Organization and Procedures (Web)

The following is our rulebook. You may wish to print out a copy for easy access.

DATES — Five Olympiads are held one month apart starting in November. We set the date for each Olympiad. Please adhere to it except in unusual circumstances such as a local school closing, special field trip, excessive absence, etc. In such cases, hold the contest on a day as close as possible to the scheduled date, before or after.

TIME AND PLACE — All participating students must take the Olympiad at the same time and place, preferably at the participating school. Each Olympiad may be held before, during, or after school hours at the discretion of the school.

ELIGIBILITY OF TEAMS — Only schools or homeschool associations, not individuals, are eligible for Olympiad membership.

DIVISION — To participate, each student must be enrolled in the member school. Students who have completed grade 8 may not participate. A team with any Grade 7 or 8 participant must be in Division M. All other teams should be in Division E. No team can be split between the two divisions.

SCHOOL TEAMS — The maximum number of students on any team is 35. However, a school may enter more than one team upon payment of the annual entry fee set by our Board of Directors. The grade level of any team is the highest grade level of any member of that team.

CONTEST PACKETS — One week before each Olympiad, an e-mail is sent to the Person-In-Charge of the Olympiad (PICO), announcing that the Olympiad is available at our web site for downloading. The PICO should do the following.

a)       Pages 1-2 (Olympiad problems and student answer sheets) — Print out enough copies for all participants and other interested parties.

b)       Pages 3-4 (Answers and Solutions) — Print out one copy for yourself, to use in scoring the Olympiad.

c)       Disposition — Place all materials in a secure location until the contest. Open it only at the contest and only in the presence of all the participating children.

d)       You may wish to print pages 1 and 2 back-to-back. One advantage is that students hide their answers automatically when reading the questions.

e)       You may wish to distribute copies of the questions to other teachers. One advantage is that this can build support for the program among your colleagues.

f)        You may wish to distribute copies of the solutions to all your team members after the Olympiad. Two advantages are that students have material to study from and parents can see what their children were asked to do.

START-UP MATERIALS — Now available online are the following items.

a)       25 practice problems with detailed solutions from last year, and 25 more from the year before. These help students to know what to expect. Your password is needed to access them.

b)       What Every Young Mathlete Should Know, which lists and defines terms. These definitions determine the meanings of terms in the Olympiads. Your password is not needed for access.

c)       The Online scoring system. Enter student names, grades, and genders at any time before you enter student scores. Your password is needed to access this.

d)       Message to Parents, which helps build parental support. Just reproduce and send home.

e)       Flyers for all our books (for training purposes), enthusiasm builders, and other items.

CONTENT AND TOPICS — Each Olympiad contains five problems, each with a specified time limit. All problems require mathematical reasoning.

PROCTORING — A teacher must actively proctor the contest at all times. No one may help any student in any way during any contest.

MATERIALS ALLOWED — Only plain paper supplied by the school, pen, and pencil may be used by the participant during the Olympiad. No other materials, including calculators, are allowed. We suggest that each participant be given five sheets, each containing spaces for the student's name, date, problem number, and answer.

TEAM SCORES — The team score, taken after the fifth contest, is the sum of the 10 highest individual scores.

DISTRIBUTION OF OLYMPIAD PROBLEMS — Administer the problems either one at a time or as a complete set.

If one at a time: the problem sheets have marks near the edges to facilitate cutting the sheet into uniform strips. This method reduces tension and allows children to relax between problems.

If as a complete set: instruct children to do as many as they can. This method allows students to partition the total time as they wish.

TIME WARNINGS — A time limit is specified for each problem. The timing of an Olympiad begins when the proctor signals the students to begin.

If one at a time: read each problem aloud and announce the time limit. Then give the signal to begin. The proctor should announce, “1 minute remains” and “15 seconds remain”.

If as a complete set: read all problems aloud and announce the total available time and give the signal to begin. The proctor should announce the total time, “3 minutes remain,” and “1 minute remains”.

SCORING AN OLYMPIAD — Consider all scores confidential. After the Olympiad, use the Answers and Solutions sheet to check student answers. Student answers must match our key perfectly to be credited. See “Appeals” below for further information.

ACCESSING THE ONLINE SCORING SYSTEM — As a PICO who has chosen to register students and record scores online, you should have received one e-mail for each team containing the Team ID (TID) and a case-sensitive password. After you log in, proceed to the menu. Helpful instructions can be found at the Online Guide. If you wish to change your password to one easier to remember, click “Change Password.” To return to the menu from most screens you can click “menu” located at the top of the screen.

REGISTERING STUDENTS — From the menu click “Submit/Edit Student List”. Enter the names, grades and genders of all team members, preferably in alphabetical order. The data for any team members added later should be placed at the end of this list. For each student enter this data before you enter any scores.

Important — When adding or deleting any student, please follow up with an email to help us make sure that our main computer has the correct records. Include your Team ID and name, and the Student ID and name, grade and gender.

REPORTING SCORES — You must choose an Olympiad first using “Select Olympiad” on the menu. Your selection will then be listed on the left side of the screen together with your team name and TID.

To enter student scoring for that Olympiad, use “Select Submit/Edit Results”. Next to each preprinted student name record all scores as follows:

Correct answer — click the appropriate box.

Incorrect answer — leave the space blank

Did not participate — fill in the space in the ABS column and leave the rest of that line blank.

Note: Clicking “Absent” will override all other checkmarks for that student on that Olympiad.

Corrections to scoring may be made online. Printing out a copy of the scores for each Olympiad has the advantages of convenience when reviewing any student’s record and reference if our records differ from yours.

     Important — The Online Scoring System will close for the summer at the end of March.

APPEALS — Appeals are granted only for valid alternate interpretations or for incorrect official answers. Appeals will not be granted for a reading or copying error by the student. If an answer is not listed in our answer key but you think it is equivalent, follow the procedure for an appeal.

Procedure: To appeal, mark the student's answer incorrect and mail the student’s answer sheet together with a written explanation of the appeal. A ruling will be printed in the next newsletter or given individually. When an appeal is granted, all other students who had the same answer should receive credit. PICOs should notify us of their identities, including their names and line number the team ID and name

AWARDS — Awards determined by your entries online. The following awards are shipped after Olympiad 5:

 Individual

a)       A certificate for each participant,

b)       An embroidered Olympiad patch for each student whose cumulative score is in the top 50% approximately of all students in that division,

c)       A gold or silver pin for each student whose cumulative score is in the top 10% approximately of all students in that division,

d)       A trophy for the highest individual scorer of each team,

e)       A medallion for each student with a perfect score,

 Team

a)       For each division: a plaque for each of the top 10% of all teams by team score,

b)       For each division: a certificate for each of the second 10% of all teams by team score,

c)       For Division E: a grade level certificate for each of the top 20% of all grade 5 teams (no grade 6 students),

d)       For Division E: a grade level certificate for each of the top 20% of all grade 4 teams (no grade 5 or 6 students),

e)       For Division M: a grade level certificate for each of the top 20% of all grade 7 teams (no grade 8 students).