Anonymous wrote:What in the world? Do these even exist?
The problems are more challenging. They require kids to think creatively and understand how to apply a variety of math concepts to a problem. They can be fun for kids who are really good at math and want to challenge themselves. DS is in fifth grade and enjoys the challenge that they provide. I would guess that kids who do well in similar competitions in HS can earn scholarships and the like based on their scores but I have not done any research on it. At this moment, my kid enjoys taking them. There are 5 or 6 that he does. They take 45-90 minutes on a given day. It is not a huge time suck. He enjoys working out similar problems using magazines and the like.
I mean, I suppose I could tell him to stop doing math and go play video games. He already does a rec sport and Scouts. He does the math competition stuff for fun.