 1 countdown for the MS. I have mixed feelings on this, I think the countdown practice would be better for the kids who are going to State and might be in the top 12 at State, which is likely to be almost all kids from these three chapters. They only do the top 2 so that more schools get a chance to participate.

That's a really dumb approach. They should have separate countdowns for each chapter, and it should be the top whatever number of kids, period.

Good luck to the kids going to State! The National competition is an incredible experience for the kids who make it.

I believe that there is one set of questions so they would have to send the kids out for each round and then reuse the questions. The audience is told no photos, no video, no sharing the questions because other Chapters will use the same questions. I think they should take the top 4 kids from each Chapter but that would decrease the number of schools participating.

Are they holding all 3 chapters in the same location? If so, that's weird. Just have them test in 3 different locations with 3 different countdown rounds. That's what they do pretty much everywhere else.

Yes, all three chapters are at the same location. These three chapters are over half the participants across the state. I suspect that the concern is not having enough volunteers to hold all three on the same day and having to pay for three sites instead of one site. The only aspect that is impacted is the Countdown Round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was looking at the results above and noticed that some students qualified for countdown but did not advance to state. Just curious how countdown is determined.

The countdown takes the top 2 from any school. They also merge the chapters so there is only 1 countdown for the MS. I have mixed feelings on this, I think the countdown practice would be better for the kids who are going to State and might be in the top 12 at State, which is likely to be almost all kids from these three chapters. They only do the top 2 so that more schools get a chance to participate.

That's a really dumb approach. They should have separate countdowns for each chapter, and it should be the top whatever number of kids, period.

Good luck to the kids going to State! The National competition is an incredible experience for the kids who make it.

I believe that there is one set of questions so they would have to send the kids out for each round and then reuse the questions. The audience is told no photos, no video, no sharing the questions because other Chapters will use the same questions. I think they should take the top 4 kids from each Chapter but that would decrease the number of schools participating.

Are they holding all 3 chapters in the same location? If so, that's weird. Just have them test in 3 different locations with 3 different countdown rounds. That's what they do pretty much everywhere else.

Yes, all three chapters are at the same location. These three chapters are over half the participants across the state. I suspect that the concern is not having enough volunteers to hold all three on the same day and having to pay for three sites instead of one site. The only aspect that is impacted is the Countdown Round.

Mathcounts headquarters is in Alexandria. I think they could come up with enough people. Also, many high school cafeterias would be fine for hosting the competition.

Realistically, it's not critical to have real countdown rounds for each chapter. It's a bummer, though, since countdown is one of the more fun events. It's also a bummer to make the top kids share the spotlight with those from 2 other chapters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was looking at the results above and noticed that some students qualified for countdown but did not advance to state. Just curious how countdown is determined.

The countdown takes the top 2 from any school. They also merge the chapters so there is only 1 countdown for the MS. I have mixed feelings on this, I think the countdown practice would be better for the kids who are going to State and might be in the top 12 at State, which is likely to be almost all kids from these three chapters. They only do the top 2 so that more schools get a chance to participate.

That's a really dumb approach. They should have separate countdowns for each chapter, and it should be the top whatever number of kids, period.

Good luck to the kids going to State! The National competition is an incredible experience for the kids who make it.

I believe that there is one set of questions so they would have to send the kids out for each round and then reuse the questions. The audience is told no photos, no video, no sharing the questions because other Chapters will use the same questions. I think they should take the top 4 kids from each Chapter but that would decrease the number of schools participating.

Are they holding all 3 chapters in the same location? If so, that's weird. Just have them test in 3 different locations with 3 different countdown rounds. That's what they do pretty much everywhere else.

Yes, all three chapters are at the same location. These three chapters are over half the participants across the state. I suspect that the concern is not having enough volunteers to hold all three on the same day and having to pay for three sites instead of one site. The only aspect that is impacted is the Countdown Round.

Mathcounts headquarters is in Alexandria. I think they could come up with enough people. Also, many high school cafeterias would be fine for hosting the competition.

Realistically, it's not critical to have real countdown rounds for each chapter. It's a bummer, though, since countdown is one of the more fun events. It's also a bummer to make the top kids share the spotlight with those from 2 other chapters.

You wouldn’t know that the headquarters is here from the way the event is run. The volunteers there are doing their best but it never runs on time, the audio visual set up doesn’t work right, and it is never really smooth. I would be surprised to hear that paid employees are running the event. Not complaining, just observing. The kids there are having a good time and enjoy the event.