Ben was in the mathcounts chapter competition today. The Chicago chapter is big so it’s divided into seven regions. Ben’s team came second in their region which means they go on to compete in the state mathcounts competition next month (the top two teams in the larger regions go).
Individually, Ben came first – in his region and also in the whole chapter competition! We’re very happy for him. And we’re glad the whole team gets to go to state. Ben is pleased because it will be more fun than if he went by himself.
Hi Helen,
Found your blog via Molly. I’ve enjoyed reading your perspective on things. You bring up many good questions. I just read your experience with mental illness. I’ve had struggles with post-partum depression/anxiety the last few years. Not fun. I hope you continue to do well.
Congratulations to your son- it sounds like you have a couple of great kids that you are proud of.
Thanks Anne!
I hope you find ways to manage your depression and anxiety. As you say, it’s not fun.
Ben came first – in his region and also in the whole chapter competition. Very good. What is his score?
23/30 on Sprint
6/8 on Target
35/46 Total Score (Sprint+2*Target)
I think the test must’ve been harder than last year, because the top (two) scores in the chapter were 45/46 last year.
Yes much harder than last year. Godd luck on your state competition!
Thanks, ycy!
Hi Ben,
Did you get into the state team? What is the score of the top ones?
Thanks for asking – he didn’t quite make it – he came seventh.
I found out that participants aren’t supposed to discuss scores until all the competitions are over so I don’t think we should post his score.
Some people said not to discuss scores but some others did differently.
I do not think kids can improve their skill and ability by hearing others scores (If this is true, then teachers do not need to teach students hard, and students do not need to study hard. All they need is to hearing scores).
My chapater posts on the web site the top scores right way after the competition:
http://www.geocities.com/moosecyn/index.html
Anyway, hope he will do well in other math competitions like AMC, AIME….
Thanks – he does plan to continue doing competitions like AMC when he enters high school. He wondered about doing AMC 10 this school year but it was too late by the time he thought of it (actually we dont’ know if the school system would have made that possible anyway). He did AMC 8 and almost got a perfect score – he got one wrong.
As best I understand, the reasoning behind not posting any information about mathcounts yet is, it could give people an advantage who see it and haven’t had their competition round yet. Posting scores could indicate if it’s a hard or easy test.
I didn’t know about this request not to post information when Ben posted his score here earlier. I don’t want anything else posted that might get him into trouble or violate mathcounts procedures.