The Mathematical Association of America AMericAn MATheMATics coMpeTiTions 2003 19th Annual MAA AMC 8 Summary of Results and Awards Learning Mathematics Through Problem Solving Examinations prepared by the AMC 8 Subcommittee of the American Mathematics Competitions and administered by the Office of the Director The American Mathematics Competitions are sponsored jointly by The Mathematical Association Of America and The University of Nebraska -- Lincoln Contributors: Akamai Foundation American Mathematical Association of Two Year Colleges American Mathematical Society American Society of Pension Actuaries American Statistical Association Art of Problem Solving Canada/USA Mathcamp and Mathpath Casualty Actuarial Society Clay Mathematics Institute Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences Mu Alpha Theta National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Pedagoguery, Inc. Pi Mu Epsilon Society of Actuaries Table Of COnTenTs The International School of Havana, Havana, Cuba .............................................2 Report of the Director ..........................................................................................3 Dick Gibbs with Plaque .......................................................................................7 Message from the aMC 8 Chair...........................................................................8 Message from the CaMC Chair ...........................................................................9 The sliffe awards for Distinguished Middle school Mathematics Teaching .......10 2003 aMC 8 edyth May sliffe award Winners .................................................11 sliffe awards Reception ......................................................................................14 san antonio, Texas -- april 12, 2003 .............................................................14 Sliffe Winners Attending Reception .....................................................................14 2003 Sliffe Awards Reception .............................................................................15 Regions of the aMC 8 .......................................................................................16 AMC Office Staff ...............................................................................................16 american Mathematics Contest 10 and american Mathematics Contest 12 ......17 Quotations .........................................................................................................18 The Gardner School, Vancouver, Washington .......................................................20 american Mathematics Contest 8 examination Committee ...............................21 Committee on the american Mathematics Competitions ..................................21 CaMC executive Committee .............................................................................21 advisory Panel ...................................................................................................22 state Directors -- aMC 8 ..................................................................................24 sponsors and Donors .........................................................................................26 2003 NCTM Spring Meetings - Rachelle Jensen in AMC’s Booth .........................26 school Honor Roll ......................................................................................27 United states ..............................................................................................27 The Central Academy of Des Moines Public Schools, Des Moines, Iowa. ................28 school Honor Roll ......................................................................................30 International schools ..................................................................................30 U. s. school Merit Roll ..............................................................................32 International school Merit Roll .................................................................39 2 Students from the Swiss Cottage Secondary School, Singapore. ............................40 Perfect scores .....................................................................................................41 U.s.a. students ...........................................................................................41 International students ................................................................................43 Merit Roll .........................................................................................................44 U.s.a. students ...........................................................................................44 Merit Roll ...................................................................................................50 late Participation student...........................................................................50 Distinguished Honor Roll ..................................................................................51 U.s.a. students ..........................................................................................51 2003 AMC 8 waiting to be Scanned ..................................................................54 Tennessee State Awatds for 2002 .........................................................................61  Table of Contents continued International students .................................................................................62 Honor Roll .........................................................................................................68 U.s.a. students ..........................................................................................68 Stacks of AMC 8 Envelopes waiting to be processed ..............................................82 The Chinese High School, Singapore .................................................................115 International students ...............................................................................116 Swiss Cottage School, Singapore ........................................................................119 late Participation students .......................................................................132 2002 Kansas State Awards Ceremony ................................................................132 Rank listing of schools by states .....................................................................133 Rank listing of enrollment by states ...............................................................133 Item Difficulty .................................................................................................134 Table 1 ......................................................................................................134 Graph 1 .....................................................................................................135 Results by Gender, 2003 aMC 8......................................................................136 Table 2 ......................................................................................................136 Graph 2 .....................................................................................................137 Results by Grade level .....................................................................................138 Table 3 ......................................................................................................138 Graph 3 .....................................................................................................139 score Comparison between 2002 and 2003 .....................................................140 Table 4 ......................................................................................................140 Graph 4 .....................................................................................................141 2003 - The Answer sheets return, stacks and sorting. .........................................142 Individual school Registration .........................................................................143 The International School of Havana, Havana, Cuba Participating students and teachers from the International School of Havana. RePORT Of THe DIReCTOR I. InTRODUCTIOn I am pleased to announce that over 58,000 students from more than 2,00 schools participated in the 200 AMC 8 contest. Many dedicated mathematics teachers provided an opportunity for students to participate in this national exam. Our State Directors did a great job soliciting enrollment, and the Committee created an exam which was both “exciting and challenging.” A hearty thanks to all of you for continuing to recognize the fact that the AMC 8 plays a complementary role in support of the junior high/middle school mathematics curriculum. II. GeneRal ResUlTs This summary includes a listing of the results and awards associated with the 9th annual AMC 8, which was held on Tuesday, November 8, 200. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE 2004 AMC 8 WILL BE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6th. From the responses received from many of the contest managers, it is evident that the examination was once again well received by the students and teachers. A sample of specific comments received is found in the Quotations section of this summary. A comparison of the statistics shows that this year’s 200 contest was compa- rable to the 2002. A total of 92 perfect scores were recorded (27 in 2002) while the national average decreased to 0.27 (.09 in 2002). The AMC 8 Committee is in its final stage of preparation of the 2004 exam and I expect it to be similar to the 200 edition, but still challenging. A four-year statistical comparison of results is given in Section III. We sincerely hope that your school administrators will continue to support your future requests for funds to enable your students to participate in this academic activity which is consistent with the standards set by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. On behalf of the AMC 8 committee, I express my appreciation to all of the school contest managers and their associated teachers, school counselors and administrators for providing an opportunity for their students to participate in the 200 AMC 8. I particularly would like to express my gratitude to those teachers who personally paid the fees associated with the contest. Their dedica- tion to the profession is certainly noteworthy and beyond the call of duty. III. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF RESULTS  Report Of The Director continued A FOUR YEAR COMPARISON Please note that the word “recorded” used throughout this section should be interpreted as indicating that the results are based on only the items that were mark-sensed by the students. Some of the students failed to mark items such as their grade or gender. SCHOOL & STUDENT REGISTRATIONS & AVERAGES 2003 2002 2001 2000 Registered schools 2,396 2,493 3,176 3,523 Registered students 183,830 188,530 203,170 249,260 Schools sending in results 2,737 2,390 2,600 3,362 Answer forms received 158,309 157,778 169,654 204,687 Recorded female participants 75,574 75,880 81,482 98,899 Recorded male participants 80,010 78,825 84,888 103,668 Average of all participants 10.27 11.09 10.00 8.66 Average of female participants 9.72 10.47 9.39 8.20 Average of male participants 10.79 11.68 10.60 10.93 Perfect papers 192 126 84 58 PARTICIPATION BY RECORDED GRADE LEVELS GRADE 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 4 & 5 1,553 1,560 1,736 3,122 1,082 6 15,414 14,707 14,710 18,628 16,689 7 53,170 53,804 58,271 69,146 73,511 8 86,542 85,351 93,090 113,061 110,252 AVERAGE SCORE BY RECORDED GRADE LEVELS GRADE 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 4 & 5 7.62 7.76 6.73 6.35 7.11 6 8.58 9.31 8.28 7.27 8.46 7 9.77 10.59 9.49 8.13 9.77 8 10.93 11.79 10.66 9.28 11.39 There were a total of 1,971 school winners at 2,396 schools, and the following number of certificates were sent to schools: Gold – 8,004, Silver– 10,079, Bronze– 12,163. While the AMC 8 is primarily intramural, the national results make some comparison at that level viable, but the examination, which has no established norms, is comparable to neither classroom nor placement tests. The AMC 8 answer forms are retained for only 8 weeks after the exam. IV. SCHOOL PLAQUE/NAMEPLATES Many schools have continued to keep their school award plaque updated with 4 Report Of The Director continued the name of their school winner. A plaque/nameplate order form was enclosed with your school results, however, if you no longer have this form in hand you may contact our distributor directly at rixstinetrophy.com or you may find it more convenient or timely to seek out a local engraver. Either way we encourage those schools who possess this plaque to continue the tradition of recognizing their mathematically talented students. V. 2003 STATE TOP STUDENT PLAQUE This year we are presenting 181 Top Student Plaque awards. This plaque is awarded to the top scoring student in each state, from all of the U.S. Territories and schools abroad, and from Canada. This student award program which began in 1991, will continue to be presented on an annual basis. Each of our State Directors is asked to arrange for the Governor of the State to present the plaque to the state recipient. You will note, in this Summary are photos of some of last year’s awardees. VI. AREA OF PARTICIPATION Participation in the AMC 8 extends beyond the USA. Registrations were received from 40 APO/FPO Schools (Junior High or Middle Schools associ- ated with U.S. military bases abroad), American schools associated with U.S. Embassies, U.S. Territories (Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands), Ca- nadian, and foreign schools (including a group of 462 schools from Taiwan), for a total of 6,444 students. Recognition is hereby given to those teachers abroad who have provided an opportunity for their students to participate in the AMC 8. A complete list of participating schools from foreign countries and U.S. territories is found in this summary. We are grateful to the Department of Defense for providing the financial support which enabled the students in its dependent schools to participate in the AMC 8. VII. DATE AND FORMAT OF THE 2004 AMC 8 The date of the 2004 AMC 8 is Tuesday, November 16. The exam will again be a 40-minute, twenty-five question, multiple-choice contest. The scoring procedure will be the same as in 2003: one point will be given for each correct answer. Registration materials will be mailed to schools during the months of May, September, and October. If you wish to register now, a 2004 Registration Form has been included in this Summary on Page 143. We hope that your school will participate again in the 2004 AMC 8. Please complete your registration as early as possible. Contest materials will be mailed in October and early November, so there is ample time for planning and completion of pre-contest activities. We would be most grateful to you if you would encourage neighboring schools to participate in the AMC 8. The National Association of Secondary School Principals continues to place the AMC 8 on its advisory list of contests and activities for 2004-2005. 5 Report Of The Director continued VIII. aCKnOWleDGeMenT We are fortunate to have dedicated staff members who fulfill the responsibilities associated with the entire examination process in a timely and efficient manner. One can imagine all of the expected and unexpected duties and operations that must be completed during the examination year. AMC staff members include Donita Bowers, Marsha Conley, Rachelle Jensen, Linda McCormick, Joyce McNeil, RuthAnn Royer, Sawsan Mohamed, Kay Michael, and Janet Sylvester. Our University student helpers are Lindsey Domangue, Tuan Le, Erin Johnson, Justin DeVries and Gabe Smith. I welcome this opportunity to commend their excellent work. IX. ReTIReMenT Last spring Richard “Dick” Gibbs stepped down as Chair of the CAMC (Com- mittee of the American Mathematics Competitions). He had been Chair for two terms, and has seen us through all our recent changes and additions. We express our gratitude to him for all his hard work and dedication. X. sTaTe DIReCTORs, sPOnsORs, DOnORs anD COMMITTees In this summary you will find a list of the AMC 8 State Directors, sponsors, donors, members of the Committee on the American Mathematics Compe- titions (CAMC), and AMC 8 committee. In addition, the members of the American Mathematics Competitions (AMC) Panel are listed, and they are hereby recognized for submitting and reviewing potential problems for the examinations of the AMC. The work of the State Directors is significant to the success of the AMC 8. They send follow-up mailings and attend state mathematics meetings to give talks about the examination in order to encourage more schools to participate. The Directors receive no financial compensation for their work. The CAMC recognizes these individuals for their outstanding dedication to the profession of mathematics educators. Special recognition is given for the work of the AMC 8 and CAMC committee members. They devote considerable time, under the direction of Bonnie Leitch (AMC 8 Chair) and Elgin Johnston (CAMC Chair), reviewing examination policy, proposing problems, and developing the examination. The contribu- tions of our sponsors and donors are hereby recognized. The significance of the examination is greatly enhanced by their continued support. XI. COnTRIbUTIOns Of THe UnIVeRsITY Of nebRasKa The AMC office has been located at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln since 970. For the past 4 years the University has made significant contributions in support of the American Mathematics Competitions including providing utilities, office space and the use of university facilities. 6 Report Of The Director continued XII. fInal COMMenTs I welcome and appreciate your comments regarding this Summary and the procedures associated with the AMC 8. steven Dunbar, Director The Mathematical Association of America American Mathematics Competitions University of Nebraska, 740 Vine Street Lincoln, NE 68588—0658 P: 800/527-690 F: 402/472-6087 eM: [email protected] Dick Gibbs with Plaque Dick Gibbs retired after serving for two terms as Chair of the CAMC. He will be missed. 7 MessaGe fROM THe aMC 8 CHaIR Dear Teachers and Parents, Thank you for the opportunity to share the 200 AMC 8 Con- test with your children. We hope that the experience will be a window into the world of mathematical excellence and fun. More than forty math teachers and professors across the na- tion have worked for over a year to create the forty-minute contest your children wrestled with. We try to include puz- zling, challenging, even curious and humorous problems in our 25-item mix. Activities like our contest allow and encourage students to strive and excel in an academic sphere. The contest is a rewarding experience where mathematical curiosity and skill are, we hope, stimulated. The series of contests sponsored by the American Mathematical Competitions is designed to inspire an interest in mathematics that will lead to academic success, scholarship and a rewarding career. Professionally and personally, competence in mathematics and math- ematical understanding lead to success and an enriched life. Of course, one of the best parts of the contest occurs right after your children have taken the test. Many times students’ interest is highest then. We in the committee hope that you can use this opportunity to talk about math with your children. Use the alternate solutions to elicit creative approaches to the problems. Perhaps explain some new mathematical concepts to the younger middle school students who soon will be eighth graders. Talk about which problems were easier or harder for your children and why. Finally, thank you for all you do daily to help your children reach their potential as people and as better mathematics students, no matter what their natural abilities. You are one of our nation’s greatest resources for ensuring all children a rich and rewarding future by promoting knowledge and understanding. Bonnie Leitch 548 Hill Avenue New Braunfels, TX 78130 830/606-5320 [email protected] 8